The number of companies applying artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has been rising continuously since 2021. However, there are still significant differences between large, medium and small companies. According to a recent analysis, half of large companies with more than 250 employees use AI (48 percent). Among medium-sized companies with 50 to 249 employees, only one in four (28 percent) already uses AI, and among small companies (10 to 49 employees), one in six (17 percent) uses AI.

However, the trend towards greater use of artificial intelligence technologies can be seen in companies of all sizes. Compared to the previous year 2023 alone, the number of users rose by +13 percent in large companies, +12 percent in medium-sized companies and +7 percentage points in small companies within a year.

AI is mainly used in text mining (48 percent), speech recognition (47 percent) and natural language generation (34 percent). This in the area of marketing and sales (33 percent). production or service processes (25 percent), administration and management (24 percent) and accounting, controlling and finance (24 percent).

And what about architecture and civil engineering? Although the use of artificial intelligence technologies is also on the rise in the construction sector, many planning and construction processes are still very analog. And of course you can't compare the automotive industry with the construction industry, for example. However, the latter has already created initial answers and fields, such as modular construction with a high degree of prefabrication, the use of BIM (Building Information Modeling), the automation of construction machinery and the diverse use of robots on construction sites (documentation, surveying, occupational safety) in order to make further use of AI.

And precisely because the construction industry is still relatively analog, it has great potential for the application of new AI-based technologies. In Germany, it is estimated at several billion euros over the next decade.

The specific use of artificial intelligence technologies in the planning and construction processes only makes sense if and when they offer significant advantages over human intelligence. The tasks involved in the design, planning and construction process are complex and diverse and are subject to numerous technical requirements, standards and regulations, but above all to the individual ideas of the client.

The greatest potential for the development of artificial intelligence in the construction industry can be quickly identified and are as follows:

• Automation of planning
• Standardization of construction processes
• More use of machines on construction sites, less use of personnel

For simple, modular buildings and structures of the same design, AI can help to advance the repetitive processes involved in planning, manufacturing and construction. Companies that have been using BIM for years already have a good information and data basis for setting up AI applications. In many cases, AI is already being used in the areas of offer processing, awarding and contracting.

In the future, too, individual construction projects will still require architects with design, approval and execution planning expertise and highly specialized structural engineers. However, they can make use of AI, for example when developing floor plan variants. When linked to individual user requirements, design specifications, location and function, as well as the number of rooms, AI can be combined with building regulations to generate optimized floor plan variants and detect errors.

As already mentioned, the focus in terms of the construction process is on modular construction with a high degree of prefabrication. However, the long-term goal is also to use AI-supported technologies on construction sites to have simple and repetitive tasks performed by machines that currently still have to be carried out by physical force. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, simple earthworks, bricklaying, formwork and concrete work, for example, will in future be carried out to a large extent by machine. Qualified personnel would then only be needed for supervision.

The German chambers of engineering estimate that around 20 to 25 percent of planning offices currently use AI. For construction companies, the percentage is around 10 percent, with another 10 percent currently planning to implement AI.