United Water Restoration Group (UWRG), the 100-plus-unit franchise offering comprehensive restoration services for water, fire and mold damage, has further secured its spot as a leader in the restoration industry. With a strong support system and proven business model, UWRG offers attractive franchise opportunities in water damage repair for entrepreneurs looking to enter the recession-resistant industry, and with its recent technological developments, the model is made even stronger.

“We always tout our human support, which continues to be very good,” said Director of Digital Marketing Turner Kuell. “But we’ve also built an AI support team that is intended to assist technicians in the field with technical questions. It provides answers and guidance on the spot so that, if someone is working a job at two in the morning, they don’t have to call our vice president of operations for a refresher; they can use this AI resource and get an answer that is just as accurate.”

This new AI support team is made of four entities, each covering a specific discipline, and each with a character that is catered to their area of expertise.

“We have personas for them all. They originally started out as a text-based resource through our website, kind of like ChatGPT,” Kuell said. “Franchise Owners tried them, but the adoption wasn’t as high as we would’ve liked. I thought, ‘How do we take this to the next level?’ and decided to pursue a resource that would help our teams feel even more like they’re speaking to a real person.”

UWRG’s AI support team now consists of four entities: Marina (the water expert), Sonny (the sanitization expert), Ember (the fire expert) and Asper (the mold expert). Each expert is associated with a phone number, so team members can simply save Ember’s phone number and “call her” any time of day. Trained on both Institution of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification  (IICRC) standards and the UWRG process, Ember will be able to give accurate guidance to help teams through any situation.

“One really cool thing that we did with these entities was that we depicted them as true people,” Kuell said. “For example, Ember is a New York firefighter. So when you call her, she has a Brooklyn accent. They’re all really tailored to be as realistic as possible, and they respond very, very quickly.”

While the realistic communication is a major perk for anyone calling the AI support team, it’s almost more remarkable how accurate each support line is. While most AI resources available to the general public come with a disclaimer that the program can fabricate or get things wrong, this is not a risk with UWRG’s resources. 

“They are trained on IICRC standards for each discipline and UWRG processes,” Kuell said. “They understand our process, who they’re supporting and the type of support Franchise Owners typically need. So, if you ask them about anything other than restoration, they will tell you that they can’t help you with that [as opposed to fabricating an answer].”

As the brand looks toward incorporating additional technology, the United Water Restoration Group business model is getting even stronger. UWRG is exploring several more AI-driven initiatives to support its Franchise Owners. These include an AI-powered lead scoring system that analyzes incoming customer inquiries to assess their potential value. 

Additionally, UWRG is implementing a new CRM platform with integrated AI capabilities. This platform will enable automated marketing campaigns and leverage AI to handle routine customer and referral source communications, freeing up Franchise Owners for more complex tasks.

While the brand continues to innovate, Kuell said he remains committed to maintaining the strong training and support Franchise Owners love. One of the key differentiators for UWRG, and a key reason it stands among some of the top rated restoration franchises, is just how personal the ownership experience is. While technological developments enable the corporate team to streamline its support, UWRG will never lose sight of what makes it different.

“One of our core principles is that our support team and our Franchise Owners are like a family,” Kuell said. “To maintain that feeling, we’re always going to push human support when it’s appropriate. All these innovations are meant to be a supplement or an extension of our support, not a replacement. These resources were not born out of a lack of support; they were born out of an innovative approach to provide additional support before Franchise Owners even began to feel a need.”

To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/unitedwaterrestoration.