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How Electrical Contractors Can Benefit from the AI Boom

As the tools of the trade evolve, electricians are finding themselves at the cutting edge of something big: artificial intelligence (AI).

Artificial Intelligence isn’t new. In fact, the term itself was coined more than 70 years ago, back in 1952 at a Dartmouth University conference where academics first speculated about machines that could think. For decades, AI lurked in the background - powering chess computers, credit scoring systems and recommendation engines on shopping websites. Finally, it has arrived for us.

The real revolution didn’t arrive until November 2022, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT to the public. Within two months it had gained 100 million users, making it the fastest adopted consumer technology in history. Today, it attracts over a billion users every month. To put that in perspective: it took the telephone 75 years to reach 100 million users, the internet 7 years, and smartphones 16 months.

Now, ChatGPT has competitors: Google Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Groq, Perplexity and others. But the story isn’t about brands - it’s about the underlying shift. And this shift matters a lot to electrical contractors.  

What Makes Generative AI Different?
The key word here is generative. Unlike old search engines or static software, generative AI can create new content. Instead of pointing you to a website, it generates a direct answer. Instead of crunching numbers in a spreadsheet, it writes a report or produces an idea.  

This was unlocked by Natural Language Processing (NLP) - which is literally teaching computers to understand human language. NLP means that if you can talk or type, you can use AI. No coding. No new skills. Just everyday language.  

And they aren’t limited to words. These systems are multimodal - they can talk, see, read, analyse, suggest and even learn from new data you upload. If you haven’t yet - use your smart phone to ask the ChatGPT app what it sees on a job sight and even ask it to suggest stuff. It will blow your mind.  

You can show an AI a wiring diagram, a photo of a switchboard or a PDF of a standards document and it can help you interpret it. It’s a game changer.  

Think of it this way: the internet used to be a giant filing cabinet - type in keywords and you’d get a list of options. Now it’s a giant brain - you ask it a question and it creates an answer, personalised to exactly what you need.

Why Should Electrical Contractors Care?
For contractors, time is money. Much of your day is spent not just on the tools, but on the “other stuff" like looking up standards, writing quotes, managing parts lists, dealing with clients, calculating load requirements or chasing suppliers. This is exactly where generative AI is most powerful.  

Let’s explore some practical, real-world ways electrical contractors can benefit:

​​​​​​Parts & Procurement - AI can build instant parts lists from your job notes or drawings. Type in “three-bedroom house wiring, standard Australian codes” and it can spit out a draft bill of materials. Need alternatives because your supplier is out of stock? Ask AI for equivalent brands and model numbers.

Calculations Made Easy - From voltage drops to load balancing or maximum demand calculations, AI can guide you step-by-step. It won’t replace your knowledge, but it can save time double-checking formulas, especially on complex jobs.  

Reading Standards and Regulations - Electrical standards are long and often hard to interpret. Upload a PDF of a regulation or rulebook and AI can summarise the key parts in plain English. You can ask, “What are the rules for installing RCDs in residential dwellings under AS/NZS 3000?” and get a usable answer in seconds. 

Imagination & Design - Need to show a client what a lighting design might look like in their new kitchen? AI image tools can create realistic renders from a simple description. Want to test layouts for commercial lighting, switchboards or solar panel arrays? Generative AI can help visualise it before you quote.   

Quoting & Client Communication - AI can draft professional quotes, emails and proposals. Instead of spending hours typing, you give it the basics - job description, hours, parts - and it formats it into clear client-ready language. It can even adjust tone: friendly, formal, technical. But ask it to use a tradie voice - be specific.  

Jobsite Support - Voice-based AI (on phones or wearables) can become a digital apprentice. Imagine asking aloud: - “What’s the torque setting for this model of breaker?” - “How do I test continuity in this circuit?” - “What are the colour codes for Cat 6 wiring again?” You get instant answers without stopping work.  

Document Control - Upload job specs, architectural drawings or supplier manuals. AI can search and retrieve the relevant details instantly, instead of flicking through 300 pages.  

 

If you can imagine it - it can do it. And if it can’t today it can tomorrow as these models are improving very quickly indeed. But AI Isn’t Perfect  

Here’s the important part. AI isn’t flawless. It can make mistakes. It can misunderstand context. Sometimes it “hallucinates” answers that sound convincing but are incorrect. That’s why it always needs a human eye - your expertise, your judgment.  

Think of AI like a first-year apprentice. It’s eager, fast and surprisingly capable - but it still needs supervision. You wouldn’t send an apprentice to rewire a house alone and you shouldn’t trust AI without oversight either. Like we always say at Middy’s - Don’t Risk It. The Real Revolution 
 

We’re at the beginning of what I call the Robot Economy - a system where robots (both software and physical machines) don’t just replace labour, but create entirely new markets. Just as electricity birthed the Night-Time Economy, and cars birthed the Automobile Economy, generative AI is birthing new industries.  

For electrical contractors, this isn’t abstract. It’s immediate. The tools exist today. Some are free. Many are on your phone already. They don’t require coding, IT departments, or expensive licences.  

Generative AI is not hype. It’s here. It’s real. It’s being used every day in trades and industries across Australia. For electrical contractors, it’s a tool that can save time, cut admin, impress clients and reduce costly mistakes.  

It won’t do the wiring for you - but it will make you faster, sharper and more competitive. The trades that thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones with the cheapest rates. They’ll be the ones who embrace the tools that amplify human skill.  And that’s exactly what generative AI does.

Written by Steve Sammartino, Australia's leading Futurist and part of Middy's Innovation Committee.