Overview
Civils.ai automates measurement, extraction and structuring of data from construction drawings and PDFs (including scanned and historic documents). Users upload documents, specify measurement scope in natural language, and the platform’s AIs extract areas, lengths, counts, and tabular data, returning annotated PDFs and Excel outputs. A human QA layer verifies results. Built for AEC teams, Civils.ai emphasizes security (TLS, US-based servers, anonymization options), exportable structured data, and integrations via API for enterprise customers. Typical processing times vary by content type; the platform claims >95% accuracy on modern PDFs and ships rapid product iterations. Note: during site scraping the documentation and features pages returned error/placeholder content. Missing or not publicly available items observed: community invite URL (Discord invite not found), detailed public SDK/integration docs (docs page error), and evidence of dedicated mobile/desktop apps.
Key Features
Built-in drawing reading & measurement
Automatically detect sheets and measure lengths, areas, and counts from PDF and CAD drawings.
Annotated outputs
Produce annotated PDFs and Excel spreadsheets with citations to original drawings for traceability.
Complex table extraction
Identify and extract structured data from complicated tables, rates, geotech reports and borehole logs.
Human QA & accuracy checks
All outputs are reviewed by a human QA process to improve reliability of AI extractions.
Natural-language task definition
Users specify measurement scope in plain English to guide extraction tasks.
RAG / search across documents
Run AI searches across a document corpus to find relevant data points (document retrieval + generation).
Who Can Use This Tool?
- Civil Engineers:Automate PDF and drawing takeoffs to accelerate pre-construction estimation work
- Estimators/Quantity Surveyors:Generate structured quantities and annotated outputs for faster, accurate cost estimates
- AEC Teams:Scale document processing across projects with team plans and enterprise security
- Large Enterprises:Integrate secure, API-accessible extraction workflows with SSO and custom storage needs
Pricing Plans
Entry plan to automate your first project with basic resources and support.
- ✓1 user
- ✓2 GB storage
- ✓10 workflow runs / mo
- ✓Email support
Collaboration plan for projects and departments with priority support.
- ✓10 users
- ✓100 GB storage
- ✓1 000 workflow runs / yr
- ✓1 yr contract
- ✓Priority support
Tailored plan for large and regulated organisations with advanced security.
- ✓Unlimited users
- ✓Custom storage allowance
- ✓Custom workflow runs
- ✓SSO & advanced security
- ✓API access
- ✓Priority support
Pros & Cons
✓ Pros
- ✓AEC-focused extraction and takeoff workflows (drawings, tables, borehole logs).
- ✓Human-in-the-loop QA to increase accuracy (>95% claimed for modern PDFs).
- ✓Outputs include annotated PDFs and structured Excel exports for easy downstream use.
- ✓Security controls: TLS, US-based storage, anonymization and deletion options; enterprise SSO available.
- ✓API access and an active online community (Discord) for practitioners.
✗ Cons
- ✗No free trial available.
- ✗Some site pages (Docs, Features) currently return error/placeholder content.
- ✗Processing times for CAD takeoffs can be long (~24 hours for CAD drawings).
- ✗Limited public detail on integrations, platform clients (mobile/desktop apps) or SLA specifics.
Compare with Alternatives
| Feature | Civils.ai | Hosta A.I. | super.AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $60/month | N/A | N/A |
| Rating | 8.3/10 | 8.2/10 | 8.3/10 |
| Drawing Measurement | Yes | Yes | No |
| CAD Interpretation | Yes | Partial | No |
| Spatial Analytics | Partial | Yes | No |
| Table & Log Extraction | Yes | No | Yes |
| Human QA Workflow | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Output Annotation | Yes | Partial | Partial |
| Integration & API | Yes'} | Yes | Yes |
Related Articles (4)
AI-powered takeoffs from PDFs and scans across ceilings, walls, piping, electrical, and more, delivering marked-up outputs and Excel-ready quantities.
AI-powered quantity takeoffs and data extraction from PDFs for construction, with QA review and export to Excel and annotated PDFs.
AI-powered platform to automate data extraction from PDF pre-construction documents, eliminating manual takeoffs and costly errors.
Overview of Civils.ai pricing, plans, and AEC-focused features, with a clear comparison to general AI capabilities.
