First-Draft RFI Responses, Generated by AI
AI reads your drawings, specs, and standards to generate high-quality first-draft RFI responses with references and citations. You review, edit, and approve. The answer goes out faster—without sacrificing quality.
Why RFIs Are Broken
RFIs are necessary. But the current process wastes engineering time and creates unnecessary risk.
RFIs are slow and repetitive
The same questions come up project after project. Engineers spend hours searching drawings and specs to answer questions they've answered before. Meanwhile, contractors wait, schedules slip, and frustration builds.
Junior engineers waste time on document hunting
RFI response often falls to junior staff who spend 80% of their time finding information and 20% actually answering the question. They flip between drawings, specs, addenda, and codes—often missing relevant details in the process.
Context switching between documents is painful
A single RFI might require checking architectural drawings, structural details, MEP coordination, spec sections, and applicable codes. Keeping all that context in your head while drafting a response is mentally exhausting and error-prone.
Most "AI RFI tools" don't actually understand drawings
Generic AI tools can process text, but they can't read construction drawings. They don't understand that Detail 3/S-401 shows a connection, or that the answer to an RFI might be buried in a note on Sheet A-204. Without drawing intelligence, AI RFI tools just guess.
What Automated RFI Response Does
InspectMind generates first-draft RFI responses that are actually useful—because we understand drawings.
Generates first-draft responses
AI produces a complete draft response that addresses the RFI question directly. Not a template—an actual answer based on project documents.
Reads current drawings, specs, and standards
The system ingests your latest drawing set, specifications, addenda, and applicable codes. Responses reference the actual documents—not outdated versions.
Identifies where the answer exists—or doesn't
AI tells you exactly where in the documents the relevant information appears. If the answer isn't in the documents, it says so—so you know a design decision is needed.
Flags cross-discipline impacts
When an RFI response might affect other disciplines, AI surfaces those connections. "Note: This response may impact mechanical coordination—see Sheet M-301."
Human stays in control
This is not autopilot. Every response is reviewed by a licensed professional before it goes out. AI reduces the time to draft a response—it doesn't remove accountability. The engineer's judgment, edits, and approval are always required.
How It Works
A practical workflow that fits into ACC, Procore, or your existing process.
RFI is submitted
RFI comes in through ACC, Procore, or direct upload. InspectMind ingests the question and context.
AI ingests latest documents
System pulls the current drawing set, specifications, addenda, and applicable standards for the project.
AI searches for the answer
AI scans drawings, specs, codes, and standards to locate where the answer exists—or identify that it doesn't.
Draft response is generated
AI produces a structured response with clear answer, supporting references, sheet numbers, spec sections, and notes on missing or conflicting information.
Engineer reviews and approves
Licensed professional reviews the draft, makes edits, adds judgment, and approves the final response.
Response is returned
Approved response is pushed back to ACC/Procore or exported in your preferred format.
What the Output Looks Like
Structured, referenced, and ready for professional review.
Structured RFI Response
Each response follows a consistent format: direct answer to the question, supporting context, and actionable next steps if needed.
Plain-English Explanation
The response is written clearly—not in dense technical jargon. Easy for contractors to understand and act on.
Bullet References to Sheets and Specs
Every claim in the response is backed by specific references: "See Sheet S-301, Detail 5" or "Per Specification Section 05 12 00, 2.1.A".
Citations with Sheet Numbers and Detail IDs
Not vague references—exact sheet numbers, detail callouts, and spec section numbers that the contractor can look up immediately.
Confidence and Uncertainty Notes
When AI isn't certain, it says so. "Note: The documents do not explicitly address this condition. Recommend design team confirmation." Transparency builds trust.
What It's Good At (and What It's Not)
We're transparent about capabilities. This tool is powerful—within its scope.
Good At
- Repetitive RFIs that ask similar questions across projects
- "Where is this defined?" questions that require document search
- Cross-discipline coordination checks and conflict identification
- Referencing the latest documents, addenda, and revisions
- First-pass responses that get engineers 80% of the way there
- Maintaining consistent response format and quality
Not Meant For
- Final engineering judgment on complex design decisions
- Design changes that require professional analysis
- Sealed responses that require PE/SE signature
- Replacing the Engineer of Record's responsibility
- Situations requiring site visits or field verification
- Novel problems with no precedent in the documents
Who This Is For
Architecture Firms
Handling hundreds of RFIs across multiple projects
Engineering Firms
Structural and MEP teams drowning in coordination RFIs
Owner's Reps
Tracking and expediting RFI responses across trades
Large Project Teams
Multifamily and commercial teams with high RFI volumes
Best fit for teams that:
- Handle 100s–1000s of RFIs per year
- Already use ACC or Procore
- Have internal RFI response standards
- Want speed without sacrificing quality
- Have junior staff handling RFI research
- Need consistent response formatting
Integrations & Deployment
Fits into your existing workflow. No disruption required.
Autodesk Construction Cloud
Direct integration with ACC for seamless RFI workflow
Procore
Pull RFIs and push responses without leaving your workflow
API / Webhooks
Connect to your existing systems and custom workflows
Spreadsheet Export
Export responses in Excel or CSV for any use case
Internal Standards Ingestion
We can ingest your firm's internal standards, response templates, and preferred formatting. AI learns how your team writes RFI responses and maintains consistency with your established practices.
Security & Data Handling
Customer-owned data
Your documents and RFIs remain your property. We process them to generate responses—we don't claim any rights to your content.
No training on customer data
We do not use your project documents to train our AI models. Your proprietary information stays proprietary.
Cloud-hosted infrastructure
Secure AWS cloud infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit.
Deletion on request
Request deletion of your data at any time. We'll remove it from our systems within the timeframe specified in our data policy.
Pricing & Availability
Automated RFI Response is available as a pilot program or as an add-on to existing InspectMind subscriptions.
- Pilot program available — Test on a real project before committing
- Priced based on volume & usage — Scales with your RFI load
- Early access for existing customers — Current InspectMind users get priority
Ready to Speed Up RFI Response?
Talk to us about how Automated RFI Response can fit into your workflow. Or start with a pilot on an active project.