Beam AI

Free

Automate construction takeoffs with Beam AI—bid faster, collaborate smarter, and win more work.

#AI-powered#automated construction#takeoff#bid management#general contractors#subcontractors#suppliers#preconstruction#QA-verified#accuracy#cloud-based collaboration#estimation workflows#bid tracking#industry tool integrations#APIs#increase win rates

Inputs: text, fileOutputs: text, file

Starting Price

$8000/mo

Type

Saas

Company

Attentive.ai

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About Beam AI

Beam AI is an AI-powered construction takeoff and bid management platform designed for general contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers. It automates the extraction of quantities from uploaded plans and specifications, delivering QA-verified results within 24–72 hours with accuracy claimed to be within ±1% of typical in-house standards. The platform also offers a do-it-yourself mode that provides AI takeoffs in approximately 10 minutes with 90% feature capture accuracy. BeamGPT enables users to query drawings and specifications conversationally. The platform supports multi-trade takeoffs (including HVAC, plumbing, steel), cloud-based collaboration, robust tagging, addenda/revision management, and flexible Excel/PDF exports. Integrated bid tracking, reminders, and industry tool integrations (including APIs) help teams reduce manual effort by an estimated 80–90% and increase bid volume. Beam AI is part of the Attentive.ai ecosystem, which also offers a human-vetted BIM CoPilot service.

Key Features

Fully automated AI-driven quantity takeoffs from PDF plans and specs

BeamGPT for instant plan/spec reading and Q&A with cross-referencing

Advanced takeoff editing toolbar for drawing, measuring, and markups

Bid dashboard with status, deadlines, RFIs, ITBs, addenda, and reminders

Export and reporting to Excel, PDF, and shareable view-only links

Cloud-based collaboration—real-time sharing, no local installs

Addenda and revision change detection with auto-calculated deltas

Auto-calculated measurements (area, volume) and customizable fields

QA-verified accuracy, claimed within ±1% of in-house standards

Multi-trade support (15+ trades) with advanced tagging, sorting, and filtering

Pros & Cons

Pros

Significantly reduces manual takeoff effort (claimed 80–90% reduction)
Offers both done-for-you and do-it-yourself workflows
QA-verified results with accuracy claimed within ±1% of in-house standards
Multi-trade support and cloud-based collaboration
Integrates with existing tools via API and exports
Free guided tour available for evaluation

Cons

Free tier likely has usage limits; exact limits should be verified
Accuracy depends on plan quality and complexity
Requires internet access for cloud-based features
Full features may require a paid subscription
Do-it-yourself mode may have lower feature capture accuracy (90%) compared to done-for-you service

Best For

General contractors: Accelerate estimating to bid more projects without adding headcount, using automated takeoffs and bid tracking.Subcontractors: Produce trade-specific takeoffs (e.g., sitework, concrete, utilities) faster and respond to ITBs on tighter deadlines.Suppliers and distributors: Generate quantified material lists from plans to price and quote quickly with fewer manual steps.Preconstruction managers: Track bids, deadlines, RFIs, ITBs, and addenda in a single dashboard with automated reminders and reporting.Estimators: Use BeamGPT to read plans/specs, answer code or scope questions, and cross‑reference sheets to avoid misses.Remote and distributed teams: Collaborate in the cloud on takeoffs, share view-only links, and maintain a single source of truth.Firms handling frequent addenda: Detect and quantify changes between revisions automatically to minimize rework and keep bids current.Operations and finance leaders: Standardize estimating workflows with tagging, custom fields, and spreadsheet-style editing for clean handoffs.Growing contractors: Scale output—double estimating capacity and increase win rates without hiring additional estimators.IT and integrations teams: Export to Excel/PDF and connect with industry-standard tools and APIs to fit existing tech stacks.

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FAQ

How does Beam AI pricing work?

Beam AI pricing follows a license-based model tailored to your trade and annual bid volume. Instead of paying per project or per takeoff, you get a fixed annual license that allows you to scale estimating capacity predictably. Plans start at $8,000 per trade per year for DIY and $15,000–$25,000 per trade per year for the done-for-you service.

What does the Unit System Mismatch warning mean?

This warning appears when your personal user setting for units (Metric or Imperial) is different from the unit system the takeoff was originally created in. Beam AI disables editing until your settings align with the takeoff's native units to prevent data corruption.

What is the difference between a Group and a Tag?

Groups are applied at the feature level (e.g., all Perimeter Walls grouped as Trade: Masonry). Tags are applied to individual geometry items (e.g., one specific wall segment tagged as Phase: 1). Groups are broad, feature-level labels; tags are granular, item-level labels.

Why do I see duplicate sheets like A-101 and A-101 (copy)?

Beam AI estimators may create a duplicate of a sheet during an automated takeoff to handle complex cases or multiple trades on a single plan. This is an internal workflow for clarity and does not affect billing—you are only charged once per unique sheet.

Can I compare two sheets at the same time?

Yes. In the Plans Panel, you can right-click on a sheet name or use a menu option to 'Open in new tab'. This opens the selected sheet in a separate tab, allowing side-by-side comparison.