Engineers are hearing a lot about AI, but an AI tool is only useful if it addresses genuine problems. Can it reduce repetitive work? Make important information easier to find? Help engineers navigate increasingly complex models and analysis results? And, crucially, can it do all this without taking engineering judgment out of the engineer’s hands?
In short: > Allplan Max brings practical AI capabilities into everyday engineering workflows, helping engineers reduce the time spent on routine and repetitive tasks. > AI BIM Analyst and AI Structural Analyzer help engineers find relevant information faster while keeping engineering assessment and decision-making in professional hands. > Tools such as AI Drafter and AI BIM Modeler automate production tasks surrounding engineering work, freeing up time for higher-value activities. > Feature Builder (MCP) enables firms to turn their own specialist knowledge and processes into reusable digital tools, while Workflow Builder (MCP) supports automation across a wider technology ecosystem. > AI Coach and AI Formula Writer elevate users from standard to expert level by providing valuable tips on how to make the best use of Allplan and writing complex Allplan formulas – a task that was previously reserved for experts only. Allplan Max is designed to amplify engineering expertise, using AI to handle more of the searching, processing, and repetitive work while engineers remain in control of the outcome. |
That is the thinking behind Allplan Max. Rather than introducing AI for its own sake, Allplan Max brings practical AI capabilities into the tools and workflows engineers already use. The goal is simple: remove some of the friction surrounding engineering work so professionals can spend more time applying their expertise where it adds most value.
Find information that matters faster
Engineering projects generate enormous amounts of data. Therefore, the challenge is often finding the right information quickly enough to use it effectively.
AI BIM Analyst addresses this by enabling engineers to interrogate BIM data using natural language. Users can ask questions about the model, find and filter relevant information, and generate quantities and reports without having to manually search through large datasets or construct complex queries.
For structural engineers, AI Structural Analyzer applies the same principle to analysis results. Available in SCIA Engineer 2027 and FRILO 2027, it can identify peaks, sign changes, and critical sections that warrant attention, helping engineers locate significant results within complex calculations more quickly.
Importantly, it does not replace the engineer’s assessment of those results. Instead, it helps direct their attention to where their expertise is needed – allowing AI to process the complexity while the engineer makes the engineering decision.
Spend less time on repetitive production work
Not every task on an engineer’s to-do list requires engineering judgment. Yet repetitive modeling, documentation, and data-management activities can consume a significant amount of time that could be spent on higher-value work.
Several Allplan Max capabilities target these everyday tasks. AI Drafter, for example, automatically optimizes reinforcement label placement to improve drawing readability, reducing the manual cleanup required during drawing production while leaving the underlying engineering content unchanged. AI Formula Writer enables users to create complex formulas for automatically updating object attributes, filters, reports, or labels without needing specialized Allplan coding knowledge.
Allplan Max can also accelerate the transition from existing information to usable BIM data. AI BIM Modeler transforms 2D drawings into BIM models in minutes, providing a basis for quantity takeoff and cost estimation or a starting point for further BIM development.
Individually, these tasks may represent relatively small parts of the engineering process. Repeated across multiple drawings, models, and projects, however, means automating them can give engineers valuable time back for the work that genuinely requires their expertise.
Get answers without breaking your workflow
Even experienced engineers do not use every software function every day. When an unfamiliar task arises, finding the right command or working out the most efficient workflow can interrupt progress and take valuable time away from the project.
AI Coach provides on-demand guidance on Allplan workflows and functionality directly within the working environment. Rather than searching through documentation or relying on colleagues for help, users can access relevant guidance when they need it and continue working.
This can also support less experienced team members as they build their software knowledge quickly, helping firms make expertise more accessible and encouraging more consistent use of the tools available to them.
Turn your engineering expertise into automation
Every engineering firm has its own ways of working – from established processes and internal standards to specialist knowledge developed over years of project delivery. Turning that expertise into customized digital tools, however, has traditionally required programming skills or dedicated software development resources.
Feature Builder is designed to lower that barrier. Users can describe the process or capability they want to add to Allplan, and AI generates the Python code needed to create it. The code can then be reviewed by a technical team before installing and used within Allplan.
This creates opportunities to turn company-specific knowledge and ideas into reusable tools without starting every software development project from scratch. Instead of being limited to predefined functionality, engineering firms can increasingly adapt Allplan around their own methods and workflows. This way, valuable knowledge is retained, successful processes are standardized, and more of the work that makes their organization unique can be automated.
Connect AI to the way your organization already works
Engineering workflows rarely exist within a single application. Project information moves between different tools and systems, so introducing AI effectively also means finding ways to connect it with the wider technology ecosystem.
Workflow Builder extends Allplan Max beyond individual Allplan tasks. Through an MCP server, it connects Allplan with compatible large language models and AI-agent platforms. This enables firms to create agentic automations that can retrieve project information, interact with other systems, and carry out workflows based on plain-language instructions.
Crucially, this gives organizations flexibility over how they adopt AI. Rather than being restricted to a predefined set of automated workflows, firms can build connections around their own processes and technology choices. As their approach to AI develops, Allplan Max can therefore become part of the wider digital workflow rather than another isolated tool.
More AI doesn’t mean less engineering
The value of Allplan Max is not simply that it brings more AI into engineering software. It is what engineers can do with the time and insight those capabilities provide.
But greater automation does not mean handing engineering decisions over to AI. That distinction is built into individual capabilities. Instead, by making information easier to find, reducing repetitive production work, providing guidance on demand, and opening new possibilities for customized automation, Allplan Max can help engineers spend less time working around their software and more time applying their expertise.
Discover how Allplan Max and Allplan 2027 can support your engineering workflows. Download a free, 14-day trial and explore the latest capabilities for yourself.