Practice Management Member Conversations

 View Only

  • 1.  AI in My Day-to-Day Workflow

    Posted 03-25-2026 08:03 AM
    A while back I posted about AI more as curiosity than strategy. Since then, it’s quietly become part of how I run my practice. Not as a replacement for thinking, but as an amplifier for it. The AIA and NCARB both point out that AI is most valuable when it augments decision-making, not replaces it and that’s exactly how I’ve approached it: a tool to compress time, explore more options, and sharpen communication, while still owning every outcome.
     
    My workflow now starts earlier than it used to. Networking and business development are no longer just conversations, they’re supported by tools like ChatGPT to refine messaging, draft outreach, or even pressure-test ideas before I say them out loud. From there, I’ll use platforms like Archsynth or Midjourney to quickly visualize concepts, not as final design, but as a way to accelerate alignment with clients. Meetings get captured and distilled through tools like Plaud, turning conversations into usable action. And on the creative side, I’ve even used AI for things like humor, storytelling, and voiceovers through ElevenLabs or early explorations with Sora, because sometimes the fastest way to connect with a client is clarity, not complexity.
     
    Where it really starts to click is in the middle and end of projects. AI helps me organize notes, structure drawings, and even think through coordination or code questions faster, freeing up time to focus on judgment, not just production. That lines up with what we’re seeing across the industry: firms are using AI to automate repetitive tasks, improve research, and streamline delivery, while architects stay firmly in control of the decisions that matter. I’m still early in figuring this out, but the pattern is clear, AI isn’t changing what we do as architects, it’s changing how quickly and clearly we can do it. Curious how others are threading it into their own workflows.

    Claud, Gemini, Notebook LM, ChatGPT, Midjourney, Plaud, Otter AI, Archsynth, Elevenlabs, Sora... and many more! 
     
    Where have you found AI adds the most real value in your workflow and where does it still fall short of how we actually practice architecture?



    -------------------------------------------


    ------------------------------
    Michael Perez AIA
    PMKC Leadership Group
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: AI in My Day-to-Day Workflow

    Posted 03-26-2026 08:52 PM

    Hello Michael,

    Thank you for sharing your findings regarding AI.

    Do reply and let your audience know specifically how you used AI for networking/Business Development, clarity with clients, structuring drawings, coordinating code related questions, and automating repetitive tasks.

    Again, many thanks as we await the insights you will share.



    ------------------------------
    Ato Apiafi AIA
    Ato Apiafi Architects, PLLC
    Bellevue WA
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: AI in My Day-to-Day Workflow

    Posted 04-06-2026 08:43 PM
    Edited by Michael Perez, AIA 04-06-2026 08:43 PM

    Hey, great question!

    I usually start by figuring out where AI can actually help before I even open it up. For networking and BD, I'll have it pull together publicly available info on companies so I'm not walking into conversations blind. It's like doing your homework… just without the late-night panic. For clients, I'll feed it past emails, meeting notes, and project context so I can keep decisions aligned, especially when I've got multiple projects going and things start blending together.

    On the production side, it's been a solid time-saver. You can use different tools to read drawings, extract info, or even help organize sheet data. Nothing groundbreaking, just shaving off the repetitive stuff. One simple example; I've had AI read consultant drawings and pull sheet numbers/names into a clean list for title sheets. Still double check it, obviously (we're not handing over the keys just yet), but it beats doing it line by line on bigger sets. Keep in mind that the better the prompt the better the results. 

    Big picture, it doesn't replace responsibility, it just gives you a head start. And honestly, anything that keeps me out of flipping through code books for something I know I looked up three months ago… I'll take it. 

    Hope that helps!



    ------------------------------
    Michael Perez AIA
    PMKC Leadership Group
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


Related Content