Field service organizations have broadly adopted artificial intelligence, but the workforce gains are uneven and often tied to whether their field service management (FSM) platform fits their industry, according to a new report from Praxedo and Field Service Insights.
The report, Managing Field Service Talent in the Age of AI, is based on a survey of 100 senior field service leaders in energy and utilities, heavy equipment and telecommunications. Nearly two-thirds work at companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue.
AI adoption is widespread
Eighty-eight percent of respondents said their organizations use AI to support technicians, including 79% in specific areas and 9% extensively. The remaining 12% are piloting AI, and no respondent said their organization had no plans to adopt it.
Among adopters, 99% reported a positive impact on technician burnout and morale. They cited less travel and paperwork, more even workload distribution and greater confidence when troubleshooting on the job. Still, 80% characterized that impact as moderate, which the report presents as an early signal that the workforce payoff may not yet be fully realized.
The platform gap
A central constraint is the technology underneath the AI. Only 23% of leaders described their FSM platform as tailored to their industry. Sixty-four percent called it merely adequate and said it still requires workarounds or spreadsheets, while 13% called it inadequate.
Just 19% said their platform is very effective at configuring to their industry's workflows, and 23% said it is very effective at protecting technicians' work-life balance, such as predictable end-of-day times.
The difference is pronounced among AI users. Leaders who said their platform is tailored to their industry were five times as likely to report a significant positive impact on technician burnout and morale, 48% versus 9%. They were also much more likely to rate scheduling and dispatch as very effective, 70% versus 26%, and to say customers are very satisfied with self-service tools, 30% versus 4%. Seven of the nine organizations that have adopted AI extensively rated their platform as industry-tailored.
Workforce pressures remain
Those platform shortcomings are affecting a workforce already under pressure. Seventy-two percent of leaders rated a shortage of qualified technicians and difficulty hiring as a significant challenge to productivity and retention. Seventy percent said the same about losing institutional knowledge as senior technicians retire.
Sixty-two percent cited junior technician frustration over a lack of real-time support on-site, and 51% pointed to burnout from poor scheduling or excessive travel. To help newer technicians handle complex work as veterans leave, leaders' top priorities were a searchable knowledge base that captures senior expertise, at 57%, and systems that automatically assign work based on skill level and seniority, at 52%.
Daily operational friction
Only 6% of leaders said their technicians have no major frustrations with field technology. The most common complaint was limited access to customer history and work-order details on-site, cited by 43%, followed by excessive drive time from rigid routing at 25% and workarounds such as emailing photos or filling out paper forms at 24%.
In the back office, 47% said dispatchers' biggest frustration is having to readjust routes manually and call customers because of system limitations. Another 32% cited little or no real-time visibility into field progress after a job is scheduled.
Customer communication also remains incomplete. Only 10% of leaders said customers are very satisfied with self-service portals, apps and automated updates. Seventy-seven percent said those tools are useful, but customers still call frequently for updates.
Investment priorities
Over the next 12 months, the top field technology priority is improving mobile app functionality and the digital experience for field staff, named by 40% of leaders. Next is AI-supported diagnostic tools to improve first-time fix rates, at 33%. Looking further ahead, 66% ranked the ability to handle same-day or emergency jobs without disrupting the schedule as a high priority.
The report also highlights the human stakes. A vice president at an energy and utilities company with more than $10 billion in revenue said high-performing technicians spend more time on paperwork than on technical tasks. A telecommunications director said AI-assisted diagnostics and checklists have reduced younger technicians' fear of being alone on the job.
About one in eight leaders said the frustration most likely to drive their best technicians away is a lack of recognition, career growth or chances to use their skills. A C-suite executive at a heavy equipment company said many technicians feel saturated with no visible growth path.