Lowe's bets AI won't be able to fix a hole in your roof
Lowe's bets AI won't be able to fix a hole in your roof
Brooke DiPalmaWed, April 15, 2026 at 6:27 PM UTC
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Lowe's (LOW) is confident that investments in artificial intelligence and human labor can coexist.
"We're on the leading edge of AI as a company," Lowe's CEO Marvin Ellison told Yahoo Finance. "Having said that, ... AI can write code, but it can't climb a 12-foot ladder, and it can't fix a hole in your roof."
Earlier this month, the company's nonprofit foundation committed to investing $250 million to help train and develop 250,000 skilled tradespeople by 2035.
Ellison said the investment comes as a shortage of construction workers will only get "exponentially worse." He predicted that 41% of construction workers will retire over the next five years and the construction industry would need to add nearly 350,000 new workers to keep up with demand.
"We have lots of infrastructure projects around the country that need to be done, and we need to have people that can do it," Ellison said.
Workers roof a house that had been vacant for many years in Detroit's Morningside neighborhood. (Jim West/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (UCG via Getty Images)
The large number of data centers being constructed requires skilled labor, Ellison noted, and that's in addition to the perennial demand for tradespeople like plumbers and electricians.
Ellison said that leaning into home repair and maintenance services will be a differentiator for the company in the age of AI.
Last month, the home improvement retailer launched a subscription service for home repairs called HomeCare+. For an annual fee of $99, Lowe's workers will show up at your home twice a year to check on essential maintenance tasks, such as replacing HVAC filters or flushing an electric water heater.
The subscription caters to aging baby boomers and first-time homebuyers, among others.
"Service and combining that with the wonderful innovations that we'll learn from AI is really the solution to future success," Ellison said. "It's not one or the other, but it's both."
Read more: 6 home improvements that could lower your home insurance costs
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Lowe's has also invested heavily in AI. Last March, the company partnered with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) to create a chatbot called Mylow. It has also partnered with Nvidia (NVDA), Palantir (PLTR), and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to optimize operations.
"The thing that AI is doing specifically for us is, is helping our associates do their jobs more effectively," Ellison said. "It's removing friction points for customers when they transact with us either in-store or online."
Those investments could become crucial this year. Heading into 2026, Lowe's forecast that the home improvement landscape would be weak, with same-store sales growth of flat to up 2% year over year.
According to Ellison, that outlook hasn't changed, even as the war in Iran dampens consumer sentiment.
An aerial view of a Lowe's store on May 21, 2025, in Cotati, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) (Justin Sullivan via Getty Images)
"We're optimistic that once we get through some of the fluid situations that we're dealing with around the world, that you'll start to see inflation, hopefully, begin to moderate and go down, and ultimately it comes down to the 30-year fixed mortgage rate," he said.
Mortgage rates are back above 6%, sidelining many potential homebuyers. Only 2.8% of US homes changed hands in 2025, marking the lowest turnover rate since 1995, according to Redfin data.
That needs to improve to kickstart the housing market.
"It is obviously creating hesitancy," Ellison said. "Housing turnover is really the fuel that drives the housing market because, for us, when someone is getting ready to put the house on the market, the first thing you do is you get it ready to sell, you paint the walls, ... improve your landscaping, ... patch the holes."
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Brooke DiPalma is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @BrookeDiPalma or email her at [email protected].
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