Nemetschek Group’s daughter company, Bluebeam, has released a report titled 2026 Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook, based on a global survey of over 1,000 AEC professionals, and this year’s report indicates strong AI technology uptake and return on investment.
AI Adoption ROI
The report highlights how digital technologies are becoming critical to the everyday workforce in the building industry. Yet, despite this, there are still significant barriers and skill gaps amongst AEC industry firms, with nearly one fifth (19%) citing a lack of digital skills among their work colleagues.
Bluebeam’s annual report shows strong ROI in AI technology adoption, yet less than one-third of AEC firms have deployed AI tools.
The Bluebeam global report reveals the following interesting findings:
- AI Adoption — Only 27% of AEC firms use artificial intelligence (AI) for any kind of automation, problem-solving, or decision-making. These firms cite risk, cost, and technology integration challenges to creating higher adoption.
- AI Early Adopters See High ROI — Despite such small adoption, those adopting AI see strong return on investment (ROI). 68% of early adopters say they have saved at least USD 50,000, and nearly half (46%) have saved 500-1000 hours using AI tools.
- AI Growth Accelerating – 94% of AEC companies currently using AI plan to further increase investment and use AI in the next year, moving from pilots to workflow integration.
“AI in construction is still emerging, yet the momentum among early adopters is accelerating rapidly delivering tangible gains in cost, time, and collaboration,” said Usman Shuja, CEO of Bluebeam. “The question now isn’t whether AI works – it’s how to integrate it effectively. Our customers are thriving when AI fits the way they work. 95% of early adopters in our survey use AI frequently across the building lifecycle, and nearly half reclaimed 500–1,000 hours on critical tasks like scheduling, planning and document analysis. When AI stops being hype and starts solving real problems, that’s when we see true impact, and that’s where the AEC industry is headed.”
AI Integration and Barriers
Despite such proven ROI, firms remain cautious due to ongoing challenges that underscore the need for stronger data governance and compliance frameworks. These challenges indicate that:
- Data sharing security (42%) alongside cost and complexity (33%) were the top integration challenges reported by respondents.
- 69% also say concerns about potential AI regulations have impacted their AI efforts.
The report also shows how digital technologies are critical to workforce strategy in AEC companies, including how such technologies deliver a competitive advantage, both for firms and for recruitment and retention of the workforce.
- 56% of respondents say AI helps offset skilled labor shortages.
- Nearly half (44%) cite advanced digital tools as key to attracting and retaining top talent, alongside culture and compensation.
Still technology investments continue to accelerate even while AEC firms face uneven adoption in advanced technologies like AI. In addition to AI tech, the Bluebeam report paints a picture of an industry still in the midst of its digital transformation.
- 84% of firms plan to increase overall technology investment in 2026.
- 67% of AEC leaders say digital tools are already improving productivity.
- Only 11% are fully digital; most still rely on paper and legacy tools for key workflows.
- 52% still use paper during the design phase and 49% during planning, and 43% stilly rely on physical signatures and approvals.
Dealing with Silos
While the industry moves forward with its digital transformation, collaboration across various stakeholders remains a huge challenge. Nearly 40% of firms report difficulty in this respect, with data siloed between design, construction and operations.
Bluebeam CEO Usman Shuja notes:
The biggest barriers in AEC technology adoption in 2026 aren’t cost but rather complexity, culture and connection.
“Success requires not just tools but training [on those tools] and an integrated approach that connects the dots across teams, project phases, and workflows,” he explains. “Winning in this new era will take what I refer to as ‘dual athletes’–teams that bring construction expertise and digital fluency together to create competitive advantage.”
Breaking down barriers in construction workflows takes commitment to learning new tools and processes and without that commitment from the top of organizations such change doesn’t really happen or doesn’t happen effectively.
The Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook 2026 report offers detailed insights into AI adoption, digital maturity, and technology’s impact on project and workforce performance. It also includes regional trend data for North America, Europe, and Australia.
Readers can download the full report here by visiting: Building the Future: Bluebeam AEC Technology Outlook 2026.
About the Survey
Over 1,000 technology decision-makers (manager or above) within architecture, engineering, and construction firms across the US, UK, France, Germany, and Australia were surveyed online in July 2025.
To learn more about Bluebeam visit them online here.