I resisted AI tools for about two years. My work is physical — I pull cable, mount hardware, configure networks. There's no prompt that does any of that. So when everyone started talking about AI productivity tools, I mostly tuned it out.
Then I started tracking where my unbillable time was actually going. Proposals: two hours each, three or four a week. Scheduling back-and-forth: 45 minutes a day. Follow-up emails: another hour. I was spending 15 hours a week on admin for a business built on labor. That's when I started paying attention.
1 · Why I was skeptical
My concern with AI tools for contractor work is the same concern I have with any automation: what looks like time savings often just moves the problem. Bad AI output means editing time, which erases the gain. I wasn't willing to send clients proposals that sounded like they were written by a chatbot. The bar was: it has to sound like me, or it doesn't ship.
2 · Tool 1: AI for proposals (ChatGPT)
I use ChatGPT to write the prose sections of client proposals — not the pricing, not the parts list, not the scope. Those I still build by hand because they require actual knowledge of what the job involves. But the introductory paragraph, the "why this solution" section, the closing — those are now AI-assisted.
My process: I write three bullet points describing the client's problem and my proposed solution, paste them into ChatGPT with the instruction "write this in the voice of a direct, experienced residential tech engineer," and edit the output down to something that sounds like me. Total time: 12 minutes per proposal instead of 45. I've sent 12 proposals this way and two clients commented that the write-up was unusually clear. That's the bar.
3 · Tool 2: Scheduling and follow-up (Calendly)
Calendly isn't new, but I added the follow-up sequence feature six months ago and it's the thing that actually pays for itself. When someone books an initial consult, they automatically get a confirmation, a 24-hour reminder, and a post-meeting follow-up asking if they have questions. I configured those three emails once. They now go out without me touching them.
For home tech work specifically, the post-meeting follow-up is where clients often remember they had another question. Having it go out automatically means I get that question in writing instead of a phone call two days later.
4 · Tool 3: Meeting notes (Otter.ai)
I started recording client walkthrough conversations with Otter.ai running on my phone. It transcribes in real time and produces a summary at the end. For a 45-minute site assessment, I get a five-bullet summary of what the client said they needed, what I said I'd look into, and any follow-up items. I paste that into the proposal file immediately after the meeting, while it's accurate.
The transcription isn't perfect — it mangles technical terms — but the structure is there and the key decisions are captured. It's replaced a notepad I was inconsistently keeping.
5 · What doesn't work
AI for pricing and parts estimation is useless for my work. Equipment prices change weekly. A quote for a UniFi setup I did in January is stale by March. No AI tool knows current distributor pricing, lead times, or which products I can actually source locally. That part of the estimate still requires looking up real quotes from real suppliers. Don't let anyone sell you an AI estimating tool that claims otherwise.