With construction activity surging across the U.S., contractors are juggling more bids than ever, and deadlines are shrinking fast. According to Dodge Construction Network, the total value of nonresidential projects entering planning rose 3.4% in September 2025, signaling continued momentum across sectors. But with that growth comes a major challenge: how to deliver competitive bids faster than ever before.
Traditionally, bid cycles could stretch over several days, requiring teams to manually trace plans, measure material quantities, and double-check last-minute plan revisions. Today, that pace simply doesn’t cut it. Bid deadlines are tighter, project scopes are larger, and clients expect faster responses. Most estimating teams are already stretched thin, so instead of adding more staff, many firms are turning to AI-based takeoff software that can take on routine tasks and free up valuable estimator hours.
That’s where AI-based takeoff software such as Beam AI is reshaping the preconstruction space. By automating quantity extraction, comparing plan versions, and generating bid-ready reports, Beam AI reduces the estimated time to bid by up to 50% during the bidding cycle. The software reads every note, symbol, and legend across architectural, structural, and MEP drawings, ensuring consistency across plans.
With the AI-based takeoff software, Brady Roofing slashed the roughly 10 hours per week its team was spending on manual takeoffs and instead turned around estimates much faster. That increased their capacity to submit more bids- they were able to put out about 3-4 extra bids per week, driving a 40 % uplift in bid volume and ultimately securing around $400 K in new contracts.
Beam AI generates export-ready, color-coded takeoffs that plug directly into your estimating software, helping contractors move from plans to pricing in record time.
See it for yourself — book a demo and experience how AI is transforming construction takeoffs for the decade ahead.
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