2 in 5 Homeowners Turn to AI for Home Repair Advice

Although 68% of homeowners said they were concerned AI could give them misleading advice, more than 2 in 5 reported turning to it for help with home repairs or maintenance tasks, according to a survey by Guardian Service. Specifically, 33% said they used ChatGPT. 

By generation, Gen Z (50%) is the most likely to use AI for tasks around the house, followed by millennials (47%), Gen X (40%) and baby boomers (32%). 

The top five issues respondents said they commonly ask AI for help with were: 

1. General handyman tasks (34%) 
2. Appliance repair (33%) 
3. Pest control (26%)
4. Plumbing (25%)
5. Smart home device setup (22%) 

On the other hand, the top issues they said they didn’t trust AI with were: 

1. Electrical (42%) 
2. Foundation (38%) 
3. Permit or zoning questions (38%) 
4. Mold or water damage detection (27%) 
5. Roof (21%) 
6. Plumbing (21%, tie) 

AI can be helpful when it comes to answering questions, but its advice isn’t always 100% accurate. That might be why only 17% of homeowners who asked AI for home-related advice followed it fully, while 74% followed it partially and 9% ignored it entirely. 

For those who did follow AI’s advice to some extent or another, 44% reported saving money, 37% said they spent about the same amount and 7% said they spent more. 

Still, AI ranked lower on the list of trusted sources for home-related advice, with only 25% naming tools like ChatGPT and Bard as their most trusted source. Contractors/repair technicians (63%), Google search results (61%) and family or friends (57%) were all more reliable sources for respondents.  

For insurance-related questions, more than 1 in 5 said they’ve turned to AI. Most commonly, they sought answers about: 

1. Comparing providers (46%) 
2. Understanding what their policy covered (37%) 
3. Estimating home insurance costs (36%) 
4. Comparing policy language (31%) 
5. Preparing to buy a new home insurance policy (16%) 

Additionally, 56% rejected the idea of following AI’s advice over their real estate agent’s.