How AI helps home inspectors

These days, AI — or artificial intelligence — is everywhere. And now, it’s carving out a place in home inspection.

AI technology can make home inspections faster, easier, and more efficient. Meanwhile, generative AI apps can streamline marketing and administrative tasks like never before. And there’s more innovation on the way.

The bottom line? Now may be the time to embrace the power of AI and tailor it to work for your business.

What is AI?

AI is a type of technology that simulates human intelligence. AI uses a process called machine learning, during which technology can be programmed, or “taught,” to perform tasks that traditionally require human intelligence. Through prompting and feedback, AI can be taught to recognize, reason, make decisions, solve problems, and automate processes. ChatGPT and similar models are only the latest advancements in a long history of AI research and development.

How AI is already used in home inspection.

AI is hardly new in home inspection. Consider that drones, crawl bots, and thermal imaging scanners, which have been around for years, all fall under the AI umbrella. These technologies make quick work of the time-consuming aspects of inspections. Sometimes, they’re even stand-ins for the riskier parts of an inspection.

Now, there are more uses for AI emerging on a smaller and less expensive scale.

New uses for AI in home inspection.

A new wave of more accessible and less costly AI-powered systems are streamlining the administrative tasks of running a home inspection business. Here’s how.

AI streamlines home inspection workflows.

AI-powered inspection software — like Home Inspector Pro — helps speed report writing by using intelligent, customizable workflows you can complete onsite during an inspection. The software walks you through each aspect of the home inspection process, prompting you to add summaries, take photos, note measurements, and more. Plus, real-time reporting can instantly notify your client when the inspection report is ready to be reviewed.

AI automates repetitive tasks.

AI-based inspection report software can also automate the parts of your business that are repetitive but take time, including:

• Appointment scheduling
• Inspection schedule management
• Client reminders and follow-ups
• Invoicing and payment processing
• Customer review requests
• Social media posting
• Email marketing

AI has now become a personal assistant of sorts, freeing up your time to focus on the more profitable aspects of your business.

AI makes content marketing easier.

Generative AI apps — including Chat GPT, Jasper AI, and Grammarly — can all help make content marketing for your business faster and easier to do on a budget.

These apps can help with creating:

• Quick verbiage for a client email
• A series of social media captions for your business’ social channels
• A short blog about your services for your website
• A paragraph describing findings for a client’s inspection report

Check out how this home inspector is using ChatGPT in his business.

Where home inspection AI is heading.

There are predictions aplenty when it comes to AI and home inspections. Here are a few ideas of where it’s headed.

AI will analyze data and detect vulnerabilities.

Thermal imaging scans are just the tipping point of smart AI-powered technology that can detect infrastructure vulnerabilities instantly. This capability is growing. For example, AI-powered air quality monitors perform real-time sampling to instantly identify – and even predict – indoor air problems, including unhealthy radon.

Generative AI systems are also being “taught” to identify common issues using only a few photographs. This developer is training an AI program to distinguish between “good” and “bad” roof images. His findings will improve the accuracy of remote roof inspections.

We’ll see a rise in AI-powered remote inspections.

Just as remote real estate appraisals gained traction in federally backed sale transactions post-COVID, remote home inspections are on the rise.

AI can be trained in automated object detection, predictive maintenance, remote assistance, and risk assessment. These capabilities are most ideal for remote property inspections of commercial, industrial, and governmental infrastructure. But they could one day be applied in home inspection.

One thing’s for sure: AI won’t replace your expertise as a home inspector.

As sophisticated as Artificial Intelligence is today, there’s one thing it won’t do. AI will never replace the need for your expertise as a skilled home inspector.

Finding success in home inspection involves:

• Learning the best practices of home inspection
• Understanding the major systems and components of a home
• Completing detailed and thorough home inspection reports
• Communicating your findings to clients tactfully
• Networking within your locale to build trust and rapport within the real estate community

An AI-powered program may be great at analyzing an issue based on data input, automating an email, or adding a little content to your website. But it lacks the human touch you bring.

Consider AI simply as a tool to harness among the many tools you use as a home inspector. It should never be a substitute for your intuition, your knowledge, and your dedication to meeting the needs of your (human) clients.

Become an expert home inspector first with AHIT.

Your journey as a successful home inspector starts by completing best-in-class home inspection training – like AHIT’s instructor-led live classroom and online learning courses. Find your state course and enroll today. Plus, we’ll help you stay on top of your Continuing Education (CE), professional development, and business building certifications.