One number leapt out to me in this year’s construction survey: 19. That’s the percentage of respondents who said they are actively implementing artificial intelligence (AI) in their companies. While many are still exploring options, the gap between those evaluating AI and those actively embedding it into their operations is widening. For some, being caught on the wrong side of that gap could prove a competitive risk. Firms that fail to translate interest into action risk could be compromising their efficiency, scalability, and long-term value.
If you don’t know where to start or can’t imagine how AI could help a literal brick-and-mortar industry like construction, consider that taking away all the technology you currently use (e.g., laptops, tablets, cell phones, applications, etc.,) would bring your operations to a sudden halt. Whether it’s spreadsheets, ERPs, CAD systems, or specialized software, your business is tech-enabled in a way that would be unimaginable 15 to 20 years ago.
So, having established that technology is fundamental to your business, it’s easy to appreciate that AI simply represents the next step in the technological revolution. The value proposition of this most recent advancement is simple, AI can help you improve operational consistency, respond more effectively to change, and build a stronger, more scalable business over time.
Increasingly, technology adoption is becoming a defining factor in overall business performance. Firms that embrace modern data, systems, and processes are not only better positioned operationally, but also better equipped to scale, adapt, and enhance their value over the long-term.
Think of AI as a Project Management Assistant
You already know what a difference a great project manager can make on a big job. They can predict problems and find solutions that keep workflows uninterrupted. Details like staffing and scheduling appropriately, managing inventory, and communicating in real time all add up to jobs that remain on schedule and on budget.
Problems arise on every work site, and a great project manager navigates them proactively while minimizing impact. However, not every project manager is a great project manager. AI can step in to predict delays, reduce cost overruns, and address other risks before they happen. AI employed in this manner allows you to adjust schedules, resources, and sequencing based on lessons learned from past projects. As a result, you can expect fewer surprises, earlier intervention, and more consistent project execution across the business.
Faster Estimates
AI allows construction companies to move from being reactive to being predictive.
It sounds simple but it can change workflows entirely. It starts at the bid process as AI gets bids out faster and more completely by rapidly analyzing factors like a seasoned senior estimator – sometimes in minutes rather than days. This means junior staff can use AI to create meticulous estimates and free up your senior estimators to simply validate estimates rather than build them from scratch.
The outcome is a more scalable estimating function with greater consistency across projects.
Managing Staffing Woes
Once again, finding skilled workers is one of the top pain points for all survey respondents this year. AI tools can ensure your staff is optimized throughout a project and help you overcome common availability challenges like sick days, accidents, vacations, and turnover. For most firms, scheduling is still manual, relying on spreadsheets and experience. AI scheduling optimizes sequencing and resource allocation, allowing you to backfill and ‘think’ across multiple projects. This means that elements of a project subject to weather, material stockouts, or staffing delays can be addressed proactively to mitigate their impact on overall timelines.
For firms still relying on manual processes, this represents a meaningful opportunity to improve resource allocation, reduce inefficiencies, and maintain continuity even when conditions change.
Profitability Levers
AI does more than alleviate labor shortage problems. It helps optimize staffing based on wages, skillsets, and experience. In turn, that enables firms to review and schedule staff based on the most cost-effective model while still accounting for project quality and outcomes.
The impact can be significant in cost savings alone but the approach also helps improve consistency across projects. Consistency is a key driver of long-term business value, particularly as organizations look to scale, take on more complex work, or operate across multiple markets.
Those wary of new technology may be relieved to hear that you can start small with AI and measure the impact. You’ll be surprised how fast results can add up. Freeing up staff to focus more fully on your most important clients and projects is a great way to drive profits. This is in addition to other benefits like closing your books sooner and gaining accurate real-time insights into financial and project information that stakeholders, contractors, and clients increasingly demand.
Use Cases
Here are a few more ways construction companies are using AI today:
Supply Chain Diversification.
Whether you’re countering tariffs shifts, diversifying suppliers, or finding the best prices, AI can rapidly compare costs, lead times, and risk profiles across dozens of suppliers and geographies. It can also share proactive simulations that account for tariffs, shipping costs, geopolitical risks, and other factors.
Demand Forecasting & Inventory Optimization.
We have all seen how politics, natural disasters, and other world events can create volatile markets. AI can forecast using signals from market data, customer orders, and macroeconomic indicators to more accurately predict demand around the materials you need. This helps build a stronger and more effective supply chain.
Training & Knowledge Sharing.
Construction is a graying industry, with experienced talent retiring and taking critical knowledge with them. AI can capture much of that expertise and deliver it through interactive mobile training tools. Augmented reality guided instructions can also help less experienced workers perform complex tasks.
Getting Started
I’ve barely scratched the surface of what today’s AI tools can deliver and the pace of change is only accelerating. The firms gaining an advantage are moving beyond AI experimentation to take a structured approach, integrating the technology into how they operate, make decisions, and plan for the future.
Taking that step starts with an understanding where you are today and where you have the greatest opportunities to strengthen performance, improve consistency, and unlock additional value.
Assess Your AI Position
The CBIZ AI Journey Scorecard is designed to help your organization understand where it stands currently and what’s required to move forward. Rather than gauging simple preparedness, it provides a structured view across strategy, data, technology, governance, and adoption to highlight strengths, gaps, and next steps.
Aligning AI initiatives with business objectives and grounding them in secure, reliable data, as well as the right operating model, can help improve how organizations operate while supporting long-term value creation.
Complete the AI Journey Scorecard to assess your current position and identify next steps.
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