RIBA AI Report 2025 reveals how artificial intelligence is transforming architecture and construction

The use of AI across all industries, including construction, is advancing at an unprecedented pace and reaching into aspects of creativity, judgment, and strategy that were once thought uniquely human.  The RIBA AI report 2025 was recently published and provides confirmation that the appetite within the architectural profession to adopt Artificial Intelligence is growing – and fast. In this article we will consider the key findings of the report and its legal implications.

Findings of the report

In last year’s inaugural study, AI was viewed with cautious curiosity. AI was being trialled in image generation, conceptual exploration, and early-stage design. Ethical questions – around bias, authorship, and ownership were only really beginning to surface. One year on, the profession’s relationship with AI looks markedly different. AI tools are no longer a novelty: they are embedded in workflows, shaping visualisation, specification, and project management. What was once speculative is now becoming increasingly routine.

The message from RIBA to the construction industry is clear. There is a “resistance to change” within the sector which “holds back progress in our most pressing challenges: including climate change, rapid urbanisation and declining affordability of housing”. Furthermore, “the regulatory landscape and predominance of traditional construction approaches continue to impede innovation and improved productivity”. RIBA adopts the view that “embracing technological innovation to tackle these challenges represents a critical opportunity for long-overdue change in the construction industry”.

Encouragingly from RIBA’s perspective then, the 2025 Report indicates that over the past year, the adoption of artificial intelligence in UK architectural practice has accelerated sharply: nearly 60% of firms now report using AI, up from 41% in 2024. While large practices lead the way – with adoption rates exceeding 80% – smaller studios (48%) are also beginning to integrate AI in their workflows. Its use is most prevalent in tasks such as early design visualisations and specification writing, where efficiency gains are immediate. More advanced applications, such as performance simulation or environmental modelling, are emerging but less established, reflecting both technical complexity and the need for further integration.

The profession’s embrace of AI is driven by pressing challenges. Architects see in AI the potential to deliver better-performing, more sustainable buildings and help the sector meet its net-zero carbon commitments. Nearly two-thirds of respondents believe AI will enhance building performance, while an equal proportion expect it to support net-zero targets. Productivity – a long-standing weakness across the construction industry – is also expected to improve, with 67% of architects anticipating positive change. For many, AI is not simply about automating routine work; it is enabling more ambitious, creative, and efficient responses to the complex demands of contemporary design and construction.

Notes of caution

Nevertheless, enthusiasm remains tempered by caution. Intellectual property and originality are key concerns: 69% of architects believe AI increases the risk of work being imitated, and nearly half fear that unqualified use of AI could result in unsafe or inadequate buildings. While only a minority foresee job losses in the short term, a third of respondents regard AI as a potential threat to the profession’s identity. Ethical questions about bias in training data, ownership of outputs, and the reliability of AI-generated information remain unresolved, underscoring the need for vigilance and professional oversight.

What is clear, however, is that architects remain confident in the enduring value of human judgment and creativity. More than nine in ten reject the notion that AI could substitute for professional decision-making or render human creativity redundant. Instead, there is a strong view that AI should be understood as an augmentative tool, supporting rather than displacing the core skills and expertise of the profession.

Strategic preparation

Despite widespread adoption, most practices are still at an early stage in preparing strategically for AI. Fewer than one in five have invested in research and development, and only 15% have formal AI policies in place. This leaves a gap between experimentation and structured, responsible implementation. Encouragingly, over half of respondents expect to develop AI policies within the next two years, suggesting that firms are beginning to recognise the importance of governance and risk management.

RIBA positions itself as central to guiding this transition. President Muyiwa Oki emphasises the need to ensure architects steer the technology rather than be driven by it. The institute is developing guidance to promote transparency and ethical use, and its Expert Advisory Group is actively providing intelligence and frameworks to help practices respond effectively to rapid technological change.

Crucially, the report situates AI within the broader trajectory of architectural digitisation. Unlike CAD or BIM, which reshaped workflows over decades, AI is moving at unprecedented speed and reaching deeper into the creative and strategic dimensions of practice. The challenge, the report concludes, is not whether architects should adopt AI, but how it should be adopted – and on whose terms.

Key points to consider

The RIBA AI Report 2025 makes clear that AI is already reshaping how architects design, deliver, and imagine the built environment. Its success will depend not on the technology itself, but how the profession chooses to harness it: as a tool for innovation, resilience, and sustainability, while safeguarding the values and judgment that define architectural practice.

Whilst there are some real benefits to the adoption of AI, as commented in our earlier article, there are also some important legal risks associated with it. With AI being rapidly adopted by architects and others across the construction industry, it is vital that organisations have a clear understanding of the risks. By putting the right policies and process in place – including an AI policy – they can effectively manage and mitigate those risks.

If you would like to discuss this note or how we can assist in relation to the legal risks of AI and/or an AI policy, please contact Andrew Croft.