AI for Good

Artificial intelligence has revolutionized many industries, and the pool business is no exception. 

By integrating AI into marketing, pool pros can analyze customer data to identify patterns and preferences, which can help create highly targeted marketing campaigns. 

For instance, AI might be used to create email campaigns that cater to individual customer interests. Social media platforms also offer AI-driven advertising options that can precisely target potential customers based on their online behavior. AI can optimize your website for search engines, ensuring your business appears at the top of search results when potential customers are looking for pool services.

AI can significantly enhance internal operations and HR functions in a pool business, too. ChatGPT, for example, can draft policies and procedures, saving time for business owners and managers. Collin Parrish, owner of Blue Desert Pools in Mesa, Arizona, says he uses ChatGPT to help draft company policies for things like social media content creation, making it easy and quick to roll out a new, customizable policy. 

Javier Payan, owner of Payan Pool Service in Santee, California, started experimenting with ChatGPT about a year ago. 

“It was like getting a brand new toy,” Payan says. 

For fun, he asked ChatGPT to tell him a joke in the style of a certain comedian. The result was uncanny. 

“It makes you realize how powerful it is,” Payan says. 

Longevity comes from being able to adapt to new technology and embrace it to better business.”

Javier Payan, Payan Pool Service

Then, more seriously, Payan started using the tool for his business. He encountered a customer who was upset and thought they were being charged too much for their pool service. 

“Normally, I would get triggered and mad because this is our business, and we put our heart and soul into it, and now you’re cheapening it,” he explains. 

Previously, he would have carved time out of his day to draft a response, getting angrier along the way. 

But in this instance, Payan asked ChatGPT to write a response. He did some light editing and then emailed it to the customer. Using AI not only reduced the time Payan had to spend thinking about what he wanted to say but also helped him avoid negative emotions. 

“It completely saved me hours of aggravation,” Payan says. 

Payan has also started using ChatGPT to draft things like rate increase letters, responses to employee questions or updates to company policies. 

“It blows my mind the different usages you can apply,” he says. 

Though AI tools like ChatGPT can be timesavers, business owners need to remain hands-on and proactive about content creation. 

Mandy Rainwater, senior content and SEO manager at The Get Smart Group, wrote a blog post cautioning pool companies that AI-generated content should always be reviewed before getting posted. Not only do tools like ChatGPT often incorporate overused phrases but what it writes doesn’t always align with a brand’s voice. 

“Avoiding AI clichés and focusing on well-crafted content will not only improve the quality of your writing but also enhance your company’s image,” Rainwater writes. 

Payan Pools’ technicians also reap the benefits of AI by using Jobber, a home and commercial service software. In the past, the technicians were expected to give customers a call ahead of their allotted service time, but sometimes they’d simply forget.

“That always bothered me,” Payan says. 

With Jobber, once a job gets scheduled in the system, it automatically sends out a message to the customer. 

“We don’t have to rely on our guys to make those phone calls anymore,” Payan says. “It’s solved a ton of problems and headaches for us. It empowers our technicians to be more efficient and ties everything together to where it’s almost like you have a behind-the-scenes person who’s doing things to assist everybody.” 

Automating processes and procedures using AI has freed up Payan and his staff’s time to focus on more complex tasks.

Pool businesses can also use AI in maintenance and operations. Smart pool systems equipped with AI can monitor water quality and automatically adjust chemical levels. These systems can also detect leaks or equipment malfunctions early, preventing costly repairs.

But this is the type of AI application that can cause hesitancy in the industry. If AI can take over essential job functions like pool maintenance, won’t the need for professionals eventually become obsolete? 

It depends on your viewpoint, but many agree that the service pro will always be crucial. 

Austin Gardiner, CEO of GL Pools in Santee, California, says that even with smart technology, systems still require regular maintenance, troubleshooting and specialized knowledge. 

“To handle these intricacies and ensure homeowners are not wasting their hard-earned investments, pool service professionals can be the lifeline needed to meet the expertise and precision these systems require,” Gardiner says.

Rather than be afraid of AI, Payan encourages people to use it to their advantage.  

“It’s a double-edged sword,” he says. “But being a long time small-business owner, I know longevity comes from being able to adapt to new technology and embrace it to better business.”

Suggested ChatGPT Prompts

• Draft an update to our company policy on overtime pay.
• Generate a week’s worth of social media content promoting our summer specials.
• Create a personalized email campaign for customers interested in pool maintenance services.
• Write a response to a customer who is unhappy with our service charges.
• Create a communication strategy for addressing a service disruption.
• Suggest keywords to improve our blog post on pool maintenance tips.