The real barrier is knowing where to start
I was recently speaking with a software vendor at a conference about their features and how they are incorporating AI into their service offerings (who isn’t these days). We were talking about data warehouses and MCP servers (connectors that let an AI tool read from a software system) and how our clients could benefit from using these tools to connect their systems and data.
The problem is that many larger constructors with the resources to have IT staff are figuring this stuff out at scale. What of the small to midsized contractors? It occurred to me that, although everything we were talking about was relevant to my clients, it isn’t doing us any good if no one understands what we’re talking about.
Speaking with contractors at the same conference, it became clear that everyone is curious about how AI could help their business but reluctant for many reasons, not the least of which is ignorance. They simply do not yet understand enough about the technology to begin to apply it to practical daily use. Many know the buzzwords, but don’t know what they mean or how to practically apply them to their businesses.
To be fair, there has been an astonishing amount of innovation in the past six to nine months. It’s hard to keep up with.
The construction industry has long resisted change and especially change related to technology. Despite advances in business systems over the years, most builders are just that, builders. Construction at its core is “bricks and sticks”. Tech and access to it is usually seen as a nice to have. “Tech for the sake of coolness” is a low ROI.
In our experience working with general contractors and trade contractors across the country, what holds most companies back is that business owners do not yet understand what these new tools can do. And if you don’t know what a tool can do, it’s hard to picture how to use it in your own business.
The companies doing anywhere from a few million up to about $100 million a year in work is where being able to use AI can be a force multiplier: they have the most to gain from AI.
Key Takeaways
- Smaller contractors stand to gain the most. If your company does anywhere from a few million up to about $100 million a year, AI can work as a force multiplier for your team, and you don’t need to build an IT department to get there.
- For most owners, the hard part is knowing where to start. They’re curious about AI, but they haven’t seen yet what these tools can do inside their own business.
- Connecting your systems is finally within reach. Linking your project and accounting software, or pulling a dashboard together from several sources, used to take custom code and a full-time programmer, and that’s no longer the case.
- The best place to start is the work that eats up hours every week, like building submittal logs, writing daily reports and meeting minutes, reviewing contracts, and leveling bids.
- Pick two or three ideas and build from there. The contractors getting the most out of AI start small and train their own people, so the know-how stays inside the company.
What’s changed
Until recently, if you wanted help pulling reports automatically, getting your project software to talk to your accounting software, or seeing which jobs were making or losing money, you had three choices. All three cost more than most smaller contractors could justify. First, you could hire someone in-house. Many companies under $50 million a year don’t have enough of that work to keep a person busy full-time. Second, you could pay a consultant or programmer to build something custom and then you needed someone to keep it running. Third, you could buy SaaS software that was priced and built for contractors several times your size.
What’s changed is that connecting software to one another or using AI agents to create dashboards to view data from multiple sources or automate tasks is now a common and relatively easy effort.
Bigger companies used to have the advantage of resources to invest in custom software and APIs. That edge is shrinking for anyone willing to learn the tools they already have.
How many hours did your team lose to double entry last month?
Logs, daily reports, and re-keying change orders into a second system quietly eat hours and increase the likelihood of inaccuracies in project data. Ascent looks at how your company runs and the software you already own, then picks where AI could give your team more time and peace of mind.
How can a small construction business start using AI?
The table below lists ways we see contractors put AI to work quickly using Claude, ChatGPT, or Cowork. Each of these examples has the potential to save someone on a project or back-office team hours per month.
