Honlia Hao has always been driven by understanding what a community and its people need. In her role as group product manager at Houzz, she uses the same curiosity she developed studying urban planning — plus the power of AI — to build better tools for our own community: the pros who rely on our software to build and run their businesses.

How would you describe what you do at Houzz?
I help Houzz figure out what functionality would most benefit our users and collaborate cross-functionally to bring that to our product.

Was this always what you wanted to do?
In college, I wanted to join the Peace Corps to help build communities, so people could have better livelihoods. I changed my degree to go into community development to better understand how to do that. 

A big part of that field is urban planning, anthropology and understanding what’s essential to a community and its people. You consider many factors when you’re planning: What kind of space are you creating? What do the people need it for? Who will be using it? How will it help people accomplish their goals? And there’s the physical aspects that you need to consider as well, such as if the land is suitable for that type of development, the environment, and maintenance. Once you have those answers, you plan it out and work with others to execute. 

After college, I realized there is a whole field that applies these concepts to technology called product management. I transitioned from physical design and planning to more technical and online — and that’s how I got into it.

What were you doing before you came to Houzz, and how did you find out about us?
I was leading the product teams at one of the largest real estate companies in North America, and someone on the recruiting team at Houzz reached out to me. It was one of the companies my husband had actually heard about, and he said it would be very cool if I explored this opportunity and ended up working here. Then it happened!

What made Houzz so interesting to you?
Houzz is positioned strategically in a very different way from competitors in this space, because we have our pro software along with a consumer brand. Houzz created this remodeling experience that really connects the pros and the homeowners, and that was very appealing.

My husband and I have done a few remodeling projects, and everyone who’s gone through the process understands how difficult it is and how many decisions need to be made. Schedules need to be on track, and so many details are scattered all over the place. That’s not even factoring in budgeting. It’s a lot! And Houzz Pro is tackling these challenges for both pros and the homeowners they’re working with.

In real estate, it’s one large purchase, but the process and the decisions are made within a compact time frame. Remodeling can go as long as you want; it’s not time boxed in any way. So it seemed interesting to explore a new industry and solve a different problem.

What would you say is the best part about working at Houzz?
It’s a tossup between our technology and our people. We’re building cool things that make an impact and do it with the latest technology in the most efficient way. 

The people who work here are really brilliant. Everyone is very humble and, if there is something that we all feel strongly about, we will figure out how to get it done. We’re very mission driven and very pro- and homeowner-user focused. 

If you were to describe your role to someone who’s never heard of product management, what would you say?
Product management is kind of like being the captain of a ship. However, instead of steering it alone, you’re coordinating with a whole crew to make sure it gets to the right destination. You talk to customers to understand what they need, work with designers to figure out how things should look and feel, and partner with engineers to actually build the product. You don’t do the coding or designing yourself, but you’re the one responsible for making sure the right product gets built — one that solves a real problem and is valuable to both users and the business.

Sometimes people confuse product management with project management. There are some similarities, like coordinating different teams. But the most important thing in product management is being able to define the strategy of what we’re building and figuring out the right solutions to solve those problems.

You’re working a lot on the AI front. Can you talk a little bit about that? What are the ways we’re using AI to solve pros’ or homeowners’ problems?
We start by working closely with pros to understand two main things: the least favorite parts of their jobs, and what information would help them make better business decisions. From there, we explore how AI can help solve those problems. 

Take something simple but time-consuming, like logging expenses. We added AutoMate — our suite of AI tools, which is powered by Houzz Vision AI technologies and generative AI models — to the process, so now pros can snap a picture of their receipts. AutoMate extracts the details and fills out the expense form for them, and the pro just needs to review it. 

Another area is estimates. Pros love meeting with clients and planning projects, but not always the administrative work that follows, like writing up an estimate after a long day. It’s common to take days to turn one around. Now, with just a short description, AutoMate can generate a professional estimate they can quickly review and edit. This saves time, enables faster  responses and helps them win more projects. 

We’ve also found ways to leverage AI to help pros get more out of our software. We hear from many pros that they want to use the Schedules feature, which requires manual entry to set up. We discovered that in most cases, we have enough project data to generate a schedule that’s specific to that project using AutoMate. Since we’ve launched this, we’ve seen Schedules usage on the rise. 

We’re also using computer vision to turn 2D product images into 3D models that can be used in 3D Floor Plans. This makes it easier for pros and homeowners to see how specific materials and products, such as furniture, lighting and decor, will look in a space. It helps bring designs to life and gives clients more confidence in their choices.

What’s the most fulfilling part of what you do?
It’s seeing pros use the functionality and knowing that we’ve made their businesses more successful and easier.

Do you have a favorite thing about Houzz Pro?
That’s easy: It’s our end-to-end software solution.

We support every part of a pro’s workflow, and I love how connected the experience is. Pros don’t have to jump between different tools. We’re helping them manage everything in one place: lead generation and project management, design, finances, budgets, and even tax tracking through our QuickBooks integration. It’s the full package.

What would you say is something that surprised you about working here?
How easy it is to start projects. If you have the drive and can back it up with data and feedback, you can rally a team and pursue it. That’s actually how the AI team started. One of our lead engineers was passionate about AI when it was in its infancy and was looking for volunteers. It sounded interesting, so I asked to join the team. There was only a handful of us, and we started small on mobile by building out basic assistant-like functionality. We’ve been steadily adding more to AutoMate’s capabilities, and now it’s grown into a big focus for the company and a gamechanger for pros.

What makes you most excited about the future of Houzz?
We’re combining cutting-edge AI technologies with our deep understanding of the pro’s business to better assist them in their work. This helps them save time from manually mocking up different concepts, manage schedules across many teams and understand business financials. Houzz is building tools that empower pros to create more, unlock greater creativity and win more business. 

Did you use Houzz before you even started working here?
Yes, that’s how we found our pro! He’s been great and has done the majority of our remodels. He even gave me feedback when I transitioned jobs to join Houzz. 

Anything else?
We’re looking for AI talent to grow the team. If you’re interested in AI and cutting-edge technology, let us know!

If you’re interested in joining our team, we’re hiring! Check out available opportunities at houzz.com/jobs.