Peter Lohmann's Newsletter - Issue #205

ServiceTitan Tightens Access: AI Agents & Ecosystem Control

A couple weeks ago, ServiceTitan (they’re basically the AppFolio of plumbing, HVAC and electrical companies) updated its Terms of Use to restrict automated and AI-agent access:

Their new TOS defines “AI Agent” broadly (AI agents, autonomous agents, browser agents, RPA, bots, scrapers, etc.). It bans sharing credentials with any third party (including AI Agents), configuring accounts to enable such access, bypassing security measures, or using these tools to extract data on a customer’s behalf. API Terms further require that any AI system use stay within predefined, disclosed, and approved scope.

ServiceTitan CEO Ara Mahdessian replied in the thread:

Customer impact is real

ServiceTitan just ended the long-standing integration with Podium, citing Marketplace standards, and gave shared customers (roughly 1,000) only a few weeks’ notice during busy season. Podium’s CEO said they were blindsided; ServiceTitan said it declined certification. Owners of the affected businesses are left scrambling.

This fits a broader pattern. ServiceTitan’s help docs already list other integrations no longer supported (HubSpot, Customer Lobby, FleetComplete, Review Inc., and others). Its App Marketplace now emphasizes certified apps only; “tunneling” (third parties using customer App Keys) is prohibited. The platform is shifting from relatively open partner access toward controlled, auditable pathways while accelerating its own agentic tools.

Parallels in property management are clear

AppFolio is embedding its own agentic layer (Realm-X Performers) while maintaining controlled API access (charging both customers and vendors to use it). Both vertical platforms treat their systems as mission-critical systems of record. As agentic AI rises, they prioritize security, auditability, and capturing value from the agent layer rather than remaining open data pipes for external tools. Limited or gated APIs sometimes push integrators toward credential workarounds—the exact patterns ServiceTitan’s language now closes. AppFolio pushes vendors to the Stack marketplace ($$$$), but carefully selects who has permission to join.

As for those vendors who are not allowed or not present on the Stack marketplace? Well, it’s an open secret that customers can simply create a login for their vendor to use, set up scheduled report exports, or both. That works great until it doesn’t (big updates on the Beagle vs AppFolio lawsuit coming soon—stay tuned).

Back to ServiceTitan—I like Gokul Rajaram’s commentary on Twitter/X:

Further Reading

This is playing out across many verticals, not just property management and home services.

Brendan Keeler wrote a manifesto on systems of record from the perspective of healthcare, and it’s one of the best things I can remember reading all year. If you want to know the forces at work in our industry, how the players are positioning themselves and where this is all going, get comfortable and dig in.
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Have a scoop, lesson, or win to share? I’m looking for guest articles from property managers who have something worth sharing. Submit yours here.

Why 40% of New Landlords Still Won't Hire a PM

On this week’s podcast, I chat with Seamus Nally, CEO at TurboTenant. They just crossed 1 million landlord users on their platform, and we got into how they built that on a free core product, why 40% of new signups are still on the fence about hiring a PM, and the logic behind Autopilot, their new managed-service play that puts them in direct competition with people like us.

And this is cool: since we recorded this, TurboTenant officially announced it's acquiring TenantCloud, one of the exact competitors Seamus and I name-check in the episode. Good timing.

Also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Property Management Companies For Sale This Week

• This remote-managed property management business in Tulare County, CA is still available (asking $745k, $565k gross revenue)

• 30+ year commercial property management company in Suffolk County, NY (asking $2.8M, $2.32M gross revenue)

• 60-door turnkey property management company in Park City, UT (asking $275k, $157.5k gross revenue)

• Residential rental management business in Spring, TX (asking $191k)

Sponsored by Findigs. Legacy screening doesn’t cut it anymore. Findigs is the only decisioning platform that underwrites each application against your policy, returns an automatic decision, and keeps your leasing team focused on other revenue-driving work. Talk to an expert.

Industry News & Events

• Property Meld is running a promotion: $210 off MX Summit, their annual maintenance conference coming up next month. You’ll see the discount when you reach the Order Summary page. I’ll be there, trying to sneak my way into the rodeo (again). Highly recommend going yourself or buying a ticket for those in your business who handle maintenance coordination or run in-house maintenance. More about the conference. Must buy tix by 9/1 to get the discount.

• EliseAI is rumored to be closing a $300M round valuing the company at $3.7B (that’s half of AppFolio’s market cap). Wild.

• Boom announces a $15M Series A and the launch of BoomCRM.

• TurboTenant acquires TenantCloud from PropertyTek.

Closing Thought

Did you miss it? 3 highlights from Tuesday’s Newsletter:

1. 2026 Update for Top 40 Largest PM Companies in the U.S.

2. Webinar replay on hiring your first executive assistant.

3. Another look at why maintenance teams should use smart glasses.

Software I’m using to scale my 700+ door property management company:

Note: These are affiliate links, but I’ve been recommending all these companies long before any financial arrangements came into place.

The content of this newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. I may have consulting agreements with, or financial interests in, companies mentioned in this newsletter. Additionally, some of the links included in this newsletter are affiliate links, meaning I may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links. Always perform your own due diligence before making any financial or business decisions.