Exclusive: New AI tool may make home renovations less stressful
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Block Renovation's site. Photo: Courtesy of Block Renovation
A new tool launching Tuesday in Chicago aims to use AI to relieve some of the stress that comes with home renovation.
Why it matters: Renovations can be expensive, with the annual median cost of high-end projects increasing over the last decade to nearly $150,000.
- Block Renovation, which already operates in nine cities and counties including New York, Boston and San Francisco, says its AI-driven tools can help homeowners find reliable contractors and more realistic cost estimates.
Reality check: Renovations have become the more economical and realistic option for homeowners as limited inventory and high interest rates make a new home purchase less attainable.
How it works: Renovators answer a series of questions about their project, including location, rooms involved and the level of help they need.
- Questions about the quality of materials and homeowner involvement are meant to help connect the customer with the best contractor.
- Block Renovation has a directory of vetted local contractors, and the company only makes money if renovators choose to work with a contractor from the site.
Zoom in: Current generative AI models, like ChatGPT and Gemini, have ingested massive amounts of information on home renovations allowing Block Renovation developers to create customized prompts for users, CEO Julie Kheyfets tells Axios.
What they're saying: "Two years ago, this would have been impossible. You would have had to build models from scratch, where you would have needed millions of data points today," Kheyfets says.
- "AI can do what architects do. What architects do is say, 'OK, do you like this one or this one?' And as a homeowner, you're going to love one of those and you're going to hate the other one … that kind of motion of stimuli and response and iteration, that's what architects do, and that's what our AI does as well."