AI Advancements in Construction Technology – Part 3: The Future of AI in Construction

Construction businesses that have adopted AI are experiencing significant gains across all phases of the project lifecycle. In part one of our AI blog series, we took a closer look at how AI is impacting takeoff, accounting, and safety and risk management, and in part two, we examined AI’s growing role in human resources, project management, and customer relationship management.

As we look ahead, AI will open even more possibilities for construction businesses. We recently sat down with a couple industry leaders from Sage, an eTakeoff partner and leading provider of accounting, operations, and preconstruction software, to discuss how they see AI impacting construction in the future.

Data: A Strategic Asset

Data has emerged as one of the most valuable resources in modern construction. The industry is increasingly recognizing that every project generates a treasure trove of data that can be leveraged for future success. While many businesses understand the importance of data, sorting through and organizing that data can be daunting. This is where AI comes into play.

AI is becoming the key to unlocking data’s potential. AI can help businesses transform raw data into strategic insights by quickly combing through vast amounts of data to filter and organize it in a meaningful way.

Data in Preconstruction

Steve Watt, head of product for preconstruction at Sage, is seeing the implications of real-time access to data.

“Estimators can learn a lot from what’s been done in the past, but historically that information hasn’t been leveraged,” said Watt. “Businesses are realizing that each estimate can’t be its own island of data. Past project data should be helping in real-time as teams create estimates. Pulling data from similar projects helps teams defend their numbers and provides more transparency throughout the process.”

Moving forward, Watt sees data playing a critical role in project outcomes. “The industry will continue to find new ways to use past data throughout a project. Data is a company’s intellectual property (IP) and will increasingly help inform decision making, alert teams to potential issues, and reduce risk. This can have a significant impact on the profitability of a project.”

Watt adds, “The quality of the data teams can now access is redefining how we estimate. Historically, building an estimate has been an “explicit” process, meaning that teams relied on the numbers clearly written in front of them such as bids from subcontractors. But now with real-time access to a company’s IP, the task of building an estimate can become more of an “implicit” process that takes into account not only the current bids but past performance on projects that are related to the project estimate they are currently developing.”

Predictive Intelligence: Improving Project Outcomes

AI helps construction businesses automate and speed up many day-to-day tasks. Glen West, director of strategy at Sage, highlights how financial systems are benefiting from AI.

“AI can automate repetitive tasks to help accounting staff become more efficient,” says West. “As AI becomes more sophisticated, we will see it speed up processes even more by not only automating mundane tasks but adding logic on top of it. This enables insights into what’s happening now as well as the next two steps down the road.”

Predictive intelligence is one of the most promising applications of AI. When systems filter and sort through vast amounts of data, they can provide expected project outcomes and alert teams to potential issues before they impact a project. An example of this is AI systems relying on past data to identify and flag financial outliers, such as a transaction larger or smaller than expected.

AI can also provide a critical safety net, helping teams understand why previous projects might have been under-bid or off-track so they don’t repeat the same mistakes.

West adds, “Advancements in AI will help to add intelligent logic to workflows and automate the project close process. Understanding historical performance patterns to predict future performance helps minimize risk and improve project outcomes.”

The Human-AI Partnership: Assistance, Not Replacement

When AI adoption started gaining traction, many construction workers grew apprehensive about what it might mean for their future. There was a common misconception that AI would automate away traditional construction roles, potentially replacing estimators, project managers, or even skilled trades.

However, AI works best as a complement to human expertise, not a replacement. For example, while AI-powered estimating tools can process vast amounts of historical data, skilled estimators remain essential for understanding project nuances and client needs.

Watt notes that estimators can use AI to comb through data to pull together what should be included in an estimate, based on similar previous projects. “When estimators set the right parameters, AI can deliver an estimate that’s been intelligently constructed. It still requires human review, but it’s a much better starting point.”

Similarly, AI can analyze thousands of project documents to flag potential issues, but it still requires experienced project managers to interpret these findings and make strategic decisions.

When it comes to skilled trades, the industry is still experiencing a shortage in qualified workers. While AI cannot replace skilled workers, it can play a role in helping businesses address this challenge. Using AI to automate repetitive administrative tasks allows skilled workers to focus on the complex, judgment-based aspects of their jobs that machines cannot replicate.

The Road Ahead: Trends to Watch

As more construction businesses embrace AI for how it can assist their teams, it will raise the bar across the industry. The future of AI in construction is not about technological replacement, but intelligent augmentation.

As we look forward, we can expect AI to become more:

• Contextually aware
• Predictive in nature
• Integrated into existing workflows
• Focused on providing actionable insights

AI can help construction professionals work smarter, not harder. The goal is to reduce manual effort, minimize risks, and provide deeper insights that were previously impossible to extract.

Human experts will remain in control but have real-time AI-generated insights at their fingertips. This approach transforms AI from a mere computational tool to an intelligent assistant that understands the nuanced context of construction projects.

Conclusion

The construction industry stands at a transformative moment where AI is poised to fundamentally reshape how we design, build, and manage infrastructure. Its reach goes far beyond simple process improvements, reimagining traditional construction methodologies.

As technology continues to evolve, the most successful construction firms will be those that view AI not as a threat, but as a powerful ally in their ongoing quest to deliver project excellence.