Only a small percentage of landscape companies are currently utilizing AI, even though the vast majority says it is one of the biggest areas of opportunity in the industry.
Joel Northrup, founder and CEO of Deep Lawn, based in Austin, Texas, says AI can help with many aspects of the business like analyzing data, professionalizing communication and optimizing routing.
“It’s not going to eliminate the need for really good team members and a really good culture and a good product, but it can definitely help, and it can make you more effective, and also make it so that you provide a better product,” Northrup says.
Samuel Rankin, founder and president of ETCH Outdoor Living, based in Huxley, Iowa, admits he still feels like he’s just scratching the surface with AI. He says too often business owners are guilty of shiny object syndrome where they’re chasing the latest thing but aren’t taking the time to give anything new their full attention to determine if it actually works.
“I just think we just keep chasing things,” Rankin says. “I think we sometimes need to just settle down, take a step back and slow down to really look at what it is that this tool could or should be used for, instead of just chasing it to push its boundaries.”
Maximizing Your AI Usage
Platforms like ChatGPT can offer general advice but if you take the time to train it, the responses will be more specific to your company’s needs.
“Have it ask you a ton of questions about your business first, understand you, your role, the way you add value to the company, and tell it about your unique selling proposition to be able to tailor its responses to be fit for your business,” Rankin says. “You still got to rewrite them, but it should be, hopefully closer to your language.”
If you truly don’t know where to start with prompts, Chelsea Hartshorn, co-founder of Threadleaf Landscape Design, based in Lehi, Utah, suggests thinking about your pain points and then asking ChatGPT how to address them.
“What will happen is it’ll give you the information that you’re looking for, and what you didn’t know you were looking for as well,” Hartshorn says.
Hartshorn says you can take either a top down or a bottom up approach with prompts. The top down option is telling the AI all the information up front and going from there. The bottom up approach is asking the bare minimum and then digging deeper and deeper.
“Those ones, to me, are easier, but a lot of the time,” Hartshorn says. “People will usually start from the top. It’s good but there’s give and take with that. Prompting is important because you’re not going to get what you’re looking for if you don’t know how to prompt it.”
The Challenges of AI
Joseph Watruba, founder and CEO of LDI Landscape, based in Kathleen, Georgia, says one challenge he’s faced is even though he has six or seven users at his company, they’re unable to share the same workspace.
“Whatever I train it to do, it’s not getting sent out to my users,” Watruba says. “That’s the only frustration I have. I want to create a standard. Even when you go copy your prompt and prompt it over there, it’s not exact. It’s not perfect.”
Hartshorn says she treats AI like an assistant, not a boss, collaborator or a crutch. She stresses the importance of double checking any information that is provided as they have encountered occasional inaccuracies.
Rankin cautions using AI too heavily in marketing efforts as it can come across as robotic and impact your SEO.
“Google SEO doesn’t value AI-written blog posts nearly with the same value as it does where they don’t detect AI,” Rankin says. “Similar thing with LinkedIn. LinkedIn posts that are written by AI or significant portions, even if you only change a couple lines, are detected to be written by AI, engagement falls by nearly 50%.”
Rankin isn’t a fan of those who share content purely written by AI. He feels it alienates people and fails to create personal connections with clients.
“I’ve gotten to the point where it’s like, this doesn’t sound like you,” Rankin says. “This doesn’t sound like a human wrote this. That’s one of the biggest things that I feel like AI is taking out the personal approach to business. I really hate that part. I tell our team, if I could tell something’s written by AI, we’re going to have to have a conversation.”
Northrup agrees that overreliance on AI can be detrimental if it takes away the human element.
“As technology gets more and more encompassing, and everything will be AI-generated, I think that actually causes the human interaction to be more important,” Northrup says. “Putting a face behind your brand, just showing people what you’re about, the people on your team, your culture, what sets you apart, that becomes more valuable.”
Hartshorn recommends having backup plans for when AI isn’t working.
The Future of AI in the Landscape Industry
Watruba expects AI to continue to improve over time.
“I think the future is that it will be like having a consultant in your pocket once it knows what you want,” Watruba says.
Watruba would like to see AI help with HR questions, like if an employee needs their payroll stub from several weeks ago. He’d also like to see it tie together the multiple apps his team uses to be a single information source.
“I wish that I had this when I started at 13 years old in landscaping,” Watruba says. “I think people who are starting out small, they have a lot more opportunities with technology. But you got to be involved in the community. You got to be out there with mentors and people who can teach you small business techniques. Then you take those little learning bits that you learn and then use AI to really push them through.”
Rankin says he’d like to see a feature in the future that would let his sales team know when people are most likely to answer phone calls so they can reach out at that specific time.
Hartshorn hopes the design-related AI will improve, as currently, the amount of input required for accuracy puts it closer to traditional software. Northrup says one potential of AI is having augmented reality where he could identify everything on a property and receive advice on weed treatments.
“Homeowners could pull it up and it would automatically connect them with a provider or for the contractor when a technician is on site, it would automatically give suggestions,” Northrup says.
Rankin says while AI is powerful and can support certain tasks, it cannot replace humans entirely in the service world.
“It’s a great tool, but ultimately, it’s a tool,” Rankin says. “It’s not a human. It can’t do all these tasks that I think we think it is capable of. It’s incredibly robust, but it’s not there yet, in my opinion.”
Rankin recommends viewing AI with some skepticism rather than viewing it as a silver bullet.
“I think people will be foolish not to try it, but don’t let it run things,” Rankin says. “Be human. Don’t let AI replace you. We’re all unique. We all have our own, unique experiences and our own unique areas of expertise.”
