AI in Commercial Cleaning and Security Services: What’s Ahead

By Sarah Stryker September 12, 2024 Categories: , ,

This article was originally published on September 12, 2024 and updated on June 9, 2025. 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is seemingly everywhere. Across industry events, conferences, expos and meetings, AI is the topic that everyone wants to hear more about.

The commercial security and commercial cleaning industries are no different. Security companies and cleaning business owners are hungry to know how AI can be embedded into daily workflows to make operations leaner, faster and more efficient. Understanding how AI is transforming both security services and facilities management offers valuable insights into what AI-driven solutions will look like in your soon-to-be day-to-day operations.

How AI Simplifies and Automates Scheduling in Security and Facilities Management

For both security companies and cleaning professionals, scheduling workers can be challenging. Especially if a company is not using advanced technology solutions to help manage operations, jobs can often suffer from lack of coverage and time management errors, miscommunications and inaccurate record keeping. Combining AI with automation capabilities can ensure security teams and cleaning companies are running accurate and maintainable schedules while anticipating future service needs.

Smart Scheduling Systems

In these industries, AI-powered tools could create optimal schedules for security guards and cleaning staff based on factors like location, required certifications and job complexity. For security companies, this might mean ensuring proper coverage across multiple sites with appropriately trained personnel. For cleaning businesses, this could help match cleaning crews with the right skills to specific facilities. Both industries benefit from reduced overtime – especially non-billable overtime – and eliminate the time-consuming nature of managers manually filling coverage gaps.

Predicting Service Needs

By analyzing past data and seasonal trends, AI systems could forecast future demand for both security services and cleaning operations. This helps security companies anticipate when clients might need additional guards for events or seasonal security increases, while helping cleaning teams avoid overbooking or understaffing. Both industries can better manage inventory needs – whether security equipment or cleaning supplies – and coordinate resources based on contract demands across dispersed job sites.

Main Benefits Security and Commercial Cleaning Companies See After Implementing AI

The benefits of AI-driven solutions are extensive for both security services and facilities management. Security companies and commercial cleaning businesses can expect three initial benefits after AI implementation:

Improved Operational Efficiency

AI automates routine tasks and optimizes resource allocation, saving time and reducing operational costs for both security operations and cleaning services. As it reduces manual processes and human errors behind the scenes, AI systems are also intended to improve efficiency in the field. For example, an AI-powered system might determine efficient guard tours or suggest facility cleaning processes and frequencies based on traffic patterns and usage. Both industries benefit from staying ahead of contract requirements while optimizing resource allocation based on actual service needs.

Enhanced Customer Satisfaction

Some resistance to AI comes with fear that these people-centered services will lose human connection. However, AI tools can support personalized services in both security and cleaning operations, ultimately improving customer experiences and leading to greater customer retention rates. An AI system can help security companies provide proactive threat assessments and incident reporting, while helping cleaning services suggest preventive maintenance schedules. Both industries can support clients even during off hours through 24/7 chatbots fed from their own knowledge bases, solving customer service issues faster and building long-term customer loyalty.

Data-Driven Decision Making

One of the biggest advantages of AI is its ability to analyze vast amounts of data and provide actionable insights for both security and cleaning operations. This of course begins with a comprehensive and centralized data warehouse, where the information can be used to identify patterns, predict market trends and provide data-driven insights for strategic decision making. Security companies could analyze incident patterns, response times and client satisfaction metrics, while cleaning businesses could track performance metrics, customer preferences and operational efficiencies. As AI becomes an integrated element of workforce management software solutions, this intelligence will be built around your unique customers and prospects, offering in-platform insights for even greater value.

Curious what KPIs you can actually get from your centralized data warehouse? Check out our guide.

Using AI to Support Field Workers in Security and Cleaning Operations

AI serves as a powerful tool to support and enhance the work of both security guards and commercial cleaners. In any business, employee productivity and work quality improve when staff can work independently with company support. AI can provide employees in both industries with a hub of information that helps them better serve customers and make informed decisions from the field.

  • Enhanced Customer Communication: AI-powered systems can provide customer insights, summarize past interactions and suggest problem solutions in real time for both security and cleaning staff. This enables both security personnel and cleaning teams to build rapport, explain issues clearly and provide exceptional customer service.
  • Expert Knowledge at Your Fingertips: AI-powered knowledge management systems make it easy for frontline staff in both industries to access expert advice, guidance and training materials in the field, allowing them to resolve security incidents and janitorial challenges faster.
  • Augmented Decision-Making: AI provides frontline workers in both security and cleaning operations with real-time data and actionable insights, recommendations and contextual information, empowering them to make better-informed decisions and solve problems more effectively on the job. Security guards might receive real-time threat assessments and evacuation procedures, while cleaning staff might get customized cleaning protocols based on facility usage patterns. Both industries can eventually use quality assurance findings to generate personalized training plans, ensuring individuals meet industry standards while companies retain skilled staff in high-turnover environments.

