91±¬ÁÏ

Foreword by Doug Vincent, CEO of 91±¬ÁÏ

AI is reshaping construction faster than anything I have seen in this industry. A year ago, it sat on the edge of projects, something teams were curious about but few relied on. Today, it is part of the daily work, and moving quicker than most of us expected.

Project managers have gone from asking whether AI belongs in their day to how far to take it. That is real progress, but only the start. What they reach for today is still general-purpose; few use AI built for construction, and almost no one is working with agents yet. Closing that gap is the real work ahead.

What comes next is AI designed for how construction actually runs, wired into project data and trusted enough to sit alongside the team. That is what we are building at 91±¬ÁÏ, for every team ready to move past experimenting and into using agents as a real part of how projects get delivered.

Global AI Statistics in Construction Project Management (2026)

A year on from our first State of AI in Construction report, the numbers have moved fast. The AI in project management market has more than doubled in forecast size, global construction spending has climbed past $17 trillion, and AI in construction itself sits among the fastest-growing software categories tracked by industry analysts.

Here's a global snapshot of AI in construction project management in 2026:

Inside the 2026 91±¬ÁÏ Survey: AI in Construction Project Management

Artificial intelligence has moved from emerging technology to an everyday tool. Across industries, it is automating manual work and speeding up decisions, and construction is no exception, with the pace picking up since our first State of AI report in 2025.

The bigger question is how deeply AI has taken hold in construction project management. Which tools are PMs actually using day-to-day, where do they see it adding the most value, and what is still holding adoption back?

To answer that, 91±¬ÁÏ surveyed 108 leading construction project management professionals across the globe between March and June 2026, from project owners and developers to government bodies, major consultancies, and boutique firms.

This report lays out what we found on AI adoption, sentiment, benefits, barriers, and where the technology is headed next.

Q1 - Construction PMs are warming up to AI, and the skeptics are going quiet

We asked construction project professionals how they feel about AI's growing role in the profession. A year ago, the industry was cautiously optimistic. In 2026, optimism has continued to grow.

How do you feel about AI's growing role in construction PM?

• 67.6% of respondents rated AI positively.
• Just 9.3% of respondents rated AI negatively, and positive responses outnumber negative ones by more than 7 to 1.
• 23.1% of respondents are neutral, still forming a view.
• Overall sentiment leans clearly positive, and the direction is still up.

Key findings on AI sentiment

• Sentiment keeps tipping positive. Since 2025, skeptics have shrunk by almost a third while more respondents rate AI positively.
• Most PMs are optimistic but not yet zealots. More PMs are more optimistic but not yet super excited about AI. They see the upside, but they have not stopped seeing the risks.
• The neutral middle is the group to watch. Nearly 1 in 4 respondents are still on the fence. Their views over the next year will help shape how quickly AI adoption deepens across the profession.

Q2 - Construction PMs aren't just trying AI anymore, half of them use it every day

We asked construction PMs how often they reach for AI, which tools they use, and whether they have started using AI agents. Most now use it regularly, and clear favorites are emerging among the tools they reach for.

How often are you using AI in your work?

• 48.1% of respondents use AI daily or more often.
• 72.2% of respondents use AI at least weekly.
• Only 8.3% of respondents have never used AI in their work.
• In the 2025 report, 52.4% of respondents reported using AI at least once in the past 12 months.

💡 AI has moved from trial to habit. Compared to the 2025 survey, respondents have shifted from a slim majority who had tried AI at least once to nearly half now using it every day. The question is no longer whether respondents use AI, but how often.

Which AI tools have you used for work in the past 3 months?

• ChatGPT is the most-used AI tool, reaching 66.7% of respondents
• Microsoft Copilot follows at 50.9%, likely supported by enterprise Microsoft 365 rollouts
• Claude and Google Gemini sit roughly level, each used by around a third of respondents
• 8.3% of respondents use AI features inside 91±¬ÁÏ
• Only 3.7% use AI features inside Procore, Autodesk, or similar tools

💡 Respondents turn to general-purpose AI far more readily than the AI built into their construction software. Tools like ChatGPT reach 66.7% of respondents while construction-specific AI stays under 10%, a gap of about eight to one and one of the widest in the survey.

Are you using AI agents yet?

• 9.3% of construction PMs who responded are using AI agents today.
• 46.3% are planning to, the single largest group.
• Another 21.3% know what agents are but are not yet ready to hand over tasks.
• 23.1% are not yet familiar with the term.
• Agent adoption is still at an early stage in construction.

