How AI Powers a Four-Person HVAC Team with Charles Van Liew
Charles Van Liew, PhD, of Aire Serv of East Glendale-Peoria, on launching an AI-native, lean HVAC franchise with a four-person team.
About This Episode
Charles Van Liew, PhD, joins Mustafa on the AI in Trades Podcast to talk about launching an HVAC franchise with AI built in from the start, while keeping his day job as a psychology professor.
Charles walks through how his four-person team handles marketing, outreach, bookkeeping, and ServiceTitan price-book management using tools like Claude, Replit, Make, and QuickBooks. The goal is keeping the back office lean so technicians can focus on the work that actually requires a human on-site.
The conversation also gets into AI's limits. Charles draws a clear distinction between delegating tasks to AI and delegating judgment. Critical thinking and domain knowledge still matter, even in a business built to run on automation.
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction
- 00:29 Meet Charles Van Liew
- 01:31 Why a psychology professor started an HVAC company
- 02:14 Choosing between e-commerce, acquisition, and franchising
- 03:21 Why HVAC is resistant to economic and AI disruption
- 08:05 Operating with a four-person team
- 12:00 Building Google advertising campaigns with AI
- 13:06 Automating social media with ServiceTitan data
- 17:09 AI-assisted outbound marketing and compliance
- 19:00 Sending personalized outreach at scale
- 20:47 Running the back office without additional staff
- 21:11 AI-assisted bookkeeping and marketing reports
- 22:57 Building a ServiceTitan price book with Claude
- 31:20 Why banning AI is an unwinnable arms race
- 33:00 Preparing students for an AI-enabled economy
- 38:41 Closing thoughts
About the Guest
Charles Van Liew, PhD, is the owner of Aire Serv of East Glendale-Peoria and a professor who teaches statistics, research methods, and psychology. Co-founding an AI-native HVAC franchise alongside his father in Arizona, Charles leverages a strong background in neuroscience, data analytics, and systems thinking to keep his business lean and efficient.
About AI in Trades
AI in Trades is a podcast from Peaka exploring how artificial intelligence is changing home services, field service operations, contractor growth, and the future of work in the trades. Each episode features operators, technology leaders, and business owners discussing practical ways AI is showing up in the field, in the office, and across trade businesses.
