Architecture firms
AI for architects running a small practice
Most AI for architects is about design: rendering, massing, and code research. In a small practice, though, the lost hours are administrative. Contractor RFIs and consultant emails pile up, fee proposals wait to be written, meeting minutes need to go out, and invoices for each project phase need following up. TeamShift gives small architecture firms a hosted team of AI workers for that project admin, working in Outlook or Gmail, Google Calendar, OneDrive, and QuickBooks. Licensed architects keep design and professional judgment.
Get started free Or text us what is slippingDirect answer
Architecture firms: the short answers
What can AI do for architects?
Beyond design tools, AI for architects can take on a small practice's project administration: sorting RFIs, submittals, and consultant email by project, tracking which items are waiting on the architect, drafting fee proposals from your past proposals, scheduling meetings and sending minutes for approval, and following up on phase invoices. Design decisions, code interpretation, RFI responses, and anything sealed stay with the licensed architect.
Can AI respond to RFIs for an architecture firm?
AI can organize RFIs. It shouldn't answer them, because an RFI response is a professional decision that can change the work. TeamShift sorts incoming RFIs by project, logs them with due dates, gathers the relevant drawings and earlier correspondence, and reminds you before the response is due. The architect writes the answer.
How can a small architecture firm use AI for proposals?
TeamShift's Sales worker drafts a fee proposal from your scope notes and past proposals for similar projects, then follows up once it's sent. The Research worker can pull background on the client and site, with sources. Fees, scope, and contract terms stay with the principal, who approves the proposal before it goes out.
Who does what
The jobs your team takes
Operations lead
- Keeps a project task board of items waiting on the architect and puts RFI and submittal due dates in the morning brief.
Support worker
- Sorts contractor RFIs, submittals, and consultant emails by project and drafts acknowledgements for approval.
Sales worker
- Drafts fee proposals from your scope notes and past proposals, and follow-ups on proposals still awaiting a decision, for your OK.
Finance worker
- Drafts follow-ups on invoices for each project phase for your OK and keeps the firm's QuickBooks reconciled.
Content worker
- Drafts project pages for your website and LinkedIn posts about finished work.
Research worker
- Gathers background on a prospective client, site, or RFP with sources, and notes where the evidence is thin.
Stays with you
What never runs without you
- Design decisions and code interpretation
- Responses to RFIs and submittal reviews
- Sealing and signing drawings
- Fees, contract terms, and approving client messages
Anything that sends, pays, publishes, or deletes waits for your OK, and every step is recorded. How approval works.
By the numbers
The numbers behind it
- U.S. architectural services establishments (NAICS 54131): 22,619 establishments with 182,082 employees
- Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive (43-6014): $47,540 median annual wage
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
FAQ
Questions owners ask
Does it work with our CAD or BIM tools?
No. It works in email, calendar, OneDrive files, and QuickBooks, alongside your design tools.
Can it send meeting minutes?
It can draft minutes from your notes. Sending them to the client or contractor waits for your approval.
How long can it track a project?
Jobs that run for days or months survive waits, retries, timers, and approvals, so RFI and invoice tracking lasts the life of the project.
Is it priced per user?
No. There are no seats or subscriptions. Work is billed by usage, and each job is quoted with a maximum before it starts.
Pricing
Pay by usage, not per seat
Creating your workspace is free. The work your team runs is billed at 3x its compute cost, quoted with a maximum before it starts. No subscription, no seats, no per-job products. See pricing.