💡 Interest in AI agents runs well ahead of real use. Most of the hesitant already understand agents, so the barrier is trust in handing over tasks, not knowledge. Adoption will move only as fast as that trust builds.

Q3 - Reporting is where PMs most want AI to help

We asked construction PMs which parts of the job would benefit most from AI, and let them pick every area that applied. The answer was almost unanimous on one: Reporting.

Where could AI add the most value to your work?

• Construction Project Reporting (84.3%) is the runaway top area where construction PMs see AI adding value.
• The next three are all data-heavy, paperwork-heavy disciplines, Document Management (69.4%), Cost Management and Forecasting (65.7%), Contract Administration (63.9%).
• Every area in the list scored above 32%, meaning there is no part of construction project management that PMs see as untouched by AI.

Q4 - PMs are saving real time with AI, and they expect more

We asked construction PMs how much of their typical workday AI could speed up or eliminate, and how much time it actually saves them on a given task. AI is already giving time back on the tasks it touches, and most think it could take on much more of the day.

How much of your workday could AI speed up?

• 75.9% of respondents believe AI could speed up or eliminate at least 11% of their typical workday.
• 37.0% of respondents see AI taking out 26% or more of their workday.
• Only 0.9% of respondents believe AI will eliminate more than 75% of the work.
• 11.1% of respondents are not yet sure how much of their workday AI could take out.

💡 Respondents expect AI to reshape the workday, not take it over. They see it absorbing the routine work while the judgment stays with them. So the gains show up as added capacity, not a smaller role.

How much time does AI actually save you?

• 61.1% of respondents save at least 10% of time on a task when they use AI.
• 38.9% of respondents save 25% or more of their time.
• 16.7% of respondents save more than half of their time.
• 7.4% of respondents report no benefit, or say AI sometimes costs them more time.
• Nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19.4%) have not measured the time AI saves them.

💡 Most respondents save real time when they use AI, yet nearly one in five have never measured how much. The gains are real but largely untracked, so their true value stays hidden from the teams already relying on them.

Q5 - More than half of PMs see AI slowly changing their work

We asked construction PMs whether their day-to-day work has changed in the last 12 months because of AI. The answer points to a profession in transition, with the majority reporting at least some change to how they work.

Has AI changed your day-to-day work in the last 12 months?

• 52.8% of construction PMs say their day-to-day work has changed because of AI in the last 12 months.
• 45.4% say it has not changed, or AI has not touched their work.
• 9.3% report significant change, including new tasks and new ways of working.

💡 A slim majority say AI has changed how they work, but only at the margins. Far more report a modest change than a significant one, and nearly half report little or none, so the shift is broad but shallow. Deeper, workflow-level change is still the exception.

Q6 - The biggest barrier to AI adoption isn't cost or skills, it's trust

We asked construction PMs what the biggest barrier was stopping them or their team from using more AI. The answers point to a single dominant concern, accuracy and trust, well ahead of cost, integration, or skills.

What's the biggest barrier to using more AI?

• 29.6% of respondents named accuracy and trust as the biggest barrier to AI adoption.
• 15.7% of respondents cite a lack of understanding of how to use AI.
• 13.9% of respondents point to integration with existing tools as the biggest barrier.
• 13.0% of respondents cite a skills gap on the team.
• Only 3.7% of respondents pinpointed cost as the biggest barrier.

💡 The barriers left are mostly human, not technical. Trust, understanding, and skills far outweigh cost and integration, so adoption now turns on confidence, not the tools. More proof that AI works, and more training to use it, will move it further than new features or lower prices.

How the biggest barriers to AI shifted,  2025 vs 2026

• Accuracy and trust is new in 2026 and went straight to number one (29.6%).
• Data privacy fell from the top spot (25.7%) to just 8.3%.
• Cost dropped to the bottom of the list, from 18.8% to 3.7%.
• Integration (22.8% to 13.9%) and understanding (20.8% to 15.7%) both loosened their grip.

💡 The biggest barrier to AI is now trust in its accuracy, while cost has become the smallest concern. The worry is no longer whether AI is affordable but whether its output can be relied on, which is the concern that surfaces once teams put it to real work.

Q7 - Construction PMs aren't worried about being replaced, and most are already adapting

We asked construction PMs two related questions on the future of their role. How worried they are that AI could replace part or all of their job in the next 5 years, and how they are currently approaching AI as it grows in construction.

