Numbers Don't Lie: Real Results from Contractors Running Podium's AI

On this episode of ACHR News' Newsmakers podcast, host Dylan Kurt asks Podium's Nicolina Brown, who leads product marketing for home services, for proof that AI is actually working for HVAC and plumbing shops, not just hype. Brown walks through real customer stories: an exhausted HVAC couple drowning in ringing phones, an old-school plumbing and HVAC owner who didn't realize he was talking to AI until the call was already going well, and an owner who estimates she's getting about 60 hours of admin time back every month.

The conversation also digs into the fears that come with automation — whether AI is coming for office jobs, how onboarding differs across HVAC, plumbing, electrical and garage door businesses, and what happens when an AI agent gets something wrong on a call. Brown's takeaway for dealers and contractors still on the fence: figure out the one pain point costing you the most time, and consider whether AI, run well, is worth the short-term work of switching.

Key takeaways

• One Podium customer estimates she's getting back about 60 hours of admin time a month since moving off pen-and-paper and whiteboard scheduling onto the platform.

• An HVAC and plumbing owner who was skeptical of AI became a believer after calling another contractor, unknowingly talking to Podium's voice AI, and not being able to tell it wasn't a person.

• A membership-renewal AI agent texted a contractor's full customer list and booked hundreds of jobs within a couple of weeks, work that used to be a full-time job for one employee.