That’s a wrap on Ignite 2026! Thank you for an amazing event. We’ll keep adding recaps and videos, so check back if you missed anything.

Next year, Ignite joins Pantheon in Nashville, Sept. 13–16, 2027. Mark your calendars!

Four operators share what's working with AI, and what isn't

ServiceTitan’s Amanda Salvatore moderated a conversation between Sean Laux of K&D Landscaping, Todd Reinhart of Reinhart Landscaping & Snow, Mark Pyrah of Peak Landscape, and Aspire’s Eli Zevin at “AI, Automation, and the Future of Landscape Operations.” They discussed how landscape companies use AI today, from the office to the field.

Discover how irrigation crews get troubleshooting answers in Spanish, how a branch dashboard with just a few KPIs helped gross profit rise about 26%, why one contractor moved nearly half his crews to one-person routes, and what the panel called the most underrated part of AI. Plus, get one step every operator can take Monday morning.

Find out why one contractor now calls his company a technology company that happens to be in landscaping →

Jesse Itzler at Ignite: Be a spiritual billionaire

Serial entrepreneur and best-selling author Jesse Itzler took the Ignite stage with DJ Dee Wiz for a keynote that mixed music, video, and even a customer singalong with a deeply personal story. It started at a checkerboard, where his father never once let him win.

When Itzler finally beat him years later, the moment came with a twist that changed how he thinks about wealth. Why can a dollar be worth more than a billion? And what does a Navy SEAL’s one-word answer to “How do you feel?” have to do with running 100 miles? Get the full recap, including Itzler’s six takeaways on relationships, urgency, and the words you speak.

Find out why a dollar can be worth more than a billion →

Gillam Lawncare & Landscaping Receives Prometheus Award at Ignite

Pathlighter: Gillam Lawncare & Landscaping

Location: South Vienna, Ohio, serving Springfield and central Ohio

Why Gillam was selected: Gillam gives through dollars, labor, equipment, and expertise. The company pledged $25,000 over five years to the Mercy Health Foundation to renovate the Acute Rehabilitation Unit at Springfield Regional Medical Center and gave $5,000 each in 2025 and 2026 to Ohio's Hospice Foundation. 

Gillam also supports Westcott House Foundation, Rocking Horse Community Health Center, Girl Scouts, and local schools. Its crews prepped fields for Stevie's World of Wiffle Ball Tournament and installed a community garden at Greenon High School. 

What they're saying

"I don't think you can be a giving person if you're not grateful. And I'm extremely grateful for my employees, my customers, and our community. They've been very good to us." – Ryan Gillam, owner, Gillam Lawncare & Landscaping

"I get great joy out of giving. God has blessed my business, so there's just a little bit of a sense of responsibility I feel as well. But I get a lot of joy out of helping other people." – Gillam

About the Prometheus Award: The Prometheus Award recognizes industry leaders who drive meaningful change and give back to their communities through charitable efforts. Winners receive $5,000 donated to a charity of their choice. Gillam is receiving the award in ServiceTitan’s Pathlighter category, representing the green industry.

Earlier in the week, Haley Comfort Systems and Goettl Air Conditioning and Plumbing received Prometheus Awards at ServiceTitan’s customer conference, Pantheon.

Learn more

Command Center in Aspire protects profits that can leak before anyone notices

ServiceTitan’s Vahe Kuzoyan and Aspire’s Eli Zevin and Kiran Palan introduced Command Center, a conversational AI built into Aspire and accessed through Atlas that answers plain-English questions about the business.

Kuzoyan compared AI in the trades to a harness on a horse, then showed what that looks like in practice: an alert that reaches an owner mid-week, a quick question typed from a phone, and a dashboard built without a line of code. Pilot customer Tim Johnson of Tim Johnson Landscaping shared what the tool has changed for his team, and the session closed with a look at where Command Center goes next.

Find out how four questions turned a nice-looking month into the estimate that needed fixing →

Ignite 2026 opens with a clear message: the contractors who automate will win

ServiceTitan CEO and co-founder Ara Mahdessian opened Ignite 2026 in Orlando with a keynote for landscape, lawn, and pest contractors about where AI leaves the trades.

He began with four customer stories pulled from a note on his phone, including a family-run landscaper whose office and warehouse burned down and whose crews still went to work that same morning. Then he turned to research on which jobs AI is most likely to replace, a Blockbuster-versus-Netflix warning about who the real competition is, and a simplified profit comparison between two contractors. He also announced Command Center for Aspire and FieldRoutes and confirmed that Ignite will join Pantheon in Nashville next year.

Find out why being last on the list of jobs AI will replace is the best place to be →

Estimators put AI to work from the site visit to the final review

Chris Brasington spent 10 years in construction and eight more in landscaping, and he says the biggest time sink in estimating isn’t pricing. It’s digging for information.

Aspire's Joshua Martin moderated as Brasington and Ramel Sanchez of Miri Consulting followed a single estimate from the first walk-through to the post-job review. Hear how one irrigation company turns a phone video into a head start on the estimate, how a landscaper took on a 1,000-property snow bid in two weeks with just one estimator, and why the price still belongs to the human.

Find out what happened when AI went looking for Kelley Blue Book prices →

Inside Ignite 2026: Scenes from the show floor 

Ignite is bringing landscaping, pest control, and commercial cleaning professionals together in Orlando. Here’s a look at what’s happening across the floor.

Ignite is the difference

Still on the fence about Ignite? Here's what you're missing. Ignite is more than just a landscape conference. It’s a chance to connect with your peers in the industry and learn new ways of doing things, or get support to solve your biggest struggles. Past attendees have walked away with everything from new sales strategies to operational fixes that paid for the entire trip within weeks.