Bridging the Google Gap Between Homeowners and Tradesmen
- Valerie Bick
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
A Digital Disconnection
The struggle is real. A google search for the cost of a carpenter or a painter leads to misinformation and false expectations. The precedent is set, preconceived notions fill the homeowners headspace, and the carpenter or painter has no idea. For the carpenter, painter, or anyone building their business in the trades there is a world out there where the terms and conditions have already been laid in a foundation they did not build.
Down The Trade Root
Individuals in the trades sometimes move on as entrepreneurs building companies to better themselves and create new opportunities for growth. Some trades were passed down as family traditions, others found themselves in apprenticeship programs because a hands on approach to the world just fit for them. Their dedication to their work is unprecedented and they spent years honing skills to master their crafts. For many, it is a way to quickly join a workforce without student debts, despite living in a world geared toward higher education and degrees. Degrees were for traded for licenses. Being a tradesmen meant trading the nine to five for a ten to twelve and a beaten body, and it was still worth it.
Algorithms are the Enemy
For those who own their own companies, especially those with smaller crews that do smaller projects, there is a fundamental threat that starts with a google search. Artificial intelligence has been integrated into every search and google has taken over the global headspace of every curious whim. The curious whim of the homeowner looking to compare average costs of various contractors is no different, and within seconds they can access the very same general AI overview that is only as accurate as its programming and algorithms and has no place in real world economics.
The New AI Influencer
Once upon a time, consumers drove the market and set the real precedence for suppliers. If the consumer was unwilling to pay, there was no market, never mind the demand or need to supply it. For tradesmen like general contractors, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, HVAC professionals, and even landscapers, the homeowner is the consumer, and we, the tradesmen, are its supplier. Now we have an influencer among us, and it's not even a human one. The influencer is now setting new precedents and creating communication gaps between homeowners and the tradesmen that take pride in working on their homes.
Currently the algorithms are still stuck in a world of costs defined by labor and materials and it is missing the costs of basic operations. The problem is just how inaccurate Google's AI Gemini searches can be. Understanding that AI models like Gemini are trained on vast amounts of text, including unverified or outdated content. Statistically, our new influencer, which influences homeowners decisions about the costs of projects, now gives out tens of millions of wrong answers every hour, and these answers are taken as a fact.
In addition, the range is broad, but the bottom of the range is what homeowners begin to expect. Incentive is just good economics. Marketing works because everyone is searching for a deal. It's something in the back of our human psyche, "why pay more, when you could pay less", but it doesn't mean that people don't want to pay a fair price for goods and services.
Misguided Expectations
Homeowners usually want to pay a fair price. The problem is they are misinformed. Homeowners see more than a house It is their home. They want a return on their investment, but they also want to live in a safe and comfortable environment and sometimes they cannot do it on their own. It is natural for a homeowner to research what it is going to take to reach their project goals. Now AI algorithms with no sense of the costs of doing business itself, are trying to give homeowners a baseline that doesn't fit in the spectrums of the real-life economics for contractors and tradesmen.
"Your estimate is a little high." is resounding more and more among homeowners. They are doing research before you ever show up at their door. The "research" was just supposed to be a general guideline at best. Instead low-end project costs and severely underestimated labor rates are becoming standard expectations for any trade and they are far below what a tradesmen who owns a business has to charge to stay in business.
The Real Value of Tradesmen
The expectations homeowners are forming are becoming the foundations built by artificial intelligence. As tradesmen, who have been in the business ever since we can remember, we know that these foundations are not solid. We are able to see the cracks, and we know that without a proper form, a foundation can blow out. We know without the right wiring, a well built house can burn down. We understand that the right connection can prevent pipes from bursting.
Bridging the Gap
As tradesmen, you can never stop moving forward. You have traded the nine to five for the ten to twelve, you have broken your backs to hone your skills and it is up to us to you to prove the value you have among those that trust in you to give homeowners a return on their investment. You must build more than a foundation for the homeowner, now you must build a bridge. You must create the bridge that connects you and the homeowner. It must be built with clear communication, pricing education and clear ethics. AI is not going to work on their home, you are.
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