AI Saves AEC Firms $50K and 1,000 Hours

AI Adoption in AEC Is Accelerating — And BuilderHelp Is Closing the Gap

Bluebeam, a leading developer of solutions and services for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals worldwide and part of the Nemetschek Group, recently released its 2026 Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook report. Based on a global survey of over 1,000 AEC technology decision-makers, the report paints a picture of an industry standing at an inflection point: AI adoption is still early, but the payoff for firms that move first is substantial — and the barriers holding everyone else back are exactly the problems platforms like BuilderHelp were built to solve.

The State of AI in AEC Today

Only 27% of AEC firms currently use AI for automation, problem-solving, or decision-making, with firms citing risk, cost, and integration challenges as the primary reasons for staying on the sidelines. But for the early adopters who have moved past the pilot stage, the numbers are hard to ignore: 68% have saved at least $50,000, and nearly half (46%) have saved between 500 and 1,000 hours using AI tools. It's no surprise, then, that 94% of AEC companies currently using AI plan to increase their investment and use of AI over the next year, shifting from isolated pilots to full workflow integration.

This is the exact gap BuilderHelp was built to close. Where most firms are stuck experimenting with disconnected point solutions, BuilderHelp bakes AI directly into the project management workflow — scheduling, document review, and planning — so that firms don't have to bolt AI onto their existing process. They get the productivity gains the report highlights without the integration lift that's currently keeping 73% of the industry on the sidelines.

Why Firms Are Hesitant

The report identifies the real barriers to adoption, and they're not really about whether AI works. Data sharing security (42%) and cost and complexity (33%) were the top integration challenges reported by respondents, and 69% say concerns about potential AI regulations have already impacted their AI efforts.

This is where the platform matters as much as the model. BuilderHelp's approach to integrated AI is designed around the two things AEC firms say they need most before they'll trust the technology: a secure, permissioned data environment purpose-built for construction workflows, and a single connected system rather than a patchwork of disconnected AI add-ons — directly addressing the cost-and-complexity concern that a third of the industry names as a top barrier.

AI and the Workforce Equation

The report also underscores that AI is becoming a workforce strategy, not just a productivity play. 56% of respondents say AI helps offset skilled labor shortages, and nearly half (44%) cite advanced digital tools as key to attracting and retaining top talent, alongside culture and compensation.

At the same time, the report flags a real skills gap: nearly a fifth of companies (19%) cite a lack of digital skills, and nearly a fourth (23%) cite difficulty keeping up with rapidly changing technology as their top challenges. Yet two-thirds of companies (65%) invest less than 10% of their technology budgets in training. That mismatch — high stated need, low actual training investment — is a strong argument for tools that don't require heavy retraining to use. BuilderHelp's integrated approach is designed to meet project teams inside the workflows they already run, rather than asking them to learn a separate AI system on top of their existing project management software.

Usman Shuja, CEO of Bluebeam, framed the moment well: "AI in construction is still emerging, yet the momentum among early adopters is accelerating rapidly, delivering tangible gains in cost, time, and collaboration. The question now isn't whether AI works – it's how to integrate it effectively." He noted that 95% of early adopters in the survey use AI frequently across the building lifecycle, with nearly half reclaiming 500–1,000 hours on tasks like scheduling, planning, and document analysis.

A Broader Industry Still Catching Up

Beyond AI specifically, the report highlights an industry in the middle of a slower, broader digital transition. 84% of firms plan to increase overall technology investment in 2026, and 67% of AEC leaders say digital tools are already improving productivity. But only 11% of firms describe themselves as fully digital — most still rely on paper and legacy tools for key workflows. 52% still use paper during the design phase, 49% during planning, and 43% still rely on physical signatures and approvals.

Nearly 40% of firms also report difficulty managing collaboration across the full project lifecycle, particularly when teams are siloed between design, construction, and operations. This is the connectivity problem Shuja pointed to directly: "The biggest barriers to AEC technology adoption in 2026 aren't cost – they're complexity, culture and connection. Success requires not just tools but training and an integrated approach that connects the dots across teams, project phases and workflows."

That's the same thesis BuilderHelp is built around: rather than adding another siloed tool to an already fragmented tech stack, an integrated AI layer inside the project management platform itself gives teams one connected system spanning design, construction, and operations — turning the 40% collaboration gap the report identifies into a solvable problem rather than a permanent cost of doing business.

The Takeaway

The data tells a consistent story: AI in AEC works, but adoption is being held back by integration complexity, data security concerns, and a workforce that hasn't been given the training or tools to keep pace. As the industry moves from pilots to real workflow integration in 2026, the firms that win won't just be the ones that adopt AI first — they'll be the ones that adopt it through platforms built to remove friction rather than add it. That's the space BuilderHelp is positioning itself to own.

Statistics and quotes in this article are drawn from Bluebeam's 2026 Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook report, based on a global survey of over 1,000 AEC technology decision-makers across the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia, conducted in July 2025.