Most homebuilders haven't adopted artificial intelligence quite yet, according to a new report.
In a survey released in late July, 49% of single-family homebuilders said they use AI in some capacity, according to the National Association of Homebuilders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index. Although focused on the wider market conditions for homebuilders, the monthly index also includes "special questions on the topics of current interest to the housing market," according to NAHB.
Of those builders that reported using AI, 20% said the technology helped with advertising, while 11% used it for analysis and planning. Not many respondents said they're using AI for project design or for various management tasks. Less than 0.5% of builders reported using AI to help monitor safety.
Some builders have involved AI applications in the construction process, such as homebuilder PulteGroup deploying an AI-powered robotic arm to raise concrete blocks for a development in Florida. Not many of the NAHB respondents reported doing the same: Just 1% of builders are tasking AI with operating construction equipment, and it ranked low on the ranking of potential usages.
Just because survey respondents aren't using artificial intelligence doesn't mean they never will. Using a 1-5 rating scale (with 1 meaning not likely and 5 meaning very likely), nonusers said they were most likely to start integrating AI into their marketing and analysis within the next two years, in keeping with the heftier slices of builders already using AI to support those tasks.
Homebuilders aren't the only industry facing an evolving AI future. In a March 2025 "State of AI" survey from consulting firm McKinsey & Co., more than 75% of the 1,491 individuals polled reported that their companies, which encompass a range of industries worldwide, employed artificial intelligence in some capacity, with 21% saying that the use "fundamentally redesigned at least some workflows," according to the report. Similarly to NAHB's findings, the largest slice (42%) of McKinsey's AI-users deployed the technology for marketing and sales.