For a long time, the construction industry has been seen as a "latecomer" in digital transformation, plagued by issues such as cost overruns, project delays, and labor shortages. However, this situation is being completely overturned. According to Persistence Market Research, the global artificial intelligence (AI) market in construction is set for explosive growth: the market size is expected to reach $6.2 billion by 2026, and climb to $32 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of as high as 26.4%.

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Core Drivers: From "Experience-Driven" to "Data-Driven"

Construction companies are finding breakthroughs throughout the entire project lifecycle by integrating technologies such as machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing (NLP):

  • Planning and Design: Software platforms dominate the market due to their scalability. By integrating with building information modeling (BIM) systems like Autodesk, AI can optimize budgets and resource allocation before the project starts.

  • On-Site Execution and Safety: Computer vision technology is rapidly gaining traction, monitoring potential safety hazards in real-time by analyzing on-site images and detecting deviations between actual progress and design plans.

  • Asset Management: The combination of digital twin technology and AI provides core support for predictive maintenance of facilities in the later stages.

Market Landscape: North America Leads, Asia-Pacific Grows Fastest

From a global perspective, North America currently leads due to its mature digital ecosystem and venture capital support. However, Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan) is becoming the fastest-growing region globally, benefiting from large-scale urbanization and government investment in smart infrastructure.

Challenges and Opportunities Coexist

Although the prospects are promising, the industry still faces high initial implementation costs, fragmented unstructured data, and resistance to change within traditional enterprises. However, as cloud computing lowers the entry barrier, and tech giants such as Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft continue to invest deeply, an "end-to-end digital ecosystem" in the construction industry is beginning to take shape.