Navigating a new world of technology

By Emma Peterson. 

Kevin Fox dives into the new world AI has heralded in and how we can use this tool effectively in business settings. 

From social media trends and Superbowl ads, AI has become a part of our everyday life, for better or worse. The roofing world is no exception to this AI boom, with companies highlighting new AI roofing tools and business management programs left and right. To learn how to navigate the new world that AI has pulled us into, Heidi J. Ellsworth spoke to Kevin Fox of FoxWerx Group in an episode of Contractor Outlook. 

Whenever Kevin gets the chance to talk about the advent of AI, he always makes sure to emphasize one point: “These tools are exciting, but what’s really important is the way people use them. That’s where you are either benefitting your business of being detrimental.” So, how do you navigate knowing what tools are good for your business and implementing them successfully? Research first. Kevin explained, “Take some time to play around with the free versions of these tools, understand how they work and understand how the different ones work.”  

This research is key to helping you understand the capacities and capabilities of different tools. Because even though AI might seem like magic, it really is just another tool. And just like learning how to use a new phone, it only works well if you are using it correctly. As Kevin put it, “Learning how to use that tool is a skill unto itself, right? Take ChatGPT,  understanding how best to prompt it is hard, but it is the only way to make it actually usable and beneficial to your business.”  

In addition to emphasizing the importance of learning and researching these tools before jumping head-first in, Kevin also wanted to make sure that listeners recognized that, even as this “new world” brings new opportunities, there are some aspects of running a business that aren’t changing. For one, websites remain one of the key touchpoints between your brand and your clients. He explained:  

It is a little bit of the wild west with all this new tech, but there are things that are true across the board...Your primary asset is still your website. I can't tell you how often we do an audit on someone's website, and they don't have header tags, meta descriptions or schema markup. These are things that are A) not new, and B) important for your listeners to ask someone they hire for website help about.  

Overall, navigating this “new world” is about finding the balance between embracing the future and not losing sight of the tried and true. As Kevin puts it, “At the end of the day, all of this new tech is nothing more than fancier calculators and computer programs. That's how you need to think about them...It seems like it's thinking or it's a person, but that's kind of an illusion. It doesn't think, it just another tool.”  

Hear more insights on the new world of AI and tech by listening to the whole Contractor Outlook episode.