Artificial intelligence is redefining the AEC industry, but while firms are experimenting, most have yet to scale adoption due to gaps in governance, workforce readiness, client alignment and measurable value. BST Global’s AI + Data Consortium brings together leading firms to bridge this gap through collective action. Focused on four initiatives — people and the future of work, standardization and compliance, client experience, and industry research — the consortium aims to define best practices and help firms move from isolated pilots to trusted, scalable, enterprise-wide AI impact.
AI’s Role in the AEC Industry
Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging concept in the AEC industry. It is a defining capability shaping how firms operate, compete and deliver value. Across firms, AI adoption has moved beyond curiosity and into experimentation, but for most, it has not yet reached scale. There’s still quite a gap between ambition and execution, shaped by challenges in governance, workforce readiness, client alignment and the ability to translate innovation into measurable value.
BST Global’s AI + Data Consortium was created to address that gap — not as a forum for discussion, but as a mechanism for collective advisement and action. Bringing together leaders from Arcadis, Arup, AtkinsRéalis, Gensler, GHD, Jacobs, Mott MacDonald, Parsons Corporation, Stantec and WSP, the consortium is focused on defining what “good” looks like in the era of AI and how firms can move from isolated pilots to sustained, enterprise impact.
As Eileen M. Canady, Executive Director of the consortium and BST Global’s Chief Marketing Officer, puts it, “The industry is hungry for clarity, alignment and action when it comes to AI. The consortium exists to turn shared challenges into shared progress, helping firms move beyond experimentation toward real, measurable outcomes.” To do so, the consortium has aligned on four strategic initiatives, each grounded in a critical truth about where the industry is today and what it must resolve to move forward.
Strategic Initiative #1: People & the Future of Work
The most persistent misconception about AI and the future of work in AEC is that it is primarily a technology challenge. In reality, it is a workforce transformation challenge.
In the AEC industry, where value is deeply tied to expertise, relationships and domain knowledge, AI is not displacing people but redefining how they work. The industry faces a simultaneous talent shortage, increasing project complexity and rising expectations for digital delivery. At the same time, there is growing recognition that AI transformation is not a one-time initiative but a continuous evolution.
From the consortium’s perspective, the industry lacks a clear, shared model for what an AI-enabled workforce actually looks like. Roles, capabilities and ways of working remain inconsistently defined, making it difficult to scale beyond isolated use cases.
This initiative focuses on building that clarity, developing practical frameworks for capability architecture, work design, and operating models that enable people and AI to advance together. The underlying belief is simple but important: AI will not deliver value at scale until firms redesign how work happens around it.
Strategic Initiative #2: Standardization & Compliance
If workforce transformation defines how AI is adopted, trust defines whether it is adopted at all. Today, governance maturity across the AEC industry is uneven. Many firms are experimenting with AI faster than they can define the guardrails around it, creating fragmentation, uncertainty and hesitation, particularly in high-risk or client-facing environments. At the same time, pressure is building from clients, regulators, insurers and financial stakeholders, all of whom are wondering if it can be trusted.
The consortium’s position challenges a common assumption that governance slows innovation. Instead, it asserts that standardization and compliance enable scale. When done well, governance creates clarity, accelerates decision-making and provides the confidence needed to move AI into production environments.
This initiative is focused on defining shared principles, AI risk management frameworks and governance models tailored specifically to the realities of the AEC industry, where multi-firm collaboration, long asset lifecycles and safety considerations require a more nuanced approach than generic tech industry standards. A critical component of this effort is standardizing project data for AI, ensuring consistency, quality and interoperability across systems and stakeholders.
Strategic Initiative #3: Client Experience
AI is not only transforming how AEC firms operate — it is reshaping how clients expect to engage, buy and measure value. Most clients today are experimenting with AI, but adoption remains uneven, and expectations are still forming. Data ownership, digital transparency and new delivery models are gaining momentum. However, there is still uncertainty around governance, risk and how to realize value, creating a critical imbalance as client ambition evolves faster than industry alignment.
The consortium’s perspective is that the AEC industry lacks a clear, shared baseline for what the AI-enabled client experience should look like. Without that baseline, firms risk misalignment and end up delivering innovation that does not fully meet client expectations or missing out on opportunities to differentiate.
This initiative focuses on closing that gap: bringing structure to client insights, identifying patterns across sectors, and defining emerging best practices for AI-enabled delivery, data sharing and engagement models. The goal is not simply to understand the client’s perspective but also to help shape it in a collaborative way.
Strategic Initiative #4: Industry Research
Across the AEC industry, opinions on AI are abundant. However, there is a shortage of consistent, year-over-year data that helps firms understand what is actually working, where value is being realized and how maturity is evolving.
The consortium’s AEC AI research initiative addresses that need by establishing a continuous, data-driven view of AI adoption across the industry. Its surveys and reports consistently reveal a familiar pattern: strong optimism about AI’s potential, paired with low levels of maturity, alignment and scaled adoption.
The consortium’s position is that research must evolve beyond snapshots of sentiment to become a strategic asset. By delivering year-over-year benchmarking, deeper thematic insights and, eventually, predictive guidance, the initiative aims to shift industry conversations from experimentation to outcomes.
A Defining Moment for the AEC Industry
The AI + Data Consortium’s four initiatives point to a single conclusion: The challenge facing the AEC industry is not whether to adopt AI but how to do so in a way that is scalable, responsible and produces real value. Each initiative addresses a different dimension of that challenge:
- People define how work changes
- Governance defines how AI can be trusted
- Clients define how value is realized
- Research defines how progress is measured
Individual firms are making important strides in each of these areas, but the complexity and the opportunity of AI in the AEC industry require a collective force to make greater change. Because of that, BST Global’s AI + Data Consortium strives to help our industry forward by being the voice of AI-powered and data-driven innovation for the AEC industry.
As the AI + Data Consortium members continue their work on the four strategic initiatives, they will publish additional resources for AEC firms.
About BST Global’s AI + Data Consortium
In October 2024, BST Global announced the formation of its AI + Data Consortium, a group of global technology leaders with a mission to be the voice of AI-powered and data-driven innovation for the AEC industry. Since its inception, the group has met in person and virtually to advance its strategic initiatives. Read the full press release here.
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