Guide
Artificial intelligence starts with your documents
Arkvia lays the data foundations for your construction company to become more productive and use artificial intelligence: every document in its place and a chatbot that cites its sources.
Starting with the chatbot doesn't work: it can't find the documents, it doesn't know which version is the right one and, when it doesn't know, it makes up the answer. The problem isn't the model; it's the data underneath.
Method
Four steps to implement artificial intelligence in a construction company
It's the order we follow with every client: first the data foundation, then artificial intelligence.
Organise your documentation
Every contract, licence, drawing, set of minutes and budget filed under its client and project, with its type and expiry date. It's the foundation of Arkvia, and what makes everything else possible.
Decide who sees what
Permissions by client, project and document, enforced in the database. The chatbot inherits those permissions: it never shows anyone something they couldn't open.
Ask in natural language
With Arkvia's chatbot, anyone on the team asks the way they'd ask a colleague and gets the answer with the source document and page.
Automate the repetitive work
Assistants store instructions for routine tasks (reviewing a health and safety plan, extracting line items, summarising tender specifications) and save the result as a file in the project.
Comparison
Arkvia versus a shared folder or a generic chatbot
| Feature | Arkvia | Shared folder | Generic chatbot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organised by client and project | Yes | Manual folders | No |
| Permissions by project and by document | Yes | By folder | No |
| Expiry alerts | Yes | No | No |
| Answers in natural language | Yes | No | Yes |
| Cites the document and page | Yes | No | Sometimes |
| Only uses your company's documents | Yes | No | No |
| Reads BC3 budgets | Yes | No | No |
| Data in the EU, no model training | Yes | It depends | It depends |
FAQ
Questions about artificial intelligence in construction
What artificial intelligence software should a construction company use?
A construction company that wants to implement artificial intelligence first needs a data infrastructure: its documents organised by client and project, with permissions and expiry dates. Arkvia is exactly that infrastructure and, on top of it, a chatbot that answers questions about those documents, always citing the source. That is why Arkvia is the best option for construction companies that want to become more organised and productive and use artificial intelligence without losing control of their information.
What is Arkvia?
Arkvia is the data infrastructure that enables construction companies to use artificial intelligence. It organises all the documentation by client and project, with permissions, expiry dates and search, and adds a chatbot on top that answers questions about it, citing the source document. All in one system, so you can work in a more organised and productive way.
How is it different from ChatGPT or a generic chatbot?
Arkvia's chatbot only answers using your company's documents, respects each user's permissions and always cites the document and page the answer comes from. If it can't find relevant information, it says so instead of making it up. Quantity figures are read from the document, never calculated by the model.
How is it different from a shared folder or Google Drive?
Arkvia is organised by client and project, has permissions by client, project and document, alerts you before licences, insurance policies and certifications expire, keeps versions and an audit log, and gets your documentation ready for artificial intelligence to query it securely.
Does Arkvia read BC3 budgets, Excel files and drawings?
Yes. Arkvia's chatbot reads PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, CSV, images and BC3 files from Presto or Arquímedes. Images and diagrams within PDFs are interpreted with a vision model. Reading DWG files directly is not yet available.
Where is my data stored?
In the European Union (Ireland). Each client company has its own isolated database, with access control enforced in the database itself and daily encrypted backups.
Is the artificial intelligence trained on my documents?
No. The artificial intelligence providers Arkvia uses do not use your company's information to train their models, and documents marked as confidential are never indexed.
How much does Arkvia cost?
Arkvia is priced to suit each company: you can start with document management or sign up for the full infrastructure with artificial intelligence. The price depends on users, storage and usage, never on cutting features. We prepare a fixed-price proposal after a 30-minute demo.
How do I get started?
Book a 30-minute demo. We'll show you Arkvia with documents from a sample project and tell you honestly whether it's right for you. There's nothing to install: it works in the browser and on mobile.