AI-driven holographic plans overlay a construction site, illustrating workflow integration and cloud-connected data.
Palo Alto, CA, August 24, 2025
The Houzz State of AI in Construction and Design survey of more than 700 U.S. firms finds broad awareness, growing adoption and high expectations for AI across contracting and design workflows. Over a third of firms already use AI for administrative tasks, project management and content generation, reporting productivity gains and reduced manual work. Respondents highlighted gaps in training, trusted tools and data security as barriers to wider adoption, while larger firms show higher uptake. Market analysts raised targets for cloud, chip and data-platform vendors, and a cybersecurity vendor reported stronger AI-related recurring revenue and identity-focused priorities.
A new industry survey from a Palo Alto, CA-based design and construction platform finds strong interest in artificial intelligence across the trade, with clear gaps in training and trusted tools. At the same time, investors and analysts have adjusted views of major tech and security companies as AI demand reshapes cloud, chip and data infrastructure spending. A recent quarterly report from a leading cybersecurity vendor further underscored how security vendors are positioning to capture AI-related spending and identity needs.
The inaugural U.S. study surveyed more than 700 design and construction firms and found the industry shows broad awareness, moderate adoption and high expectations for AI. More than a third of professionals polled are already using AI in their businesses, and nearly three in five say they are familiar with tools built specifically for construction and design workflows.
Respondents most often use AI for administrative work and project management in contracting, while designers tap AI for admin tasks and content generation. Users report improved productivity, less manual effort and better organization, and a majority of users report being satisfied with their experience. Fifty-eight percent of users say AI has had a moderate to significant effect on how work gets done.
The report says roughly two-thirds of respondents expect AI to transform the industry within five years. Awareness is high overall, with nearly seven in ten professionals saying they know about AI and only about eight percent reporting no exposure at all. Less than a quarter described themselves as not very familiar.
The study notes a clear call among pros for support, training and tools that integrate into familiar workflows. Larger firms with more than ten employees show significantly higher adoption, suggesting scale gives teams the bandwidth to research and test new tech. The report also points to a gap in training and support as a key barrier to wider use and trust, including worries about reliability, accuracy and data security.
Market watchers lifted several price targets and ratings for companies seen as central to the AI stack. One investment firm raised its price target on a major cloud and software company to 675 from 650, citing durable cloud strength and AI demand. That firm raised multi-year revenue, profit and cash-flow forecasts and highlighted broad revenue synergies across infrastructure, data and app businesses including cloud compute, data platforms and Copilot-style productivity tools.
Chip demand remains a big wildcard. An equity research house said a major GPU maker likely posted a strong quarter but may guide cautiously for the coming period because of China-related licensing and timing uncertainty. Analysts estimated that inclusion of direct China sales could add several billion dollars of revenue, but noted regulatory and market risks. The same research team raised its price target ahead of quarterly results while keeping an overweight stance on the chip maker due to strong underlying demand and improving rack and server build trends tied to new Blackwell-series products.
Another bank upgraded a cloud data platform vendor to a buy rating and nudged its price target higher, citing stronger demand in core data warehouse products and traction in AI developer platforms. Those analysts cited signs of shorter sales cycles, rising budgets for AI projects, and that more than half of surveyed customers already use the platform for AI workloads.
A leading cybersecurity company posted better-than-expected quarterly profits and lifted its fiscal-year targets, prompting upgrades from at least one major bank. Quarterly adjusted earnings per share topped consensus while revenue held roughly in line with expectations. Management raised guidance for the next fiscal year on both EPS and revenue ranges.
Analysts highlighted strong growth in next-generation security annual recurring revenue, healthy remaining performance obligations, and notable gains in product revenue and operating margin versus expectations. Free cash flow margin expanded sharply, and software now represents a larger share of product revenue year over year.
The company said platform deals are becoming larger and more common. Observers noted a rise in sizable deals and in average recurring revenue per platform customer, and argued platform consolidation helps customers rationalize point solutions. The vendor pointed to growth in virtual firewalls and firewall-as-a-service and reported strong net retention and ARR growth in cloud security and detection products.
Management described identity as a coming inflection point as agentic AI grows, and expects the planned acquisition of an identity-specialist firm to close in the second half of its fiscal year. The combined company targets a larger addressable market by linking privileged access management, identity telemetry and automation to network security, XDR and SASE offerings.
Executives said they anticipate sizable cross-sell opportunities, deeper telemetry for security analytics, and a path to higher adjusted free cash flow for the combined business over several years. Analysts praised the strategic fit but flagged integration risks and timing of agentic AI adoption as ongoing uncertainties.
The Houzz 2025 State of AI in Construction and Design Report surveyed more than 700 U.S. design and construction firms to measure awareness, adoption and expectations for AI across workflows.
More than one in three respondents report using AI in their business. Use is higher among firms with more than ten employees.
Users reported improved productivity, less manual work and better organization. Concerns center on output reliability and accuracy, data security and privacy, and lack of technical training.
Analysts have raised price targets or upgraded ratings for key cloud, chip and data platform companies on the view that AI is driving stronger demand for cloud compute, GPUs and data services. Security firms with strong software and platform momentum also drew positive reactions after reporting solid quarterly results.
The cybersecurity vendor reported strong platform adoption, expanding software revenue, and growing AI-related ARR. Management highlighted identity and secure-browser playbooks as key areas to protect AI agents and enterprise data.
Prioritize trusted, workflow-integrated tools, invest in training for staff, and start pilot projects that measure time savings and accuracy gains. Larger firms can scale experiments faster, but smaller firms can adopt targeted tools for admin and project-management gains.
| Topic | What to know | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Industry AI adoption | Survey of 700+ firms; >33% already using AI; 66% expect transformation in 5 years | Signals shifting workflows and near-term demand for tools and training |
| Primary use cases | Admin, project management, content tasks for designers | Quick wins can come from automating repetitive tasks |
| Market moves | Analyst upgrades and price target raises for cloud, chip and data firms tied to AI | Investor attention may boost funding and M&A in AI-related tech |
| Security trends | Platform deals growing, identity integration planned with an acquisition, AI ARR rising | Security and identity are bigger priorities as firms deploy agentic AI and browser-based agents |
| Steps for pros | Invest in training, pilot workflow-integrated tools, focus on data security | Reduces risk and speeds practical gains from AI |
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