We’re just about halfway through 2026, and most construction teams are no longer operating off projections alone. Mid-year is when teams go from planning and initial execution to evaluating what’s working on projects and in the field. It’s also when reality sets in, and the plans you made in late 2025 to early 2026 start to come to life (or in some cases, fall short of expectations).
With all that said, the midpoint of the year is the perfect time to recalibrate expectations for construction trends.
To help you with that, Autodesk and Miller Davis Company came together to host a webinar on construction trends for 2026 and how teams are responding. There is a lot of hype and distractions out there, so for this webinar, we really set out to identify signals above the noise.
You’ll walk away with:
Watch the webinar on demand or read through the key takeaways below.
If you ask construction pros today about industry trends, you’ll likely get the following answers:
These are all important things shaping the industry, but if we really think about it, these top five trends aren’t standalone initiatives. They don’t deliver value in isolation, which is why the companies seeing the most success are treating them as connected parts of the same system.
As Ariel Castillo, Director of Innovation at Miller-Davis Company, says, “If you zoom out, these are not necessarily just five trends. This is more like a connected ecosystem that is basically pushing the companies forward so that we can continue outperforming how we do on a daily basis.”
Another thing to note? The order in which these trends are tackled matters a great deal.
They must be treated as layers that build on one another to create better outcomes across the business. You can’t just jump into digital twins, prefab, or AI without a solid foundation from your CDE and project management workflows.
As Ariel explains, “If your data is centralized and structured, that’s how you can start scaling.”
A CDE is foundational to modern construction workflows because it creates a centralized, reliable source of project information that teams can use to make decisions.
“We need to move away from data capture to intelligent execution or getting things done in a really good way. The common data environment is your hub to capture and centralize that information,” remarks Ariel.
For him, the rise of the CDE is one of the biggest shifts the industry has made over the last decade. Not too long ago, many construction companies were still relying on traditional servers, disconnected systems, and email chains to manage project information. Drawings, RFIs, and field updates weren’t always accessible in real time, which slowed coordination and made decision-making harder.
“We have seen a big, big shift in the last decade where companies are feeling more comfortable and understanding that a CDE is critical so that they can centralize information.”
Once that data is centralized, the next step is connecting workflows across the business. Project management, field management, accounting, safety, and preconstruction need to work together rather than operate in silos.
As he puts it later in the discussion: “Technology is not going to transform the way you do construction, but connected workflows will do that.”
Autodesk's Design and Make Report: Spotlight on Construction found that the industry's top digital tool is… (drumroll) spreadsheets.
They’re not the most high-tech, but clearly have a lot of staying power.
Ariel attributes this to legacy processes, saying that the popularity of spreadsheets isn’t because people love them, but because people often don’t have better options.
“I don't know if I would call it love. I think it's more of a long-term relationship that we haven't figured out how to leave yet.”
He continues, “It's not necessarily that construction prefers the spreadsheet. It's just telling me that spreadsheets are still the fallback when systems don't fully deliver. It's how people are used to getting things done. We've been using them for years. They're flexible, they're familiar, they're fast, but the problem is they create silos, version control issues, and a lot of manual work behind the scenes, especially with those formulas that only one person knows how they were created.”
Another interesting finding from the report? While spreadsheets remain the most popular tool, AI tools are gaining traction very quickly.
Ariel points to the fact that AI chatbots like ChatGPT already sit at 22% adoption, despite barely existing in construction workflows a few years ago.
What makes that notable is the company AI is keeping.
“These are tools we’ve been using for decades,” Ariel explains, referencing CRMs, time tracking systems, asset management software, AR/VR, and bid management tools. “AI didn’t exist in this space a few years ago, and it’s already competing with those legacy tools. And that’s a signal.”
Speaking of AI, one of the biggest misconceptions in construction right now is that AI alone will transform the industry.
But it’s important to note that AI delivers value only after digital workflows are in place. Those layers we mentioned earlier? AI sits on top of them, not before.
As Ariel explains, “AI doesn’t work in isolation. It’s feeding from that data, from those systems.”
