Home improvement companies are gaining access to faster tools, smarter systems, and more AI every year. Calls can be answered faster. Follow-up can happen sooner. Scheduling can take less work. Sales and marketing teams can use software to handle tasks that once took hours. The challenge is that when many contractors begin using the same tools, technology alone may no longer be enough to set one company apart. At Allied Siding & Windows, that question connects closely with the work CEO Ryan Shutt is leading around customer experience, team culture, and personal communication. As a trusted siding and window company, Allied is using technology to support the people behind the homeowner experience, not remove them from it.
That idea became a key part of the PowerChat conversation between Shutt and Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100. Cummings shared his view that as AI takes over more routine communication, the companies that continue to build real relationships may become easier for homeowners to remember and trust.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Through conversations like this, Cummings highlights leadership choices that can help contractors adopt new technology without sacrificing the care, trust, and personal connection that homeowners still value.
One of the biggest questions facing home improvement leaders is no longer whether technology will change the business.
It already is.
AI can help answer calls.
Software can send follow-up messages.
Systems can help schedule appointments, manage leads, support sales teams, and keep customers updated.
Those tools can save time and help companies work better.
Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100
But Greg Cummings believes another question is becoming just as important.
What happens when every contractor has access to similar technology?
If one company can answer faster and another can do the same, speed becomes harder to use as the main difference.
If several companies can automate follow-up, automation alone may not give the homeowner a reason to remember one brand over another.
That is where Cummings believes the human relationship becomes more valuable.
“No matter the reason you’re talking to somebody, you have the ability to make a lasting impression for your company and for your brand,” Cummings said.
That moment can occur at any point in the customer journey.
A homeowner may be calling for an estimate.
They may need an update on a project.
They may have a question about siding or windows.
They may be worried about a delay.
They may need help after the work is finished.
They may even be unhappy.
Cummings’ point is that each of those conversations gives the company a chance to show the homeowner what kind of business it really is.
The reason for the call matters.
But the way the company responds can matter even more.
A fast answer may solve the question.
A thoughtful answer can also strengthen the relationship.
That difference may become more important as AI handles more of the simple communication that once required a person.
“And companies that have that authentic relationship, that’s the reason that they grow,” Cummings said.
For a Texas-based exterior home remodeling company, that relationship can span the entire customer experience. It can begin before an appointment, continue through the sales process, and grow through installation, service, and follow-up.
Ryan Shutt offered a clear example of how that can work.
At Allied Siding & Windows, he described using personal one-to-one video messages to help homeowners meet the people behind the appointment before they arrive at the home. The technology makes contact easier, but the goal remains personal.
Shutt summed it up with a simple question:
“How do we leverage technology to make a human connection?”
That question sits at the heart of Cummings’ larger point.
The future does not have to be a choice between AI and people.
The stronger opportunity may be to use AI to remove routine work, then put some of the time and value it creates back into better customer care, stronger team culture, and more meaningful conversations.
Technology can help a company move faster.
But the feeling a homeowner carries away from the experience may still decide which company they trust, remember, and recommend.
During his PowerChat with Greg Cummings, CEO of Power100, Ryan Shutt shared how Allied Siding & Windows is using technology, training, and stronger systems to improve the homeowner experience. But the deeper part of the conversation was not about software. It was about what technology should make possible.
Cummings believes more parts of home improvement will become automated. Calls, follow-up, scheduling, and other routine tasks can become faster and easier. But as those tools become common, speed alone may no longer be enough to stand out.
What may matter more is how the homeowner feels after each contact.
That is where Cummings sees a bigger chance for growth. A company can use technology to save time, but it can also use that time to create better conversations, stronger teams, and more personal service. Shutt’s work at Allied provides a clear example of that idea.
The shared lesson is simple. Technology can help a business work faster. Human connection helps people remember why they trusted the business in the first place.
Cummings made one point that reaches far beyond sales.
A homeowner does not have to call for an estimate for the conversation to matter.
