AI in Pest Control: Making Smart Choices for Your Business

If you’re thinking of adopting artificial intelligence tools, implement them responsibly by doing your homework, getting input from fellow NPMA members, and adding robust data security policies.

Heather Larson

While business leaders have begun embracing artificial intelligence (AI)—at least the parts of AI that make sense for them—AI-​enhanced technologies remain fairly new in the pest control industry.

The use of various platforms, sensors, drones, smart cameras, and other advanced equipment can be costly. But adopting cost-effective technology tools that optimize the performance of your pest control company keeps you relevant and competitive and can save you money and time.

AI Practices in Pest Control

To relieve staff of some humdrum tasks required within pest control, generative AI chatbots can be used to create content and more. In 2023, Todd Leyse, president and CEO of Adam’s Pest Control Inc., serving Minnesota and neighboring states, adopted one of these chatbots.

“We have used it for content creation, mostly in marketing: blogs, webpages, email campaigns, etc.,” he says. “Sometimes we replace a Google search with our chatbot so we can get the answer we want without all the ads and garbage that typically come with search results.”

Leyse is also using AI to help transcribe recorded phone calls. The technology redacts sensitive information from those transcripts and summarizes them, allowing employees to locate the information they need while talking to an upset customer who may be making claims about a prior interaction with Adam’s Pest Control.

Jeff King, president of The Pest Rangers, headquartered in Hanover Township, Pennsylvania, is looking at how AI can help his staff members manage the hundreds of emails they receive daily. The Pest Rangers is beta-testing a Gmail-affiliated email tool that predictively composes emails or replies based on email history. The tool includes an AI assistant to help users communicate via email and book email events, he says.

Another existing AI practice involves answering after-​hours customer service calls. Hiring customer service representatives (CSRs) can be costly, with salaries as much as $50,000 a year with benefits. But if you don’t have enough staff, all your calls won’t get answered, and then the client or potential client will move on to the next pest company on the list. An AI solution can act as an insurance policy to help answer all your calls.

For example, King uses an AI-powered call answering service for after-hours calls and for overflow. The service can both sell and schedule services, but for customers who prefer speaking to a person, it also makes it easy to transfer the call to an agent.

Pest Rangers was also recruited to beta-test software created by its phone system provider. King says the tool—which works in the background of every call to examine conversations, describe customer insights, and summarize CSR performance—keeps getting better. For The Pest Rangers, the tool maintains a daily digest of the calls, including how many there were and what was sold. 

For both the CSR and email platforms, King also has beta access to future rollouts.

Yet not all those involved in the pest industry believe phone call automation is the right way to go. Jay Swann, owner of Appalachian Pest Control, offering services to West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky, does use AI to generate reports that analyze insect pressures to uncover insects’ conduct, endurance, and reproduction habits by ZIP code, city, and state. But overall, he says, he wants a more intimate customer service experience.

“Our region of the country is populated with mostly seniors and those who prefer a more traditional way of doing business, and many of them find technology a challenge,” says Swann. “Live people answering our calls works best for the residents in our service area.”

Always Include Necessary Security

No matter what type of AI tool you are looking for, it’s imperative that you protect your sensitive information. Firewalls and antivirus software may be enough for your business now, but if you add AI-generated software, then you should find out what other data security measures you might need.
Swann says that besides verifying that users of its website are human, his company has also hired a private information technology firm that monitors its network.

“With so many unknowns about AI and the security of information, we have been very cautious when using AI tools,” says Swann. “For security purposes, we have implemented data analysis through the paid version of a major AI platform that offers a more robust security feature.” 

As the technology develops further, Swann believes that security will also be enhanced. In the meantime, he has some suggestions for his fellow pest control leaders on how to determine the security necessary when adopting AI-generated tools:

• Discuss your needs with fellow NPMA members.
• Volunteer for NPMA’s Business Innovations Committee (Swann is a member), or keep your eye on what it is doing.
• Decide what information is sensitive or proprietary—anything that you don’t want the public to access—then protect it.
• Be extremely cautious about what you ask an AI platform to do for you.

One of the ways Adam’s Pest Control mitigates its security concerns is by using only two cloud vendors instead of several. “Your security is only as strong as your weakest link,” says Leyse.

Leyse, who has been experimenting with AI solutions for a while, also related this story: “[Using AI], I once created a virtual board of directors to get differing opinions about my business. I gave them basic information about my company, asked them questions, and told them to brainstorm. It did help narrow ideas down and prioritized them. 

“The resulting document was created in an hour [and was one] that I thought was better than my team and I could have created after a full day of discussion.”

Consider this, too: By 2030, the global AI market is predicted to reach $826.7 billion, according to Statista. By stepping into AI now, companies can learn how to both protect their businesses and maximize the technology’s potential for improved service delivery and operational efficiency. “I believe AI is the next business decision everyone needs to make,” says King. “Business owners should look into what AI can do for them and get on the bus, or else they will get run over.”

Your AI Implementation Checklist 

Before selecting an artificial intelligence (AI) tool for your pest control business, ask yourself the following questions:
✓ What specific business problem will this solve? For example, decide if the tool will make some processes quicker or free up staff to focus their time on other tasks, says Jay Swann, owner of Appalachian Pest Control.
✓ How will you measure success? You can base your success on efficiency, meaning how much time the AI tool saves your team. Another good measure is effectiveness and the quality of the outcomes generated by AI, like the accuracy of customer interactions or the success rate of the program in use, says Jeff King, president of The Pest Rangers.
✓ What training will your staff need? How much time will be needed to get employees up to speed, and how will training time affect your company’s workflow? Can you calculate return on investment?
✓ How will AI improve your workflow? An AI solution should accelerate productivity, not slow it down.
✓ What data security measures are needed? Before deciding on a generative AI solution, King spoke with his attorneys to see what security was required. He learned about this the hard way when he discovered that some internal personnel calls were summarized and could have been made available for team members to see. When using AI to summarize your team’s calls, be aware of what calls you are making and who can see those calls.
✓ What’s your rollout timeline? If rollout takes too long, then another AI-inspired tool may be a better choice. Technology changes in the blink of an eye, and you don’t want to waste your company’s time and resources on the wrong tool.