Who’s ready for summer? Things may be heating up in many parts of the United States, but AI (artificial intelligence) is heating up in all areas of business. Many of us have heard the numbers. Research suggests AI will become a trillion-dollar industry by 2031 and will add 11.5% to global GDP growth by the same year, which is three times more than this year. Bottomline is AI is heating up fast and furious.
Here at Constructech, we are embarking on a summer “hot” technology series, looking at AI. Our series is unfolding in a couple of stages. In the first stage, we looked at AI throughout the lifecycle of a construction project—from design, to build, to operate.
Now, we are moving into the second phase of the blog series, where we are turning our attention to specific applications where gen AI could bring new benefits. Today’s focus: bidding and estimating.
As we all know, creating a winning bid isn’t an easy feat. Inaccurate cost estimating can lead to low margins, ultimately impacting the bottomline.
Artificial intelligence can help. Generally speaking, it can create fast and accurate estimates based on historical data like costs and labor rates while also taking into consideration realtime pricing. With the right data in hand, contractors can win more bids while saving money and time.
Certainly, I could share many examples of AI in estimating—and I did in the past when Togal.AI launched a new ChatGPT feature.
For today’s blog, let’s look at a more recent example that hit my inbox. Buildxact now includes AI-assisted features to empower small-to-medium residential homebuilders, remodelers, and contractors including Blu: Takeoff Assistant, Blu: Estimate Generator, Blu: Estimate Reviewer, and Blu: Recipe/Assembly Assistant.
Buildxact has integrated artificial intelligence into its software platform, allowing users to generate project estimates in as little as 30 seconds using new product features. This provides detailed cost breakdowns and enables adjustments via AI prompts or manual input.
New features will break down historical industry time sinks that result in wasted time and money. These technologies not only help builders streamline their bidding process and win more projects, but will allow more builders to deliver more homes, and help more remodelers improve the existing building stock.
Again, this is simply one example. I would encourage you to chat with your estimating provider and see if they are currently—or plan to add—AI features to the tools in the future. Getting the most out of a technology will ultimately enable construction companies to create more accurate bids and estimates.
Do you have estimating technology designed specifically for the construction industry? We want to hear about it! Check out our 2026 Constructech Top Products award program. Make sure to enter your product for consideration.
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