Closing the Technician Gap with AI: John Schmeiser of VisorPro

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John Schmeiser spent nearly 30 years in dealer-association leadership, starting with the Canada West Equipment Dealers Association in 1996, through its evolution into the Western Equipment Dealers Association, and ultimately as COO of the North American Equipment Dealers Association (NAEDA) following its 2022 consolidation. 

Today he's the COO of VisorPro, the AI platform built by equipment dealers, for equipment dealers. He joins Andy Campbell to talk about where AI is already paying off in the service department, what's new with VisorPro's recent Vi 3.0 release, and how dealers can start adopting AI without overhauling their whole operation.

What we talked about

• How VisorPro evolved from a farmer-facing app into a service-department AI tool — and what brought John from running NAEDA to leading VisorPro's operations.
• Why the industry's technician shortage (NAEDA data points to roughly 8% annual attrition) is colliding with customers holding onto equipment longer, piling more work onto service bays.
• VisorPro's Vi 3.0 update and its new StoryWriter feature, which turns technician notes into warranty-ready repair documentation.
• The ongoing conversation around OEMs selling direct to farmers, and why John believes dealer relationships and trade-in handling keep dealers essential.
• His practical advice for dealer principals who know they need to adopt AI but don't know where to start.

Key Insights for Dealers

• Start in one department, not the whole dealership. John's core advice: skip the search for an all-in-one AI tool, start in the aftermarket/service department, get comfortable, then expand.
• Time savings add up fast. VisorPro customers report techs saving 30+ minutes a day on research — roughly 2.5 hours a week per technician that goes back into billable repair work.
• Better documentation means faster warranty payouts. Manufacturers consistently cite incomplete information as the top reason claims get delayed; tools like StoryWriter close that gap at the source.
• There's still room to grow on absorption rate. With the North American average hovering near 75%, John points to industrial and construction dealers near 100% as proof of what's achievable.
• Relationships remain dealers' strongest moat. With a trade involved in 90–95% of deals, John doesn't see manufacturers replacing the local, relationship-driven service dealers provide anytime soon.