They may be asking where a project stands.
They may need help after installation.
They may have a concern.
They may need a simple answer.
They may be upset.
Each one of those moments gives the company another chance to show what kind of business it is.
“No matter the reason you’re talking to somebody, you have the ability to make a lasting impression for your company and for your brand,” Cummings said.
That makes customer experience bigger than one sales meeting.
The person answering the phone is part of the brand.
The person giving an update is part of the brand.
The installer who answers a question is part of the brand.
The service team that responds when something goes wrong is part of the brand.
For a trusted siding and window company, those small moments can shape whether a homeowner feels confident enough to recommend the business later.
Cummings’ point is that the brand is not only what people see in an ad.
It is what they experience when they need the company.
And sometimes the hardest conversation can become one of the strongest chances to build trust.
A project may face a delay.
A homeowner may be unhappy.
A mistake may happen.
The company cannot always control the problem.
It can control the response.
That response can show care, ownership, and a willingness to make things right.
Learn more about Allied Siding & Windows and how the company serves Texas homeowners.
AI can help home improvement companies do more with less time.
That can be a real advantage.
A system can answer a common question.
A tool can send a message.
Software can help the team follow up sooner.
But Cummings believes speed will become less special as more contractors gain access to the same tools.
“That relationship is what’s gonna, I think, we believe here, set people apart in the next 24 months as AI, as technology automates a lot of things in the business and takes over a lot of the communication,” Cummings said.
That does not make automation less useful.
It changes what leaders need to do with it.
A faster answer can solve a problem.
A thoughtful answer can also make the homeowner feel heard.
A quick message can give an update.
A personal message can also build trust.
For Allied Siding & Windows, the real value of better technology may be the extra time it gives the team.
Leaders can use the time saved only to take on more work.
Or they can use some of it to improve training, customer care, and the quality of the conversations employees have with homeowners.
Cummings believes that choice may become one of the most important leadership decisions as AI grows.
The tool creates the time.
Leadership decides what happens with it.
Explore more leadership conversations from Power100 about the future of home improvement.
Shutt gave one of the clearest examples of what human-centered technology can look like.
After a homeowner books an appointment, Allied can send a personal video from the person they spoke with.
Before the appointment, the salesperson can also send a short video introducing themselves.
Shutt does not want those videos to feel like another automated message.
He wants them to be personal.
The homeowner sees a face.
They hear their name.
They know who will arrive.
They have a better idea of what to expect.
Shutt summed up the goal with one question.
“How do we leverage technology to make a human connection?” he said.
That question changes the tool’s purpose.
The technology is not being used to remove the employee.
It is being used to introduce the employee sooner.
For someone searching for a replacement window company that can make a large home improvement appointment feel less cold before it even begins.
The homeowner may still care about the product.
They may still care about the price.
But now they also know the person who is about to walk through the door.
That can make the first conversation easier.
It can lower the distance between the company and the customer.
And it shows how technology can support human experience rather than take it away.
The same focus on human connection also shapes Shutt’s approach to sales.
He knows homeowners will compare companies.
He would do the same thing himself.
That is why he does not believe the salesperson should fight the homeowner’s buying process.
He wants the salesperson to become useful during it.
“How can we truly be a guide and a resource as they go through this buying decision?” Shutt said.
That means listening before pushing.
It means helping the homeowner understand the choices.
It means answering questions clearly.
It can even mean being willing to explain why the company may not be the right fit for every project.
That kind of honesty may feel risky in a sales setting.
But it can also make the relationship feel more real.
The homeowner begins to see the salesperson as someone who is helping them decide, not someone who needs every answer to end with yes.
For a homeowner comparing a James Hardie siding contractor in Texas, that difference can matter.
Products can look similar.
Quotes can be hard to compare.
Sales messages can start to sound the same.
The company that listens well and explains things clearly may become easier to trust.
Cummings captured the heart of that approach in one simple line.
