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Ex-Microsoft Head of Product on Building AI for the Trades
Former Head of Product at Microsoft shares his journey from tech to startup.
John Wilson
March 05, 2025
Yo,
Welcome back to Owned & Operated.
This week, our main dude Jack Carr got to talk with Anand Subbaraj.
Ex-Microsoft Head of Product & CEO of Zuper.
He’s spent the last 5 years building tech for home services and now he’s telling us about how AI is going to be crucial for field service management in the next few years.
More importantly: What you need to be doing to make sure you stay ahead.
Today we’re covering:
How AI is enhancing productivity and taking over operations
Where AI fits and where it doesn’t
Using AI to automate customer support and call centers
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Call center best practices
Utilizing AI in your operations
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How AI Is Helping Home Services
One of the major takeaways from my chat with Anand is how the industry is moving from reactive repairs to predictive, outcome-based services—and AI is at the core of that shift.
Here’s a few takeaways from our chat:
🔹 Flexibility is king
Many field service platforms force businesses to adapt to rigid workflows. AI is flipping the script giving you a fully adaptable system.
🔹 Industry-specific AI is the future
Unlike companies just layering AI on top of existing models, Anand built Zuper to develop industry-specific AI trained on real field service data—creating a competitive edge in predictive maintenance and operational efficiency.
🔹 AI will always beat humans on speed
Zuper has been leveraging AI for years, particularly in scheduling and dispatching. Their AI optimizes technician assignments based on skills, location, and customer preferences—saving businesses HUGE amounts of time and money.
🔹 AI is evolving every day
From AI-assisted dispatching to automated customer support and even AI-driven call centers, field service operations are becoming smarter and more autonomous.
Would love to hear your thoughts—how do you see AI impacting your industry?
Are you using AI? |
On The Pod This Week
Listen to the full podcast with Anand where we spoke about why he left Microsoft to tackle a massive industry problem, the challenges of launching a tech startup and how Zuper is reshaping field service management. Check it out.
Home Service Growth Hacks
💡 What’s New: Simple script changes that will boost your sales success.
🛠️ Industry Insights: Should you buy a home service company or build one from scratch?
🚀 Stay Ahead: Dodgy trucks? Here’s how deal with an old fleet.
⚡ Shout Out to Service Scalers ⚡
One of the biggest things that’s impacted our growth this year has been working on our marketing with Service Scalers.
Their LSA, GMB and SEO strategies focus on getting high-quality, consistent leads.
PLUS their focus on performance tracking has shown us how to create a winning formula for our digital marketing.
Can't recommend these guys enough!
See you in the next one. 👊
John
Disclosure: This newsletter includes sponsored content. However, all opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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