Autodesk announced a set of AI agents for construction teams at Autodesk University 2026 in Las Vegas, starting with a September 15 press release. An agent here means AI software that carries out a multistep task inside the application and hands a draft to a person for approval. The Submittals Evaluation Agent checks what a subcontractor submitted against the spec. The Bid Proposal Agent pulls pricing out of subcontractor proposals. Both are in beta inside Forma, Autodesk’s cloud platform for architecture, engineering and construction, which includes Forma Build and Forma Bid. A Daily Log Agent for superintendents is listed as coming soon.
What it does
Start with submittals. Today a submittal manager or project engineer opens each product data sheet and shop drawing, finds the spec section it answers to, and checks the product against it before the package goes to the architect. Autodesk says the Submittals Evaluation Agent compares the submittal attachments against spec requirements and lists potential compliance concerns next to the source evidence. The submittal manager reads the flags and still decides what goes out.
The Bid Proposal Agent is for estimators. It reads subcontractor proposal PDFs and extracts the cost breakdown, the inclusions and the exclusions into structured bid data in Forma Bid, the bid management tool Autodesk is building out of BuildingConnected. Each extracted item stays linked to the PDF it came from, so the estimator can check a number against the proposal and correct it before leveling bids.
The Daily Log Agent is for the superintendent who coordinates trades all day and documents it afterward. The super narrates the day into the Forma mobile app, and Autodesk says the agent transcribes the recording and turns it into a structured daily log.
| Agent | Who uses it | What goes in | What comes out | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Submittals Evaluation Agent | Submittal manager or project engineer | Submittal attachments and spec requirements | Potential compliance concerns shown with source evidence | Beta |
| Bid Proposal Agent | Estimator | Subcontractor proposal PDFs | Cost breakdowns and inclusions and exclusions as structured bid data in Forma Bid | Beta |
| Document Agent | Anyone on the project team | A plain-language question about project files | Links to matching files | Beta |
| Sheets Agent | Anyone reading drawings | A plain-language question about the drawing set | The relevant sheet or section | Beta |
| Daily Log Agent | Superintendent | A spoken update in the Forma mobile app | A structured daily log | Coming soon |
Two drawing tools came with the agents. Drawing Change Analysis, in beta, shows what changed between two revisions of a sheet and where. Drawing Compliance Review compares drawings against rules a team sets for constructability and documentation standards, and Autodesk plans it for early next year.
Evidence so far
Autodesk has published no accuracy rates, time savings or pilot results for any of these agents. Neither the construction blog post nor the press release names a contractor who has used them on a job. The customer example in Autodesk’s AEC announcement post, the Kraft Group at Gillette Stadium, concerns Forma Data Management and gives no figures.
These are Autodesk’s claims, and nobody has measured them independently:
- The Submittals Evaluation Agent helps submittal managers catch issues earlier.
- The Bid Proposal Agent cuts the time estimators spend reviewing and retyping sub proposals.
- The Daily Log Agent reduces end-of-day re-entry for superintendents.
The status of the Daily Log Agent is unclear. The construction blog labels it “Coming Soon,” while an Autodesk News post by executive vice president Amy Bunszel describes it as available on mobile. Its release date could not be verified.
How to measure it on your projects
Track recall on spec deviations, meaning the share of real spec deviations on a job that the agent flagged. A real deviation is one the architect cited when returning a submittal, or one your own reviewer caught before transmittal. Divide the deviations the agent flagged by all real deviations.
Capture the baseline before the pilot starts:
- Pull the submittal log for one active job and take the last 50 closed submittals.
- Mark each one the architect returned as revise and resubmit or rejected, and note whether the reason cites a spec requirement.
- Record the calendar days from receipt of the sub’s package to transmittal to the architect.
During the pilot, run every new submittal through the agent before your reviewer sees it, and log what the agent flagged. After 50 submittals, compare the return rate for spec reasons and the days to transmittal against the baseline, and compute recall from the flags. If recall stays low, keep your reviewer’s full check in place. Count the false flags as well, since each one takes reviewer time to clear.
A first step you can take this week is to pull that log on one job and tag each returned submittal among the last 50 by its reason.
Availability and cost
The Submittals Evaluation Agent, the Bid Proposal Agent, the Document Agent and the Sheets Agent are in beta. Autodesk says availability varies by subscription and that its AI features are open only to value-based subscription types, which include bundles and enterprise business agreements. The Forma Bid beta is open to customers with a Forma for Preconstruction or BuildingConnected Pro subscription, according to Autodesk News. Autodesk did not publish a price for any of the agents. It tracks rollout dates on its Forma Product Roadmap.
A broader next-generation Autodesk Assistant, which would work across Autodesk products and projects, was also previewed at AU. The press release says it is not yet generally available and is planned to begin rolling out in 2027.