Survey reveals perfect storm driving unprecedented technology adoption: fierce competition, vanishing workforce, and mounting complexity forcing contractors to choose between evolution and extinction
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESS Newswire / November 6, 2025 / The commercial contracting industry is experiencing a fundamental shift. While contractors remain optimistic about growth opportunities, a perfect storm of challenges is forcing them to make a critical choice: evolve quickly or risk being left behind.
According to “The Pivot Point: AI and The Future of Commercial Contracting,” a new research report from BuildOps and Kickstand based on a survey of 606 contractors across the U.S. and Canada, the industry has reached an inflection point. Nearly four in five contractors (78%) are already using or testing AI tools on the jobsite-a stunning adoption rate that would have seemed impossible just three years ago.
But the other 22% are falling further behind every day.
“You can’t hire your way out anymore. Yesterday’s tools can’t build tomorrow,” said Alok Chanani, Co-Founder and CEO of BuildOps. “And the firms that are acting on that reality right now-not next year, not when it’s convenient-are the ones who will survive.”
The Perfect Storm
The pressure is coming from every direction at once-and from below. America’s infrastructure is aging faster than the country can repair it. Bridges, water systems, electrical grids, and HVAC systems that have kept the country running for decades are reaching end-of-life. Commercial contractors aren’t just managing routine maintenance anymore-they’re the front line keeping critical systems operational while racing to modernize them.
On top of that infrastructure crisis, bidding has become brutal-nine in ten contractors report intensifying competition over the past year. Operations have grown more complex as regulatory requirements multiply and economic headwinds intensify. And perhaps most critically, the workforce crisis that’s plagued the trades for years is getting worse, not better.
Nearly half of all contractors report that more than one in five positions remain unfilled. Skilled labor remains scarce. Burnout is spreading across existing teams. The industry’s traditional solution-hire more people-simply isn’t working anymore.
At the same time, demand is shifting in ways that require new capabilities. HVAC contractors are fielding requests for sophisticated electrification systems. Electricians are being tapped for data center work. Plumbers are installing high-tech efficiency systems. The one-size-fits-all jobsite is disappearing, and the work itself is growing more specialized.
This convergence of challenges has created an existential question for contractors: How do you compete, grow, and deliver increasingly complex work when you can’t find enough people to do it?
The Technology Divide
The answer, for a growing majority, is artificial intelligence. But contractors aren’t deploying AI for futuristic applications. They’re using it to survive today.
Nearly half are using AI for estimating-turning what used to take hours into minutes. Others are using it for jobsite search, compliance tracking, and administrative work. Among those facing the fiercest bidding competition, more than a third have turned to AI to generate faster, more accurate bids. The technology isn’t replacing skilled trades work-it’s eliminating the busywork that keeps skilled people from doing their jobs.
“Three years ago, 78% AI adoption would have seemed unbelievable,” continued Chanani. “Today, it’s becoming baseline for staying competitive.”
But the 22% not yet using AI face a revealing barrier. The primary obstacle isn’t cost or security concerns-it’s training. Contractors don’t lack faith in the technology. They lack knowledge of how to use it. And that training gap is creating two distinct classes of contractors: those learning to work with new tools, and those being left behind.
The Outlook Divide
The survey reveals something even more striking than the adoption gap: contractors using AI are starting to see a completely different future for the industry.
Those using AI are far more likely to believe that Gen Z workers are transforming the trades with tech-savviness. They’re more optimistic about the viability of remote or hybrid work for certain contractor roles. They’re more confident that firms who can read the trends and act on them will prevail.
Non-AI users, meanwhile, see a future that looks a lot more like the past. The technology gap isn’t just changing how contractors work-it’s changing what they believe is possible.
“The firms using AI aren’t just working differently-they’re thinking differently,” said Chanani. “That’s the real divide we’re seeing.”
The Stakes
The window for action is closing. Four in five contractors believe AI will be essential to remain competitive within just three years. The industry is moving fast, and those on the sidelines are watching the gap widen in real time.
Contractors understand the moment they’re in. An overwhelming majority believe that firms who can read the trends and act on them will ultimately prevail. Many are tearing up the traditional playbook entirely-overhauling technology infrastructure, launching training programs, recruiting from adjacent industries, and rebuilding workflows from scratch.
Despite the pressures, most contractors remain optimistic about their own futures. They believe their roles will endure. But that confidence appears increasingly tied to action, not wishful thinking.
“This isn’t about AI versus no AI,” continued Chanani. “It’s about firms that see what’s coming and adapt, versus firms that keep doing things the old way expecting different results. The future of the trades won’t be decided by who can use AI-but by who does.”
“Adoption isn’t the hard part,” Chanani added. “Action is.”
The research suggests that commercial contracting in 2025 isn’t just changing-it’s splitting. Into firms that evolve, and firms that don’t. Into contractors who embrace new tools, and contractors who wait. Into businesses prepared for tomorrow’s challenges, and businesses still fighting with yesterday’s capabilities.
For those still waiting, the question is simple: Which side will you be on?
To download the complete report, visit: https://marketing.buildops.com/hubfs/PDF/BuildOps_ThePivotPoint.pdf
About the Study
“The Pivot Point: AI and The Future of Commercial Contracting” was conducted by Kickstand exclusively for BuildOps. The survey of 606 commercial contractors across the U.S. and Canada was fielded from August 12-21, 2025, with a 95% confidence level and +/- 4% margin of error. Respondents represented HVAC/mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire/life safety, low voltage, and specialty trades.
About BuildOps
BuildOps is mission control for commercial contractors. Purpose-built to support the complexity of commercial service and project work, the BuildOps platform connects every team – from the office to the field – in one unified system of record and action.
Trusted by leading HVAC, plumbing, electrical, refrigeration, fire safety, and mechanical contractors, BuildOps combines deep industry insight with powerful, practical technology. It helps contractors quote faster, schedule smarter, manage assets with clarity, and collect payments without the back-and-forth. From AI-powered dispatching to project cost control, BuildOps is where field execution meets executive oversight – giving contractors the control and visibility they need to scale with confidence.
To learn more, visit buildops.com
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SOURCE: BuildOps