| Use case | What it replaces | Who benefits | How to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submittal log from specifications | Hours spent reading spec sections and keying requirements into a log | PMs, coordinators | Upload the spec book and ask for every submittal requirement by section, then import the output into your log |
| Daily reports from field notes | Superintendents typing reports at the end of a long day | Superintendents | Dictate notes or a voice memo on site and have AI format them into your daily report template |
| Meeting minutes and action items | Taking notes by hand in owner and subcontractor meetings | PMs, project executives | Record the meeting with a transcription tool and generate minutes with owners and due dates |
| Subcontract and owner contract review | Skimming 80 pages and missing notice deadlines, payment terms, and who’s on the hook if something goes wrong | Executives, PMs | Upload the contract and ask for a summary of notice requirements, payment terms, and risk clauses |
| Bid leveling and scope gap review | Side-by-side comparison of subcontractor quotes by hand | Estimators | Provide the quotes and your scope sheet, then ask for inclusions, exclusions, and gaps by bidder |
| Job cost variance narrative | Bookkeepers and PMs digging through raw reports to explain which jobs are over or under budget | Controllers, CFOs | Export what each job has spent and its budget by cost code, then ask where the biggest gaps are and why |
| Cleaning up messy cost codes | Hunting by hand for cost codes that don’t match from job to job | Owners, bookkeepers, PMs | Export cost codes from a few jobs, then ask AI to find mismatches, duplicates, and missing items and suggest one standard list |
| PM-to-accounting data sync | Double entry of commitments and change orders across two systems | PMs, accounting | Use the connections your software already offers, and have AI help set up what goes where |
| RFI and change order drafting | Writing correspondence from scratch each time | PMs, engineers | Give AI the issue, drawing references, and cost backup to produce a first draft for review |
Where to start and how Ascent can help
The contractors who get the most out of AI pick two or three ideas from the table that save real time. Start small and build skills and the creativity will follow.
At Ascent, we help smaller contractors take that first step. We start by looking at how your company operates, what software you use and where we see opportunity for time savings and ROI. Then we pick the ideas that will pay off fastest, make sure your information and processes are ready for them, connect your project and accounting software where it makes sense, and train your people so the know-how stays with your company, not with us. If you’re curious what AI could do in your business but aren’t sure where to start, give us a call. If you need help, we’re here.
Frequently asked questions
1. How do I use AI in a small construction business?
Start with the repeat work that eats hours: building submittal logs from specs, turning field notes into daily reports, writing meeting minutes, and summarizing contracts. Use a general tool such as Claude, ChatGPT, or Cowork, give it your own documents, and treat every output as a first draft for review. Pick two or three ideas that save real time, then build skills from there.
2. What are the highest-ROI AI use cases for general contractors?
In our experience, the fastest payback comes from document-heavy work: submittal logs from specifications, contract review for notice deadlines and payment terms, bid leveling across subcontractor quotes, and job cost variance narratives. Each one replaces hours of reading or re-keying. The return depends on clean inputs, so cost codes and project data that match from job to job make every use case more reliable.
3. Are there AI tools for smaller contractors, or are most designed for large enterprises?
Many construction platforms were priced and built for contractors several times your size, which is one reason smaller firms hold back. General tools such as Claude, ChatGPT, and Cowork work at any size, and the edge bigger companies had is shrinking for anyone willing to learn the tools they already have.
4. How can a smaller construction company start using AI without overhauling its systems?
Use what you already have. Most contractors can start with a business AI account, the reports, specs, and contracts already on file, and the connections their project and accounting software already offer. Avoid replacing software just to add AI. Consistent cost codes and complete change order history will do more for your AI results than a new platform.
5. What mistakes do contractors make when they first use AI?
The most common mistake is starting with the technology instead of the work. Tech for the sake of coolness is a low ROI. The contractors who get the most out of AI pick two or three ideas that save real time, make sure their information and processes are ready for them, and train their own people so the know-how stays in the company. Start small and build skills.
6. What is an MCP server, and does a small contractor need one?
MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for connecting AI tools to other software. An MCP server is a small connector that lets an AI tool read from one system, such as your project management or accounting software, with set permissions. Most small contractors don’t need one on day one. It becomes useful once you want AI to pull live data across systems.
Services mentioned in this article
- Construction AI Consulting — AI Opportunity Assessments and AI strategy and implementation for construction companies.
- Construction Software & Technology — software selection, training, and integration across project and accounting systems.
Related reading
- The Construction AI Reality Check
- How to Capture Tribal Knowledge With Construction AI
- AI Construction Estimating: Win the Right Work
- System Implementation Vs. System Integration
About the author
Jeff Robertson is a Senior Consultant and Principal at Ascent Consulting. Jeff has more than 30 years in commercial construction, from field laborer to project manager on projects from $3M to $100M to operations manager of a business unit with more than $100M in annual revenue, plus time on the owner side as a development manager. He now helps contractors put technology and AI to work in their operations.
About Ascent Consulting
Ascent Consulting is a construction-business consulting firm that is software-agnostic and operations-first. We work inside general contractors, specialty trade contractors, and private equity-backed construction companies, and our consultants have run the field, project, and operations teams we now advise. From AI strategy and software integration to operational design, our work starts with the same question this article asks: where can your team get time back? Talk to our team.
