A year ago, roughly 1 in 5 pest control operators believed AI would benefit their business. Today, that number is closer to 1 in 3, signifying a sharp technology shift in the industry.
But talk to people running pest control companies right now, and a more complicated picture emerges: Curiosity sits next to caution. Conversations at recent industry forums suggest some companies have fully embraced AI, while others are still holding back.
"Every conference I've attended lately, they've been AI, AI, AI," says Breanna Neerland, vice president of Kwik Kill Pest Control in Wisconsin.
The rise of AI use, from 19% of operators last year to 35% this year, is a snapshot of where the industry stands, captured in the 2026 Pest Control State of the Trades report from FieldRoutes. Optimism among pest control operators is up sharply, but so are material costs and margin pressure. The State of the Trades report finds that how operators respond to those pressures, not how they feel about them, is what separates the businesses pulling ahead from the ones falling behind.
And AI adoption is one piece of that response. Neerland is intrigued by what AI can do behind the scenes, but she knows the values of customers in and around Madison and has a strong feel for what will work for them and for Kwik Kill.
Or not.
"I really don't want anything customer-facing for now or for the foreseeable future," she says.
Neerland remembers another operator at an industry panel who described uploading his company's financials into a public AI tool. The moment stuck with her as a cautionary tale about handing sensitive data to open systems rather than closed, controlled ones.
That instinct — back office yes, customer-facing not yet — shows up across the industry, not just at Kwik Kill.
National pest control leaders describe AI's real value, some building on existing software automations, as unglamorous: fewer manual steps, faster decisions, better use of data companies already had. Behind the scenes, operators are using it for marketing, routing, and enhancing the customer experience and field operations, in addition to use cases such as keeping SOPs current, pricing research, call summaries and coaching, and turning meeting notes into next steps. Those are all tools that work best when tied closely to a company's own data, with real attention paid to governance.
Reasons operators show hesitancy include cost and time required to learn and implement. Others stop short of more AI use because they believe their tools are already serving their customers and their businesses well.
Some leaders nationally warn that AI amplifies whatever process it's layered onto, good or bad, and that skipping clean data or human oversight can create confusion instead of clarity. In addition, they see AI as a support layer that removes friction but shouldn’t be considered a replacement for the judgment and empathy a frustrated customer needs.
"Whatever use you find is right for your company, just make sure you're checking it back to your values and who you are and making sure it's going to be accepted by your clients and your team, too," Neerland says.
That's the real story behind the jump in use. It’s not a wave of businesses replacing people, but operators are sorting out which additional parts of the business can be automated and which shouldn’t be.
Download the full 2026 State of the Trades pest control industry report from FieldRoutes to see the complete data on technology investment, workforce retention, and where the industry is headed next
