New benchmarking report provides a strong business case — and a set of best practices — for AEC firms to use AI
Article contributed by Steve Karp
For firms in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, success is now synonymous with an embrace of technology. That’s the overarching message from a new benchmarking report for companies that operate in those three industries.
“It may be tempting to stay the course, to tackle change in slow increments, but this approach will not serve for much longer,” assert the authors of the 2024 AEC Inspire Report from Unanet, which is based on a survey of more than 300 AEC executives.
“One thing is certain,” they add. “Tech-advanced [AEC] firms that can harness the full potential of emerging technologies are the ones best positioned to accelerate growth, overcome challenges, and navigate the unknown.”
The most important technology for them to harness, according to the report, is an obvious one: artificial intelligence. More than half of AEC firms are using AI to some extent, while another one-third are open to using AI but are not currently doing so. Among those that are using it, AI is delivering a range of benefits, from new operational efficiencies to improvements in forecasting, project outcomes, business development and more. In short, our report finds a strong business case for firms to implement AI.
The Use of AI among AEC Firms
Here’s a look at other key report findings related to AI usage among AEC firms:
• Construction firms are further along in AI adoption than architecture and engineering firms are. They’re also more likely to believe that AI will have a positive impact on their operations.
• Construction firms appear to be more thoughtful in their approach to adopting AI, as 41% have AI oversight policies to guide their AI usage, compared to 18% of architecture firms and 23% of engineering firms.
• Overall, 31% of AEC firms are using AI with policies and guidelines in place as guardrails, while 26% are using it without formal oversight policies, a dicey proposition given the legal, security, and compliance risks that AI can invite.
• Resistance to AI is twice as high among architecture firms as among construction and engineering firms.
• AI is proving most beneficial in areas like data analysis and content generation.
• AI-mature firms churn out significantly more project proposals on average than firms that lag in their AI usage: 263 per year compared to 144.
• AI-mature firms win more projects and project higher future win rates. For example, 44% of AI-mature firms expect a win rate of more than 75% in the year ahead, compared to 17% of AI non-users.
As solid as the business case for investing in AI is for AEC firms, the report makes clear that to earn a strong return on those investments, firms first must lay the groundwork for AI by adopting internal policies to guide AI usage, by providing thorough AI training to employees, and by ensuring AI models use only high-quality data. Because as the report emphasizes, “Organizational data governance is foundational to AI implementation, and AI implementation is a must in today’s data-driven reality.”
Steve Karp is Chief Innovation Officer at Unanet, a leading provider of project-based ERP and CRM solutions purpose-built for government contractors, and architecture, engineering, construction, and professional services firms.
