Rick Bell | Senior Writer | February 10, 2025
Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize the construction industry. In the back office, AI can help construction firms create plans and designs, schedule projects, manage suppliers, allocate resources, and monitor costs—faster and more effectively than ever before. At the jobsite, it can help keep workers safe and enhance their productivity, for example, through the use of robotic equipment. In this article, we’ll explore how AI makes these and other benefits possible, explaining why construction firms are increasingly keen on the technology.
AI is a technology that mimics human intelligence. It analyzes massive amounts of data in real time, using machine learning (ML) to uncover patterns, provide insights, accurately predict outcomes, and recommend ways to boost efficiency. Construction and engineering firms are starting to harness those capabilities to manage projects more efficiently and reduce risk.
Key Takeaways
AI can be useful throughout construction projects, including preconstruction and postconstruction maintenance. Companies rely on its processing power and predictive insights to help improve design, build, and maintenance. For example, an AI chatbot might save a firm five minutes in completing a basic task, while AI predictive analytics might help save $5 million by recommending key changes to a project schedule.
Until recently, industry adoption has been halting. One reason: Construction projects are complex, involving numerous partners, specialists, and suppliers, which can complicate the rollout of new technologies. A firm’s readiness to adopt AI depends on its financial ability to deploy new technology, its managerial and worker skills, and its appetite for innovation.
Today, construction and engineering firms are considering using AI to help keep rising costs in check, anticipate supply chain disruptions, help find qualified workers, and boost their productivity.
AI’s potential benefits in construction stem largely from automation, the ability to complete repetitive tasks faster and more accurately, which in turn helps increase efficiency, lower costs, and in some cases improve worker safety. Following are key ways project teams can succeed with AI.
Discover 5 ways to harmonize projects, reduce risk, and boost profits.
Construction firms use AI in all phases of their jobs: preconstruction, construction, and postconstruction maintenance. Faster, more insightful data analysis is the common thread.
The AI construction market will reach US$11.85 billion by 2029, a compound annual growth of 24.31%, forecasts Mordor Intelligence. Construction firms expect AI to enhance construction in many different ways: planning and design, project scheduling, resource allocation, worker safety, energy efficiency, sustainability, and more.
For example, as AI features are added to BIM solutions, project teams can take advantage of more detailed visualizations to design, build, and repair more efficiently than ever. Robotics can provide self-operating equipment to make jobsites more productive and safer. Though robots may help plug labor shortages, industry observers think they will augment, not replace, human expertise. Expect to see AI woven into construction applications, allowing managers and workers to do their jobs better without needing AI training.
Oracle Smart Construction Platform is an integrated suite of project collaboration, scheduling, payment, data analytics, and other industry-oriented applications. Built on a common data environment and incorporating a growing partner ecosystem, it helps owners and delivery teams work together to plan and manage all types of construction projects. Oracle’s construction data and intelligence solutions use predictive AI-based analytics to uncover risks and support timely, informed decisions.
How is AI used in the construction industry?
Construction professionals use AI to plan, design, schedule, and manage their many projects—potentially faster, more accurately, and with lower cost and risk.
Will AI take over construction?
No. While AI can make every phase of the project lifecycle more efficient and cost-effective, it won’t replace humans on the jobsite or in the back office. Human experience and judgment will always have a place in the decision-making process, for example, in reviewing AI-generated reports and identifying any errors, inconsistencies, or areas where AI may not have a complete picture of the situation.
How does AI affect construction?
AI will affect virtually every aspect of construction, with the potential to improve the efficiency of projects, help teams predict and navigate around supply chain disruptions, and ultimately make projects less costly and more profitable.
How is AI used in construction estimating?
Constructions firms use AI to help estimate project timelines, resources, and costs faster and more accurately, helping them win bids and protect profit margins.