How worried are you about AI replacing your role in the next 5 years?

• 58.3% of respondents are not worried about AI replacing their role in the next 5 years.
• Only 14.8% say they are worried about being replaced.
• The neutral middle, 26.9%, sit somewhere between worried and unconcerned.

💡 Respondents are meeting AI with confidence. The strongest concern about being replaced is the single rarest response, so there is little entrenched fear for AI to push against. With little fear to overcome, AI has a clear runway to wider use.

Which best describes how you're approaching AI as it grows in construction?

• 58.3% of respondents are already learning AI tools and skills.
• 19.4% are planning to learn but haven't started.
• 11.1% are waiting to see how AI plays out before investing time.
• Only 1.9% are concerned about their role and unsure what to do.

💡 AI skill-building isn't being driven by fear. Far more respondents are already learning AI than are worried about being replaced, so fear can't be the force behind it. For most, picking up AI skills has simply become part of the job.

Q8 - The wish list: What construction PMs want AI to build

We asked construction PMs two final questions to round out the survey. If they had a magic wand, what AI tool would they want built specifically for construction PMs, and what would they do with the time AI saved them?

What AI tool would you build for construction PMs?

If AI saved you 10 hours a week, what would you do with the time?

The 10-hour question reveals how construction PMs think about AI's purpose. Across the responses, the dominant answer is reinvestment. Themes are ranked by frequency below.

Construction has embraced AI, but its full value is still ahead

The 2026 State of AI in Construction Project Management survey confirms that AI has moved from an emerging technology into a core part of the construction project management workflow. Half of respondents now use AI on a daily basis, close to 7 in 10 hold a positive view of its expanding role, and the majority report that their day-to-day work has already begun to change.

Respondents are treating AI as a way to expand what a project manager can do, take on more work, and focus on more strategic decisions. It explains why nearly 6 in 10 are already investing time in learning AI tools.

Momentum is also building across every surveyed use case. Reporting, Document Management, Cost Management, and Contract Administration emerge as the clearest priorities for near-term investment.

At the same time, the data points to where meaningful opportunity remains untapped. Construction-specific AI reaches only a small share of respondents, with AI agents still in the early stages of adoption.

The strong lead of general-purpose AI shows that respondents are already embedding AI into daily work, opening the door for construction-specific tools to build on that habit.

Construction PMs have already brought AI into their workflow. The next step is turning that adoption into a real advantage through depth, integration, and trust. Agents will be the biggest leap forward for the teams that get there first.

Contributors

• Doug Vincent, Co-Founder and CEO, 91±¬ÁÏ. Foreword and editorial direction.
• Jacob Gibbs, Customer Success Team Lead, 91±¬ÁÏ. Survey coordination and participant engagement.
• Anna Marie Goco, Senior Content Writer, 91±¬ÁÏ. Content development and editorial strategy.
• Jefbeck Eje, SEO Specialist, 91±¬ÁÏ. Data Visualization, Charting & Content Support

Citations

The following sources are referenced in the Global AI Statistics section of this report.

1. ResearchAndMarkets, AI in Project Management Market Outlook 2025 to 2030.
2. MarketsandMarkets, AI in Project Management Market Worth $5.7 Billion by 2028.
3. Gartner, AI Maturity Survey, June 2025.
4. ResearchAndMarkets, Global Construction Market Report 2026.
5. Deloitte, 2026 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook.
6. Fortune Business Insights, AI in Construction Market.
7. Grand View Research, Artificial Intelligence in Construction Market.
8. Precedence Research, Artificial Intelligence in Construction Market.
9. Autodesk, 2025 State of Design and Make.
10. McKinsey, Artificial Intelligence: Construction Technology's Next Frontier.
11. KPMG, Under Pressure, 2026.
12. McKinsey, Reinventing Construction: A Route to Higher Productivity.
13. Associated General Contractors of America, 2025 Workforce Survey.
14. Deloitte, 2025 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook.
15. CITB, Construction Skills Network Industry Picture 2026.
16. Infrastructure Australia, 2025 Infrastructure Market Capacity Report.
17. McKinsey, The State of AI, 2025.
18. Stanford HAI, 2025 AI Index Report.
19. ASCE, AEC Sector Slow to Adapt to AI, December 2025.
20. RICS, Artificial Intelligence in Construction Report.