The 4 AIs Every HVAC Company Should Be Using in 2025

(Watch the full strategy session with Dennis Yu and Marko Sipila below.)

Artificial intelligence has become the latest buzzword in home services. Everyone’s talking about “AI for contractors,” but most of that talk is just noise — flashy software demos with little real-world impact.

So, in a recent 20-minute deep dive, Marko Sipila (founder of HVACQuote.ai) and I broke down the specific tools and use cases that actually move the needle for HVAC companies right now — not in theory, but in day-to-day operations that increase revenue and save time.

If you’ve got multiple service trucks out every day — whether you’re doing HVAC installs, garage doors, pest control, or pool maintenance — every unnecessary mile is lost money. Most dispatchers think they’re being efficient until they see what route optimization software can actually do. Tools like ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro already have routing logic built in, but many companies don’t configure them properly or don’t use them at all.

When you do, the numbers change fast. In the concrete coating business, for example, a single technician should generate roughly $300,000 a year in revenue. Companies that optimize routes are seeing significant boosts in that number — simply because they’re spending less time in traffic and more time on paid appointments. The lesson is simple: before chasing any new marketing tactic, fix your routing. It’s instant ROI.

2. Virtual Ride‑Alongs — Train Your Sales Team Without Riding Shotgun

In the old days, sales managers had to spend hours in the passenger seat, listening to reps pitch homeowners in person. Today, tools like Rilla and GorillaDesk let you do it virtually. These platforms record calls, analyze performance, and flag missed opportunities or compliance issues. You can hear every objection — and how your techs handle it — without ever leaving your desk.

Companies using Rilla consistently report higher close rates because they can coach more often and more precisely. It’s not just about better sales performance — it’s also a safeguard. When a rep starts overselling or misrepresenting your company (“We’ve been around since 2001!” when you actually started in 2005), you can catch it before it costs you your reputation. This is the kind of AI that strengthens your culture. It makes good reps better — and bad habits obvious.

3. AI Call Centers — The 24/7 Advantage That Boosts Google Rankings

Most HVAC owners don’t realize that Google tracks how fast you answer the phone — and it affects your local search rankings. If your hours say you close at 5 PM and your phone goes unanswered after that, your map listings start dropping within an hour. The fix is simple: implement an AI‑assisted call center that covers after‑hours calls.

Modern systems can handle basic inbound and outbound inquiries while routing complex ones to a live customer service representative. That means you can trim a 10‑person call team down to two humans supervising the AI, saving thousands each month. Even better: mark your Google Business Profile as open 24 hours. You’ll not only serve more customers, you’ll rank higher — because Google sees that you’re responsive, even after closing time.

4. Marketing Automation — Why Agencies Are Becoming Obsolete

Let’s face it: the traditional agency model is collapsing. Most of the marketing experts selling to contractors are just middlemen outsourcing to low‑cost virtual assistants overseas. As Marko and I discussed, 80 % of what these agencies do is busywork — reporting, resizing images, tweaking ad copy — the kind of low‑level labor that today’s AI can handle instantly.

OpenAI’s latest ad context protocol has already started integrating directly with ad networks like Google and Meta. This means the platforms themselves will soon connect to ad‑buying agents that can execute campaigns faster, cheaper, and more accurately than any human agency. If your agency isn’t talking about this, it’s because they don’t understand it. The pros already see what’s coming and are quietly exiting — moving into verticals like home services where the real leverage now lies.

For HVAC companies, the key takeaway is this: own your own marketing data and systems. Use AI tools for execution, but keep the strategy in‑house. You don’t need to fire your agency today, but you do need to understand what value they’re truly adding — and whether AI could be doing it better.

The Hidden Opportunity: Personal and Team AI

Beyond the business side, there’s a growing role for personal AI assistants — tools that act as your virtual secretary, handling email, scheduling, and repetitive admin. For business owners doing $2–3 million a year and still managing their own inboxes, this is a no‑brainer. Platforms like ChatGPT Atlas (yes, the browser you’re reading this in) are now capable of handling context across apps, from CRM tasks to responding to customer reviews.

When you roll this out across your team, each person effectively gets their own AI co‑pilot. It makes them more efficient, more loyal, and more valuable. The bonus: that internal knowledge stays locked inside your company’s ChatGPT Business workspace — so when someone leaves, their history doesn’t walk out the door with them.

The Bottom Line: Start Simple, Then Scale

If you try to implement every AI tool at once, you’ll drown in shiny objects. Pick one or two areas — like route optimization or call center automation — and master them first. Then, as you start seeing the time and money savings, reinvest those gains into your next upgrade. At the end of the day, none of this matters if you’re not closing the leads that come in. That’s where HVACQuote.ai comes in. It converts website visitors into booked appointments by answering the one question homeowners always ask: “What will it cost?”

If you’re serious about growing your HVAC company in 2025, this is the time to start using AI where it actually makes you money — not where it just sounds cool.