A survey by Association for Project Management (APM) and research company Censuswide polled 1,000 project professionals across a range of industry sectors, including construction.
It found that 75% of project professionals working in the construction sector say that their organisation now uses artificial intelligence (AI) in projects, compared to 15% only two years ago. In addition, 25% said that their organisation was planning to adopt AI to project management functions.
A similar APM survey in 2023 found that 63% of project managers in construction said their organisation was not using AI and had no plans to introduce it.聽 In 2025, not a single respondent said that their organisation was not using AI.
Project managers were asked which project functions had benefited the most from AI implementation. From those respondents working in construction, whose organisation is already using AI, the main responses were:
- recourse allocation 鈥� 62% of respondents using AI who have seen a benefit
- reporting and dashboarding 鈥� 58%
- risk analysis and forecasting 鈥� 52%
- task and schedule automation 鈥� 48%
- stakeholder communications 鈥� 45%.
APM has also found that 82% of those working in projects in construction are using AI more frequently than they anticipated five years ago, with just 18% who say they are using it less frequently than anticipated.
Comparative data between 2023 and 2025 also reveals increasing optimism in the use of AI in construction projects. In APM鈥檚 latest survey, 62% of respondents think the latest advancements of AI will be very positive for their industry/sector, compared to just 6% who said it would have a very positive effect when asked the same question in 2023.
The positive impacts that project professionals most anticipated from AI are:
- more accurate data analysis 鈥� 60%
- free up time for project professionals to work on more strategic areas of the job by completing administrative tasks 鈥� 52%
- stronger cyber security 鈥� 43%
- assist in decision making 鈥� 42%
- reduce project costs 鈥� 40%.
聽There is also positivity regarding support by employers with the adoption of AI, with 77% saying they are confident their organisation is adequately preparing its project managers for the growing rise in AI, and 23% saying efforts to improve skills in AI are under way.
However, of those already using AI, 49% said that technical knowledge and training is a challenge that they have encountered, among other concerns including security/data privacy (56% of respondents), integration with organisation workflows (41%) and inaccuracy/untrustworthiness of using AI at work 46%.
The importance of training and upskilling in AI is highlighted by James Doherty, a project controls expert at maritime consulting firm BMT who said: 鈥淵ou have to feel suitably qualified and experienced before you should be using AI to generate any work for you. It鈥檚 about assurance, you have to sign your name at the bottom of anything you're delivering.鈥�
聽He added: 鈥淭here are new AI tools cropping up every other day that do just about everything that you could ever want. The challenge is implementing these safely, at scale. It takes effort behind the scenes.鈥�
The take-up of AI since 2023 is mirrored in other sectors in which APM members work, albeit not quite as marked. In construction, respondents saying that their organisation was using AI has gone up from 15% to 75% in two years. In engineering, respondents saying that their organisation was using AI has gone up from 35% to 73%,聽 while it transport it had gone up from 36% to 71%.
APM chief executive Adam Boddison said: 鈥淭he pace at which AI is transforming project management is remarkable. In just two years, we鈥檝e seen a rapid shift in adoption levels in the construction sector, with the vast majority of project professionals now working alongside AI tools to plan and deliver better outcomes. This isn鈥檛 about replacing project managers, but about enabling them 鈥� freeing up time, enhancing analysis, and improving decision-making.
鈥淲hat our survey shows clearly is both the opportunity and the responsibility: organisations must continue investing in training and support, to enable project professionals to feel equipped and confident to use AI effectively, safely and ethically. The future of the profession will not be defined by AI alone, but by how people use it to create real value.鈥�
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