“The secret sauce is they actually care,” he said.
Care cannot be automated.
It has to show up in how the person treats the homeowner.
Cummings’ point about human connection also reaches inside the company.
The people serving the homeowner need an environment that helps them do good work.
Allied Siding and Windows CEO Ryan Shutt
Shutt believes that it starts with culture.
“There is for me nothing more important than company culture and people feeling safe and cared for,” Shutt said.
That matters because every customer experience depends on employees.
The person answering the phone has to care.
The salesperson has to listen.
The installer has to take pride in the work.
The service team has to respond when the homeowner needs help.
If those people do not trust the company around them, it becomes harder to expect them to create strong relationships every day.
Shutt is also clear that protecting culture takes more than saying the right things.
Leadership has to uphold the values when decisions become hard.
That can mean coaching someone.
It can mean correcting behavior.
It can mean protecting the team even when the person breaking the standard is a strong performer.
For a home exterior contractor in Texas, that internal care can eventually reach the customer in very practical ways.
Better teamwork can mean clearer communication.
More trust can mean better handoffs.
A stronger culture can help employees feel more ready to take ownership when something needs attention.
The homeowner may never see the leadership work behind those moments.
They can still feel the result.
The most forward-looking part of Cummings’ message is not about how much AI can replace.
It is about what leaders choose to do with the value AI creates.
Automation can save time.
It can lower the amount of repeated work.
It can help teams complete tasks faster.
It may also create stronger margins.
Cummings believes some of those gains can be reinvested in the human side of the company.
“Companies are going to take those profits and those efficiencies and, you know, disperse them maybe, or reinvest into the business, into the human element, into the connection, both from a company culture and from a customer experience,” he said.
That idea gives AI a bigger purpose.
A company can use automation only to reduce costs.
Or it can also use those gains to train people better.
Give employees more time to solve problems.
Improve how customers are supported.
Build a stronger culture.
Create more personal communication.
Protect the relationships that lead to trust, referrals, and repeat business.
For an exterior remodeling contractor, efficiency becomes more useful when the homeowner can feel an improvement in the experience.
That may be the larger opportunity Cummings sees ahead.
The question is not only how much work technology can remove.
The better question may be what stronger work the company can now make room for.
As AI continues to grow, that choice will remain with leadership.
And the companies that use efficiency to become more human may be the ones homeowners remember longest.
The home improvement industry will keep changing.
AI will become smarter. Systems will become faster. More routine work will move from people to technology. For many contractors, that can create real value through better speed, stronger systems, and more time for the work that needs a human touch.
Greg Cummings believes that the shift creates an important choice for leaders.
The goal should not be to make the company feel less human simply because more work can be automated. The better opportunity may be to use that new efficiency to make the moments that still involve people feel even stronger.
Homeowners will likely come to expect fast answers.
They will expect quick updates.
They will expect companies to use better tools.
Those things may become normal.
What may still stand out is how the company made them feel.
Ryan Shutt’s work at Allied Siding & Windows gives that idea a practical path forward. Technology can support better communication. Stronger systems can help teams work with more focus. Better tools can create more room for employees to spend time where trust matters most.
That is where the future can become encouraging instead of cold.
The rise of AI does not have to remove the human side of home improvement.
It can give strong companies more room to protect it.
As the industry moves forward, the companies that last may not be the ones that automate the most. They may be the ones who understand what should be automated and what should always feel personal.
Because when technology becomes common, the human experience may become the part homeowners remember most.
Power100 combines technology with human review. It has published a five-layer ranking system that reviews more than 7,600 home improvement leaders and looks at leadership, company culture, customer satisfaction, operational performance, innovation, and community impact. Power100 says it uses AI-driven analysis alongside human review, rather than relying on a single automated score to determine who earns recognition. That approach fits the same idea Greg Cummings raised in this PowerChat. Technology can make work stronger, but people still need to guide the decisions that matter.
