Procore has launched a connected common data environment (CDE). The construction software developer describes it as a “purpose-built CDE from the ground up on a single platform to unify and verify project data from approved design to handover, capturing evidence in the flow of work to help keep the digital record aligned with site reality”.

Procore claims the CDE transforms “document storage into an active governance environment that connects the approved design to site execution across the full project lifecycle – all powered by AI”.

Procore’s CDE creates the foundation for AI to move beyond surfacing information and toward executing work. With Datagrid technology embedded directly into Procore, agentic AI coworkers automate construction workflows and take action within the platform.

Built to help eliminate administrative friction rather than replace professional judgment, this approach accelerates execution while project teams retain control, accountability and final decision-making authority, Procore said. “These AI capabilities can reason across project context, understand relationships between workflows and data, and support execution in complex construction environments.”

Buro Happold has already used the technology. Alain Waha, CTO at Buro Happold, said: “We’re on track to reduce construction administration work with respect to RFI creation, response and submittal review by 50%. By embedding AI directly into project workflows, teams can spend less time navigating information and more time advancing the work.”

By connecting AI to structured project datasets – including BIM models, drawings, specifications, RFIs, submittals and field activity – Procore AI gains a deeper understanding of both spatial and operational context, the developer said.

For example, the platform can surface answers already contained within project records before new RFIs are created, identify discrepancies between approved designs and field execution, and accelerate issue resolution by connecting related workflows, documents, and historical project context. Tasks that previously required hours of manual searching and coordination can be completed in minutes, with transparent source attribution, Procore said.

The first proper CDE

Procore launched its CDE 48 hours ahead of Digital Construction Week. At the exhibition, CM Digital grabbed Brett King, director of industry transformation at Procore, for a 10-minute chat about CDEs and AI.

Brett King

He spent 15 years in information management roles at Mace and then ISG, before joining Procore in the wake of ISG’s collapse. His experience was, in part, informed by Procore’s approach to its CDE.

“What I love in my role about Procore is [that] I was able to help shape this a little bit,” King said. “Procore is a US firm and it’s been here quite a while, but while building is building, building in the UK features tighter regulations, so the product does require some country specifics.

“With my background, I saw all of these tools and what they called CDEs, but by and large, what most of our competitors call CDEs are actually a document control solution, or an EDMS (electronic document management system). When I came to Procore, I said that we definitely need to focus on the design piece – the document control part. But our strength is in how we help project teams to deliver those projects from a construction management or project management point of view, and that’s all about cost and programme and linking all of that data together.

“I think that’s a big difference with Procore: we are the one that brings design into the field now. This is the first time I’ve actually seen a proper CDE, what I can call a common data environment, where we’re breaking down all the silos from design all the way to delivery.

“It doesn’t matter where you are in the cycle of a project, whether you’re a client, contractor or subcontractor, you care about delivering the project to budget and on time – and that’s what a CDE ultimately gives you.”

Challenging product development

King noted that with his industry background, his role allows him to challenge Procore’s product development. “My role has three parts. I’m the industry voice, bringing the experience, but I also work very closely with our product teams – when I see the road map and when I see releases, I’m probing and asking the questions like ‘does this link to cost?’ or ‘does this link to programme?’,” he said.

“And third, the sales team use me to pressure-test their messaging. If it doesn’t make sense to me, it’s not going to make sense to our clients.”

A common complaint from software providers in many business sectors is that new add-ons and platforms are created because the vendor thinks they can sell them, and not because they address their customers’ key challenges.

King echoed this: “I think traditionally what we’ve seen with most software providers is they almost will tell their customer what problems they have. At Procore now, we’re really trying to understand the industry challenges and then build a product and have a conversation that matches that [challenge], so that the product actually lands.

“We know [the issue with] change management: most contractors have been with their product for 10 years or something like that, so it’s painful if you’ve got 4,500 staff that you’ve got to put through a change programme. This is why so many of them stay with legacy platforms, because change management is painful.”

Treat AI as a sparring partner

There are as many AI evangelists as there are naysayers – and as many again who have become numb to it as a marketing buzzword. King reflected on the sector’s relationship with the technology: “There’s no denying the train has left the station. If you’re not on the train, you’re in serious trouble. If you don’t embrace AI in your business or in your platform, people will use it anyway, but as shadow IT, shadow AI [ie unauthorised use of software by employees – ed]. You need to get control of it, but you do need to prove that it works, too. I always say use it as a bit of a sparring partner.

“If you don’t embrace AI in your business or in your platform, people will use it anyway, but as shadow IT.”

Brett King

“Think about ChatGPT three years ago: it was rubbish, and no one trusted it. Now the conversation is totally different, and that comes from more people using it, and it becoming more clever every time. But consider Datagrid and Procore AI: it’s a construction large language model, so it’s been trained by looking at drawings, understanding RFIs, and understanding specifications.

“By and large, people are getting tired of hearing about AI. So, it’s about showing them outcomes. With one of the most successful tools that I’ve ever seen, nobody even mentions the AI. Take the predictive text on WhatsApp: nobody calls it AI, but it is AI. So, at Procore, we’re focusing on the outcomes.”

King concluded: “What I’m hearing from customers, by and large, is ‘show us how AI actually helps us, but also show us how you connect cost and programme and risk’. Project controls have been around for years, but it’s been stuck in oil and gas and big infrastructure projects. Why don’t project controls make sense to a small fit-out project? We’re in a place now where that’s way more scalable, because we’ve connected the whole ecosystem.”