FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
More than half of construction professionals would be more likely to stay with their current organisation if it significantly increased its investment in AI and technology tools, with one in four saying they would be significantly more likely to stay. This is according to new research of 1,728 construction professionals across 14 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific by PlanRadar, a leading platform for 360° digital documentation, communication and reporting in construction, facilities management and real estate projects.
Despite this finding, Plan Radar says the industry’s plans for AI investment remain limited in scope, with nearly half of respondents reporting no current plans to invest in digital tools with AI capabilities, at a time when attracting and retaining experienced project management talent has never been more critical to the industry.
The research challenges a widely held assumption about AI in Construction. Industry professionals do not view AI as a threat to their jobs, fear of job displacement ranks last of all concerns globally, cited by just six per cent of respondents. Instead, professionals see AI as a practical answer to the pressures that define their working day. Nearly half of respondents spend 11+ hours a week on work they believe AI could reduce or streamline. Among those already using AI-integrated tools, two-thirds report saving at least two hours per week, per project.
In the UK, the move toward adoption is shaped by a distinct focus on reliability and security. While job security is a negligible concern for British professionals, 57 per cent cite accuracy and trust in AI as their primary concern when it comes to using AI tools in construction project management. This is followed by data privacy and security, which 29 per cent of UK respondents identify as a top-tier concern. For UK professionals the path to AI adoption is clearer than in most markets. With concerns concentrated on accuracy and data privacy rather than spread across multiple barriers, the conversation has moved from whether to adopt to how to do it responsibly.
Rob Norton, UK Director at PlanRadar, commented: “We’ve reached a point in UK construction where a pay rise alone just isn’t enough to keep hold of your best people. Project managers are exhausted by administrative tasks that effectively wipe out a full day of their week. They don’t want AI to do their jobs for them; they want it to clear the paperwork off their desks so they can focus on high-value project delivery. If firms keep ignoring that, they’re going to lose their most experienced leaders to the competitors who are actually willing to modernise these outdated manual processes.”
Ibrahim Imam, Co-Founder and CEO of PlanRadar, commented: “Construction professionals are spending more than a full working day every week on tasks that AI is already proving it can dramatically reduce. This is an unnecessary drain on some of the most experienced people in the industry. Our research shows that professionals are not fearful of AI, quite the opposite, more than half say investment in AI tools would make them more likely to stay with their employer. In a market where experienced project management talent is increasingly difficult to attract and retain, organisations that fail to invest in the tools their people need are taking a risk they may not fully appreciate.”
According to the Project Management Institute, the construction industry will need nearly 2.5 million additional project professionals by 2035, a 60 per cent increase from current levels. Deloitte’s 2026 Engineering and Construction Industry Outlook reports that construction wages have already risen 4.2 per cent year-on-year as firms compete for a shrinking pool of experienced talent.
To see the full report, click here.
