Impresa Modular has been implementing AI one practical step at a time across the entire operation. And it’s paying off.
• The company has adopted AI gradually, solving specific problems rather than replacing people or overhauling operations.
• Tools were added sequentially — content, research, automation, CRM and voice — as the company was ready.
• Ongoing human oversight ensures accuracy, relevance and alignment with real-world modular construction constraints.
According to Ken Semler, President & CEO of Martinsburg, West Virginia-based Impresa Modular, when people hear that the company has embraced AI, they tend to make incorrect assumptions. “They assume that we flipped a switch and replaced people or overhauled everything,” he says. “They also assume that we did it overnight. Neither is true.”
Instead, the company has adopted AI incrementally by tasking it with addressing specific problems, then adding new tools as they were ready. They started with ChatGPT (for written content), Claude (for research, proofreading and code generation), NotebookLM (for summarizing documents) Veo3 (text to video), and others.
What follows is a look at how this evolution unfolded. It’s one possible model for modular builders and manufacturers to follow.
It Began With Social Media
Semler says that Impresa started down the AI path with social media marketing. “It was a big pain point for us,” he recalls. That’s because Impresa Modular is just one child of the parent entity, Impresa Companies, and Semler’s staff had to produce marketing content for all of the sibling businesses. “We were finding it a real challenge to do that on a consistent basis.”
The first step was to use ChatGPT to rewrite Impresa Modular’s Facebook page, and to start creating Facebook ad campaigns. Because the system tells the staff what’s working and what’s not, they can modify an underperforming ad and re-run it quickly instead of guessing what it needs. “What used to require two weeks to complete — concept, copy, revisions — now takes about two hours.”They also added N8N, a workflow automation tool, to automate responses without the need for human intervention. “When a customer registers on our site, they note whether or not they have land to build on, and whether they have cash or financing,” says Semler. The answers will determine what response they get and to whom the prospect is referred.
Semler stresses that you need someone with technical knowledge to get everything working together, whether that’s an in-house staffer or an external contractor.
Connecting Ads to a CRM Brain
Next, they implemented a CRM program called Go High Level, or GHL, which includes a built-in AI that automates a variety of tasks. They paired it with ChatGPT and began building full add campaigns for their franchise builders to employ across a variety of lead generation platforms, including Instagram, Pinterest and email marketing. “The system keeps track of visitors’ activities, and sends them the right information at the right time.”
The company also purchased a GHL add-on called Assistable, which now answers the phone. “Previously, we had used a live call center that charged $2 per minute, but AI costs us just 7 cents per minute,” says Semler.
Expert Agent and a Helpful Chatbot
With the marketing program in place, the company’s tech staff built an internal AI they named Bob. “He’s our customer-facing modular planning specialist and has Impresa-specific knowledge loaded into him,” explains Semler. “He knows how our process works, and how to answer common questions that potential modular buyers ask.” Bob has his own phone number and email address.
They also created Mia, an AI website chatbot. She is the one who answers the phone. Mia isn’t your typical ‘dumb’ chatbot who only knows canned responses. She knows how to ask questions and to use the answers to route calls.
For instance, if a caller is not ready to build yet but is looking for modular information, Mia will send them to Bob. “This reduces the burden on our sales staff while also giving prospects the information they need,” says Semler.
If a qualified buyer is on the line —someone who wants to start building within six months and has cash or financing available — she will route them to their local Impresa franchise builder. She will take the same step if they start saying “rep,” “operator,” or “real person.” First, however, Mia will ask for the zip code where they want to build, to ensure that the lead goes to the correct builder.
Semler says it can take some time for the AI to fully understand the operation and for the staff to understand its capabilities. “We spend a lot of time reviewing transcripts to make sure the system is providing customers with accurate, helpful answers,” he says. “Occasionally, we catch something that needs correction — an explanation that wasn’t clear enough or a response that missed context.”
For instance, when creating a graphic, the AI showed a crane lifting two modules at the same time, which isn’t something that can be done. The error was corrected and didn’t happen again. “AI improvises only if you stay engaged,” says Semler, “and know that it may take several iterations to get it right.”
The lesson here: “It’s not set it and forget it.”
Customer Acquisition
According to Semler, “there has been a lot of noise about AI generated content and SEO and a lot of ‘experts’ will tell you that it doesn’t rank well with Google.” He doesn’t find that to be true, provided that the content gets the proper human review before being put online. “I’ve seen examples where AI-assisted content ranked extremely well.”
His approach to this is to work with the AI. “I write the core content. I’ve written so much over the years that I’ve trained what I call a ‘Ken GPT,’ which means that ChatGPT references my past writing as a model. This has helped with quality and consistency,” he says.
Before AI, prospects who became aware of Impresa and wanted to learn more had no choice but to register on the website and fill out a long form. That frustrated some people, especially those who weren’t planning to build for 12 or 18 months. While that form is still on the website, the 800 number is prominently displayed there as well as on the Facebook page. “If someone is put off by the form, Mia can ask them a few questions and route them to the most appropriate resource,” says Semler.
He also notes that, in the past, the company made its phone number difficult to find because they couldn’t handle a high call volume. But Mia’s ability to handle whatever calls come in, has tripled the number of potential customers who call them.
Advice for Builders
Semler believes that AI is quickly becoming a ‘must have’, and that builders should not put off their first steps to using it. “If you’re a small builder with three or four people and no marketing staff, AI can make you a stronger competitor,” he says. “You can ask ChatGPT to write a Facebook campaign, and it will actually do it. You can also ask it for the prompts (instructions) you need to feed it in order to get a good result.”
As mentioned above, AI can also track response patterns and provide insight into what is converting.
However there’s a caveat: you still must read the output before posting or sending it. AI occasionally gets things wrong, and voice-based systems still struggle with tone and consistency.
Despite this, Semler is pressing ahead. “We don’t yet know all the ways we’ll use AI, but my big goals include using it to help buyers with selections, finding ways it can assist (not replace) our sales teams and putting it to work analyzing our purchasing program to look for ways to save money.”He says he doesn’t see AI as being about cutting staff. Rather, it’s a way to remove friction from various processes.
Semler also likes to put the current state of AI into historical context, by referencing the early internet. “To me, the way things are with AI today feels a lot like the internet did 20 years ago. I remember hearing builders say, ‘We don’t need a website — we’re in the phone book.’ Everyone knows how that turned out.”
His point is that if builders don’t start experimenting with AI now, competitors who adopt it will “eat their lunch.” The companies that really win will be those that combine AI with smart internet marketing and real industry knowledge.
Says Semler: “If you don’t start learning how to use this technology now, you’ll be scrambling to catch up later.”
