Thumbtack’s new AI wants to diagnose your leaky ceiling

One of the hardest parts of being a homeowner is knowing whom to call when something goes wrong with your house - a process that starts with figuring out what’s actually wrong in the first place. “What if you wake up, you’ve got a wet spot on the ceiling, and you’re like, Oh crap, I’ve got a problem, but I don’t actually know what it is or who to hire?” says Marco Zappacosta, cofounder and CEO of the home-services marketplace Thumbtack.