Kitchen and bath design firms angling for a competitive edge in today’s increasingly tech-savvy market are apparently harnessing the technological whirlwind that’s sweeping across the nation’s design, construction and remodeling landscape.
A growing number of business owners are telling Kitchen & Bath Design News, for example, that they’re readily embracing the growing array of high-tech tools aimed at designing and rendering, estimating and billing, digital advertising and website enhancement. Others report that they’re strategically investing money and training time in video-conferencing software, online-purchasing platforms, augmented reality, materials-handling tools and other cutting-edge programs (see related story).
“AI-powered programs may well become a gamechanger in the kitchen and bath design trade, literally reshaping the nature of client transactions. But, to many business owners, there are distinct red flags.”
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are also spearheading the latest wave of technology impacting the kitchen and bath industry, helping business owners increase operational efficiency by generating job schedules, producing professionally formatted estimates, monitoring jobsite progress and automating other manual tasks – allowing designers to focus on more strategic, creative and profitable work.
Indeed, AI – increasingly pervasive throughout much of society now – may well become a gamechanger in the kitchen and bath design trade, transforming how businesses operate, making it simpler for designers, homeowners and staff members to collaborate, and redefining the very nature of client transactions.
Already, AI-powered programs are being employed by a relatively small, but growing, number of business owners, who tell KBDN they’re utilizing AI primarily for developing website content, scheduling jobs, enhancing marketing campaigns, creating client proposals and even designing projects.
And there’s even more.
One newly introduced AI program leverages proprietary data collected from thousands of remodeling projects, enabling homeowners to understand the cost and scope of a renovation, review curated design recommendations, hire vetted design professionals and make informed tradeoffs. Another program combines project-management apps with an AI-powered design quiz, high-definition room visualizer tool and actionable insights aimed at simplifying the remodeling process, tracking change orders and providing the visibility needed to resolve issues before they become problematic.
Design firms that have already embraced AI are generally bullish about the results. And more than one-third of survey respondents who currently don’t use AI technology report that they plan to implement it for one or more business functions sometime in the next several years.
But while many business owners say they recognize the need to embrace technological advances such as AI, others see red flags, telling KBDN that they’re troubled by the blinding speed at which the technological landscape is changing – and challenged by training issues, costs and other factors.
And while many view AI as a potential gamechanger for the kitchen and bath design trade, others see it as a Pandora’s Box, a potential threat whose impact is sparking uncertainty – and in some cases grave concern – over the threat of job losses, flawed designs, hidden costs and false expectations on the part of clients. Other skeptics contend that AI creates wariness and fear on the part of many clients – particularly older ones – and lacks the kind of design/product expertise and interpersonal skills that are among the proven keys to success. Still other critics go one step further – expressing concerns that tech-savvy homeowners will increasingly utilize AI to design their own projects, leading to a drop-off in business.
Whatever the case, AI is likely to become increasingly ubiquitous in the residential design and remodeling trade. It’s all but inevitable. Interaction between humans and machines will become more natural and accepted. Multi-modal interaction will become standard practice.
Designers, remodelers, builders and suppliers to the trade will doubtless need to establish their own comfort level when it comes to embracing AI and other high-tech tools – not simply chasing the latest technological marvels but investing in those programs that maximize their return on investment and make the most sense for their business.