How AI in Field Service Contributes to Efficiency and Customer Satisfaction

By harnessing AI capabilities, both commercial security companies and cleaning businesses can streamline processes and build stronger relationships through more responsive and tailored service delivery. Here are four key elements contributing to this transformation across both industries:

  • Intelligent Scheduling and Route Optimization: AI systems could optimize schedules for both security patrols and cleaning operations, reducing travel time and enabling faster service delivery. By optimizing guard schedules, rotations and patrol routes across multiple sites, or creating efficient routes between jobs for cleaners, this can improve delivery of service-level agreements.
  • Personalized Service: AI may be able to be used to analyze customer preferences, service history and customer feedback to tailor service recommendations and communication for both security and cleaning clients. Security companies can customize patrol schedules, reporting formats and communication preferences based on client needs, while cleaning services can adjust cleaning frequencies, products used and service timing. Both deliver more personalized experiences that boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.
  • Knowledge Management: AI-powered tools will be able to process large volumes of technical manuals, prior support cases and service bulletins, providing conversational interfaces for both security and cleaning staff. Security personnel will be able to quickly access regulatory requirements, incident response procedures and client-specific protocols, while cleaning staff can reference safety data sheets, equipment manuals and ad hoc contract additions.
  • Continuous Improvement From Data-Driven Insights: AI will be able to continuously analyze performance metrics to identify bottlenecks, inefficiencies and improvement opportunities for both security operations and cleaning services. Security companies may track response times, incident resolution rates and client satisfaction scores, while cleaning businesses may monitor completion times, quality metrics and customer feedback. Both industries may be able to optimize operations and elevate service quality over time through data-driven decision making.

Using AI for Predictive Customer Service in Security and Cleaning

Predictive services represent an exciting development in both the security and facilities management industries. Technology companies have been focusing on automation and optimization as primary benefits of implementing AI-driven systems, from CRM and intelligent scheduling to routing and mobile applications. As these capabilities advance, the focus turns toward predictive services — helping both security companies and cleaning businesses anticipate client needs to win, retain and maintain more contracts. Here are ways predictive AI addresses unique challenges in both commercial security services and cleaning operations:

  • Anticipating Service Needs: By analyzing customer data, service history and external factors like local weather patterns and events, AI can predict when security clients might need additional coverage or when cleaning contracts might require specific services. Security companies can anticipate increased security needs during high-risk periods, events, or seasonal patterns, while cleaning services can predict emergency cleaning requests or elevated sanitation needs. This allows both security providers and commercial cleaning companies to reach out proactively, often before customers notice issues or face security threats.
  • Identifying At-Risk Customers and Preventing Churn: AI can analyze customer engagement, behavior and feedback to identify which clients in both industries might be considering switching to competitors. Security companies can identify dissatisfaction with response times or coverage gaps, while cleaning services can detect concerns about service quality or scheduling issues. This allows both types of companies to address concerns promptly and potentially improve customer retention rates through targeted interventions.
  • Forecasting Demand: By considering factors like seasonal changes, local events, occupancy trends and historical data, AI systems can transform both security and cleaning companies’ approaches by predicting future service demand. Security services can prepare for increased demand during holiday seasons, special events, or high-crime periods, while cleaning businesses can anticipate busy periods related to flu seasons, facility usage patterns, or event-driven cleaning needs. Both industries can prepare appropriate resources and staff to meet customer needs during peak demand periods.

The Future of AI in Security and Janitorial Management

The possibilities for AI applications in both security services and cleaning operations are extensive. Both the commercial security and cleaning industries have unique opportunities to be at the forefront of innovative software — technology that can change what, when, where and which services are delivered to customers.

Breaking down the possibilities of AI applications into achievable milestones, some developments to anticipate include:

Optimized Daily Planning: AI-powered dashboards display optimized routes and schedules for both security patrols and cleaning operations, considering real-time data, weather conditions, threat levels and employee certifications and training. Security companies can see optimal guard deployment across sites, while cleaning businesses view efficient facility routing and task prioritization.

Proactive Issue Identification: AI systems flag high-priority situations for both industries based on customer engagement, sentiment analysis and routine maintenance or security alerts at key accounts. Security services receive early warnings about potential threats or client concerns, while cleaning operations get alerts about facility issues or customer satisfaction risks.

Automated Resource Allocation: AI identifies gaps in service coverage that might cause customer churn and automatically assigns the most qualified personnel to handle situations. For security companies, this means deploying guards with appropriate certifications and experience to specific sites. For cleaning businesses, this ensures crews with the right skills and equipment are matched to facility requirements. Both industries benefit from automatic scheduling and operator notification of changes.

Real-Time Monitoring: Throughout the day, operators in both security and cleaning companies can monitor job progress and customer feedback in real-time, while AI systems continuously optimize schedules to accommodate urgent security incidents, emergency cleaning requests, or service cancellations.

Personalized Customer Support: When customers call with questions about their service history, back office staff in both industries can quickly access comprehensive information and use AI-powered recommendation engines to offer personalized suggestions. Security companies can suggest enhanced coverage options, while janitorial services can recommend proactive maintenance schedules or specialized services.

AI-Driven Insights Backed by Data: After each day, operators can review AI-generated reports highlighting key performance metrics, customer satisfaction trends and revenue forecasts for both security operations and cleaning services. Security companies can analyze incident response times and coverage effectiveness, while cleaning businesses can track service quality metrics and operational efficiencies, enabling data-driven decisions for continuous improvement.

The only aspect that will remain unchanged by AI is the fundamental purpose behind what both commercial security companies and janitorial services do: to help keep the world clean, safe and secure. As AI tools continue to evolve, they will enhance human capabilities rather than replace them, creating more efficient operations while maintaining the personal touch and human expertise that define quality security services and facilities management.

The key to being able to maximize the benefits of AI-driven solutions is to start with a strong ERP. That way, business intelligence tools can run on top of the entirety of your business, not in siloes. To learn more about TEAM’s industry-specific ERP and our business intelligence and analytics tools, contact us.