Raising the Industry’s AI IQ: What Integrators Need to Know Now 

Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept for the electronic security and life safety industry. It is already reshaping how companies operate, compete, and grow. The challenge is no longer whether to adopt AI, but how to apply it in ways that deliver real business value. 

To help bridge that gap, ESA tapped Jeff Schatten, Ph.D., an AI advisor and business professor at Washington and Lee University, to share practical insights on how AI is impacting the industry today. Schatten recently joined ESA’s Security Nation podcast to discuss “AI Is Changing Security Right Now: What Integrators Need to Know,” and delivered the ESX 2026 OpenXchange main stage presentation on the same topic. 

His recently published book, AI Will Take Your Job (And it’s for the Best), blends optimism and pragmatism to explore AI’s impact on work and society. While his full discussion covers a wide range of topics, several key takeaways stand out for integrators and monitoring companies looking to take action today. 

Start with Action, Not Perfection 

Q: What are some of the biggest misconceptions you hear about AI adoption? 

Schatten: The biggest misconception is that every executive knows they need to act on AI, but then they say, “Okay, what do we do?” The hardest part is taking the first step and building an AI action plan. People can begin by simply reading about it and opening tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Grok. They should experiment on their own time and start understanding how these tools work before moving into enterprise-level applications. 

The Fastest ROI Starts with Your Existing Team 

Q: Where are the lowest-risk, highest-impact use cases for AI in this industry? 

Schatten: The lowest risk and highest impact is getting all employees using AI in their day-to-day work. That could mean running sessions on how to use ChatGPT to increase output or how to use Gemini for marketing. The first question should be, can we get better output from our current employees? The answer is yes. This is not debatable. The gains are not just in productivity, but also in creativity. 

Turning Everyday Work into Scalable Content 

Schatten points to simple, practical examples that can immediately improve efficiency. Internal documentation, training materials, and operational updates can be transformed into more accessible formats using AI. 

Schatten: There’s no reason a company has to be boring. You can take a 50-page HR document that outlines employee benefits and turn it into a podcast. It may not directly impact the bottom line, but it makes information easier to consume and share across the organization. 

Supporting Field Operations at Scale 

For integrators managing large technician teams, AI presents an opportunity to standardize and accelerate training. 

Schatten: If you have 60, 70, or 80 technicians and you’re introducing a new installation process or software, you can use tools like NotebookLM to turn that into a video. The AI can teach it in a way that is often more effective and scalable than traditional methods. That’s where you start to see real impact on the bottom line. 

Reducing Service Burden Through Smarter Support 

AI also has the potential to improve customer experience while reducing unnecessary service calls. 

Schatten: You can create a bot for your company where customers can ask questions and get immediate answers. Employees can use it internally as well. This allows organizations to educate customers and teams without relying on constant service visits. 

 AI as a Competitive Advantage 

At its core, Schatten encourages companies to think of AI not as a tool, but as a form of “co-intelligence” that enhances human capability. 

Schatten: Once you spend time with AI, you begin to realize how limited individual capacity can be. With co-intelligence, you have access to a level of insight and capability far beyond any one person. That becomes a true competitive advantage.  

From Insight to Execution 

Artificial intelligence is already transforming how security companies approach hiring, training, marketing, and operations. The opportunity for integrators is not to wait for a perfect strategy, but to begin experimenting, learning, and applying these tools in practical ways across the business. 

For those who attended ESX 2026, Schatten’s session reinforced a clear message: the companies that move first, learn faster, and integrate AI into their daily workflows will be the ones that lead the industry forward. Start small, focus on real use cases, and build momentum across your organization. 

ESA continues to provide resources and insights to help members better understand and apply AI in meaningful ways. The goal is not just adoption, but execution that drives measurable business outcomes.