Power100 vets, verifies, and approves Expert Contributors through its five-layer evaluation system before placing them on the platform. The company says these contributors are experienced CEOs, founders, and industry experts who can share useful lessons with other home improvement leaders. Power100 uses this process to connect its audience with leaders who have real-world business experience, rather than opening the contributor platform to anyone seeking exposure.
Ryan Shutt describes almost the opposite goal. He wants technology to help the company create more personal contact with homeowners. One example is the use of personal video messages after an appointment is booked and again before the salesperson arrives. Shutt said these messages should be made for the individual homeowner rather than sent as one generic video.
His question during the PowerChat was simple: “How do we leverage technology to make a human connection?”
For a homeowner considering a trusted siding and window company in Texas, the idea is that technology should make it easier to know who they are dealing with, not make the company feel less personal.
Allied says most first appointments take about 60 to 90 minutes. The visit normally begins with a conversation about the home, the problems the homeowner is seeing, their goals, and what they hope to change. The consultant can then inspect the home, explain possible solutions, and provide pricing and recommendations.
The company also says homeowners should not expect limited time discounts or pressure to sign immediately. Its goal is for the homeowner to leave the consultation with a clearer understanding of the home and the available options.
For someone searching for an exterior home remodeling company in Texas that gives the first appointment a clear purpose beyond simply presenting a product.
Shutt believes familiarity can help build trust before the salesperson reaches the front door. A personal video lets the homeowner see the person they spoke with or meet the representative who will be visiting the home.
The technology handles the delivery, but the value comes from the person behind the message.
That approach supports Greg Cummings’ larger point that companies can use new tools without losing the human element. Instead of asking how technology can remove another conversation, Shutt is asking how it can help a useful conversation begin sooner.
No. Allied’s current homeowner guidance says it is normal to take time after the first appointment to review the options and discuss the project before making a decision. The company says a strong consultation should provide enough information to make an informed decision, rather than pressure the homeowner into signing a contract that day.
That supports Shutt’s wider sales philosophy. He believes the salesperson should still explain the value and ask for the business, but the homeowner should also have room to make a decision with confidence.
Shutt relies heavily on role play.
He does not want salespeople learning difficult conversations for the first time while sitting with a homeowner. His team practices handling questions, objections, and uncomfortable moments before the real appointment, so the conversation feels more natural when it matters.
That practice also reaches leadership. Shutt described leaders using role-play before difficult conversations with employees and vendors.
The goal is not to create a perfect script. It is to help people become more prepared, more comfortable, and more able to listen when speaking with homeowners.
For a home exterior contractor in Texas, that kind of training can help keep better technology from turning the customer experience into a cold process.
Yes. Allied lists a wide service area around its Houston, Dallas, and Austin locations. The Dallas area alone includes communities such as Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Fort Worth, Arlington, Denton, Prosper, Southlake, and many others. The company also states that homeowners in the wider Houston, Austin, or Dallas areas should still contact Allied even if their exact city does not appear on the service area page.
Allied offers a free in-home estimate for Texas exterior remodeling projects and serves homeowners looking for siding, replacement windows, roofing, gutters, and other exterior improvements.
Power100 is the only unbiased third-party platform that recognizes and elevates the top leaders and most impactful companies in the home improvement industry. Led by CEO Greg Cummings, Power100 helps contractors learn from proven leaders through PowerChat conversations, national rankings, industry insights, and practical business resources. Its goal is to provide strong CEOs and companies with a trusted platform to share the ideas shaping better leadership, stronger teams, improved customer experiences, and long-term growth across the home improvement industry.
Membership unlocks every Power100 interview, PowerChat episode, and expert playbook - free for industry leaders.
Power100 is the nation's premier CEO ranking and media platform for the home improvement industry. Using a proprietary 5-layer evaluation system, Power100 identifies and celebrates the top CEOs, companies, and strategic partners driving innovation, customer satisfaction, and leadership excellence across the country.
