Construction projects are increasingly complex. Projects involve more stakeholders, tighter schedules, evolving regulations, and increasing pressure to make decisions quickly without increasing risk.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how architects, contractors, owners, and legal teams work through those challenges. Instead of replacing professional judgment, AI can help teams find information faster, understand contract language more clearly, and spend less time searching through lengthy agreements.
To better understand where the industry stands today, AIA Contract Documents (ACD) hosted a webinar introducing AI Assistant, the newest innovation in our contract management platform. Along the way, attendees shared how they’re already using AI, where they struggle most today, and what capabilities they want to see next.
Watch the Webinar Replay
Whether you’re exploring AI for the first time or looking to improve your contract workflow, these insights can help you build smarter.
Quick Decision Guide: Is Your Contract Workflow Ready for AI?
| If You Want To… | AI Can Help … |
| Find contract language faster | Answer questions in plain language |
| Understand unfamiliar clauses | Explain legal concepts without legal jargon |
| Choose the right AIA agreement | Recommend documents based on project context |
| Review obligations | Identify responsibilities, deadlines, and commitments |
| Reduce time spent searching | Surface answers across your agreements in seconds |
Why AI Is Becoming Part of Construction Contracting
Construction professionals spend countless hours reading agreements, reviewing revisions, responding to redlines, and answering questions from project teams. None of those activities generate revenue directly, but they all affect project outcomes.
As projects become more complex, firms are looking for ways to improve productivity without sacrificing accuracy or increasing legal risk. That’s where AI has the greatest opportunity.
Rather than replacing architects, contractors, or attorneys, AI acts as a decision support tool. It helps professionals locate information faster, summarize lengthy language, and provide context for making better decisions. As Roger Angarita, Chief Product Officer at ACD, put it:
“AI isn’t about replacing human judgment. It’s about helping experts make better decisions faster.”
That’s the philosophy that guided the development of ACD’s AI Assistant.
Half of attendees are just beginning their AI journey. That tells us something important. The industry isn’t looking for AI to replace expertise. It’s looking for AI that makes experienced professionals more productive. And when AI tools are integrated directly into workflows, it’s easy to use them naturally, whether you’re familiar with AI or not.
Four Ways AI Can Improve Construction Contract Workflows Today
1. Find Answers Faster
Anyone who’s worked through a lengthy construction agreement knows the challenge. You remember reading something about drawings, indemnification, insurance, or substantial completion. But where?
Instead of manually searching through dozens of pages, AI Assistant lets users ask questions naturally, such as:
- What does A201® say about drawings?
- What does reasonable promptness mean?
- Who is responsible for the commercial general liability insurance?
The assistant identifies the relevant provisions and directs the user to the applicable sections of their agreements.
2. Explain Complex Language
Construction contracts are written carefully for good reason. But that doesn’t mean every project manager, architect, or owner speaks legal language every day.
AI can translate complex provisions into understandable business language while still pointing users back to the original contract language to ensure accuracy.
Without losing the context of the original agreement, this helps teams understand:
- Responsibilities
- Deadlines
- Obligations
- Coordination requirements
- Risk allocation
When asked which capability would be most valuable today, attendees selected:
- Clause and requirement identification
- Plain-language explanations
- Agreement recommendations
- Contract summaries
3. Recommend the Right Agreement
Choosing between more than 300 AIA agreements can be intimidating. AI Assistant can recommend the right primary agreement based on what you tell it about your project. It takes its value a step further by also reviewing the current agreements already associated with a project and recommending additional agreements based on project context.
Instead of searching through document libraries, users can ask: “We don’t have a contractor agreement yet. Which document should we use?”
The assistant explains the relationship between agreements and guides users to the appropriate choice, while encouraging users to consult legal counsel when project-specific legal advice is required.
4. Surface Project Commitments
Perhaps the most exciting capability is helping teams understand what commitments already exist inside their agreements. Keeping track of all commitments across your projects is a full-time job.
Teams can ask, “What obligations do we have?” AI Assistant will quickly provide the answer specific to your project, making it much faster to understand your commitments and project details.
Future enhancements discussed during the webinar include helping users identify project risks, analyze drafting decisions, and provide negotiation insights based on contract language.
The Biggest Contract Challenges Today
We asked attendees where they spend the most time during the contracting process. The results were revealing.
- 36.5% of attendees said writing custom clauses
- 27.4% of attendees said reviewing redlines
We’re taking this data and using it to build future drafting capabilities for AI Assistant, so stay tuned!
AI Doesn’t Replace Judgment
One theme came up repeatedly throughout the webinar. Trust matters.
Construction projects involve significant financial commitments and legal obligations. AI should never become a substitute for professional judgment. Instead, it should help professionals make informed decisions by:
- Providing context
- Citing contract language
- Identifying relevant provisions
- Explaining terminology
- Surfacing information quickly
As Roger Angarita emphasized, transparency is essential. Users should always understand where answers come from and retain responsibility for project decisions.
What 300 Construction Professionals Told Us About AI and Contract Management
Our final poll asked attendees which future AI capabilities excite them most.
The leading responses were:
- Risk identification and analysis
- Integrations and workflow automation
- Custom clause drafting
- Negotiation insights
- Project analytics
These responses reinforce a larger trend. Construction firms are looking for deeper AI uses through intelligent workflow tools that help reduce risk while keeping projects moving.
What This Means for Your Firm
AI adoption in construction is still in its early stages. But firms that begin learning today will be better positioned as technology matures.
The opportunity isn’t simply to work faster, it’s to:
- Reduce time spent searching for information
- Improve consistency across projects
- Strengthen risk awareness
- Support better collaboration
- Free up experienced professionals to focus on higher-value work
That’s ultimately where AI creates the greatest value.
Watch Now: AI Assistant in Action
Watch the complete webinar replay to see AI Assistant demonstrated inside Catina, hear the product roadmap from ACD leadership, and learn how AI can help your team spend less time searching contracts and more time delivering successful projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. AI should support research, document understanding, and workflow efficiency. Legal advice and contract decisions should always remain with qualified professionals.
No. Customer data remains private. During the webinar, ACD explained that customer information stays within a secure environment and is not used to train public AI models.
AI Assistant is available within ACD’s contract management platform for unlimited subscription users.
Current capabilities include answering questions about AIA agreements, explaining contract language, recommending agreements, identifying obligations, and helping users locate relevant provisions more quickly.
The current focus is on helping users understand contracts and improve productivity. Future enhancements for our roadmap that were discussed during the webinar include drafting assistance, negotiation insights, and risk identification while maintaining appropriate human oversight