That’s why companies rushing into AI without structured data or connected workflows often struggle to see meaningful results. If project information is scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems, AI simply amplifies the chaos.
“And if you don’t have a lot of data or if that data is messy, then your AI is going to be as well,” Ariel says
The companies seeing the most traction with AI are the ones that already have strong digital foundations in place. They’ve centralized information through a CDE, connected workflows across departments, and digitized day-to-day project execution.
Once that happens, AI becomes much more useful.
“This is when you can start thinking about executing and optimizing your tasks based on that data,” Ariel explains.
Digital maturity isn’t a neat, linear progression. It happens in phases across different teams and workflows, and most companies operate at multiple stages of digital maturity at once. One department can be highly mature while another lags behind.
Ariel explains it really well: “The reality is that you need to look at your business and understand that you can be at multiple stages at the same time. You can have a department that is in stage three of the digital maturity index, and then you can have another one that could be in stage one.”
He points to a common example: project management teams may already have a CDE in place, while safety teams still rely on manual forms and disconnected processes. That unevenness is normal, but you shouldn’t ignore it.
As Ariel puts it, “Your lowest stage is basically what’s going to define where you are.”
The key is establishing a baseline across departments, then steadily improving over time. And that process takes longer than many teams expect. Ariel notes that Miller-Davis began its journey in 2021 and continues to evolve today.
For Ariel, digital transformation starts by listening closely to the people doing the work every day. “Take your time to understand what they do on a daily basis and what areas they struggle the most,” he says.
That could mean double data entry, chasing spreadsheets, manually tracking RFIs, or hunting through email chains for PDFs and approvals.
That process helps teams identify what he calls “mosquito bites” versus “shark bites.” Minor annoyances may slow people down, but shark bites are the issues actively hurting the business and need immediate attention.
Another important point: digital maturity is not just about buying more technology. “There are companies where their tech stack is huge, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re using it effectively,” Ariel explains.
Digital transformation fails if partners aren’t brought along. We need to remember that construction is inherently multi-party, with owners, designers, GCs, and trade partners working together. Technology adoption stalls when the benefits aren’t clear to everyone.
As Ariel points out, construction projects involve a huge number of moving parts and stakeholders. Even a small job can involve owners, architects, general contractors, and dozens of subcontractors, all relying on information from one another to keep the work moving.
That’s why disconnected workflows create so many problems.
“There’s no point in me as a CM having a super digital ecosystem if I cannot count on the other parties interacting with me on the project to actually leverage it,” Ariel explains.
He gives the example of digital pay apps. If trade partners still submit documents via email and PDFs, teams end up reverting to manual work like chasing files or scanning paperwork. That creates what Ariel calls a “digital bottleneck.”
The companies making the most progress are the ones focused on enablement, not enforcement.
“You want to get them on board, and you don’t want to force them,” Ariel says. “You want to show them what the benefit is for them as well.”
That means making workflows easier, improving visibility, and helping every project partner work from the same source of truth.
The biggest takeaway for construction teams in 2026 is that digital transformation doesn’t start with chasing the latest technology trend. It starts with building a strong foundation.
Before teams can fully benefit from AI, automation, digital twins, or advanced workflows, they need centralized, connected project data and processes that work across departments and project partners.
Companies that invest in connected workflows today are putting themselves in a better position to adapt as market conditions, labor challenges, and customer expectations continue to change.
More importantly, they’re creating healthier, more proactive environments for their teams, leadership, and project partners to work together more effectively every day.
Construction teams are under pressure to modernize, but as this conversation shows, the path forward is less about chasing shiny new tools and more about building connected, practical workflows that truly help people do their jobs better.
The webinar goes deeper into how leading teams are approaching AI, digital maturity, collaboration, and operational change in the real world. These trends are shaping decisions right now, not five years from now.
And at the end of the day, the companies that lead will not just improve their own digital maturity, but help elevate the entire ecosystem around them.
To hear the full conversation, real-world examples, and audience Q&A, watch the webinar on demand.
