Comparison · September 2026
Groundbook AI vs Autodesk Forma AI for construction document review
Autodesk's AI lives inside the platform where many teams already keep their sets. Groundbook AI imports those sets and reviews them as a whole. Compared from Autodesk's published material.
Short answer: Autodesk Construction Cloud is now part of Autodesk Forma, and its AI is a set of assistants inside that platform: Autodesk Assistant answers questions across specifications, RFIs, issues, submittals, meetings, and schedules; Construction IQ scans issues, checklists, and observations to flag risk; AutoSpecs turns spec books into submittal logs; and automated drawing extraction reads sheet attributes with OCR. None of them is described as a review of a drawing set against the codes, specifications, and checklists it must satisfy. Groundbook AI is that review, and it imports PDFs directly from Autodesk Construction Cloud (Forma), so teams on Forma can run it without leaving their document store.
Side by side
Platform intelligence beside an independent review
| Criterion | Autodesk Forma AI | Groundbook AI |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | AI assistance inside Autodesk Construction Cloud (Forma): search, summaries, risk flags, submittal logs, photo tagging, sheet extraction | An independent QA/QC review of a complete drawing and document set, with sourced findings |
| Inputs | Project data in Forma: specifications, RFIs, issues, submittals, meetings, schedules, photos, sheets | Drawings, specifications, reports, calculations, checklists, and code PDFs, imported from Forma or other platforms or uploaded; native or scanned sheets |
| Drawing checks | Automated drawing extraction reads key attributes from sheets with OCR; Construction IQ scores risk from issues, checklists, and observations | Cross-discipline coordination, constructability, consistency, checklist conformance, and code compliance across every sheet, schedule, specification, and code source |
| Output | Conversational answers and summaries, prioritized risk insights, generated submittal logs | Findings with severity, discipline, impact, and recommended action, linked to the exact file, page, drawing location, and supporting sources |
| Code compliance | Not described on the AI page | Codes detected from the drawings and checked against Groundbook's code library, plus your own uploaded codebooks, local ordinances, or a public code link |
| Packaging | Part of Autodesk Construction Cloud subscriptions; no AI pricing published on the AI page | Free to start; pay as you go from $100 per project; exact price shown before payment; no per-user fees |
| Data | Autodesk governance processes and Trust Center | Customer data hosted on AWS in the United States, encrypted at rest and in transit; model providers contractually prohibited from training on customer project data |
| Better together | Keep the set, the RFIs, and the issues in Forma | Import the set from Forma, review it, and take the findings back as issues |
Right tool, right job
What Autodesk Forma AI does that Groundbook AI does not
Forma is the system of record for many project teams, and its AI works across everything in it:
- Ask a question in plain language and get answers drawn from specs, RFIs, issues, submittals, meetings, and schedules
- Construction IQ risk insights across issues, checklists, and observations, in use millions of times a year according to Autodesk
- AutoSpecs submittal logs generated from the spec book in minutes
- Photo tagging, sheet-number extraction, and AI-assisted RFI creation
If the question is "what does our project data say?", Forma answers it where the data lives.
The review Forma does not run
What Groundbook AI adds
Autodesk's AI page describes assistance, extraction, and risk scoring. It does not describe a first-pass review that checks every sheet against every other sheet, the specifications, your checklists, and the governing codes. Groundbook AI does that review, and it connects to Forma:
- Choose Autodesk in a Groundbook draft, connect your account, browse the hub's projects and folders, and import the PDFs you need
- Findings arrive structured, with severity, discipline, impact, recommended action, and the sheet and source linked
- Reviewers take the findings back into Forma as issues or RFIs with the evidence attached
- Pay per project, so a milestone review needs no new seats
See how the Autodesk import works.
Autodesk, Autodesk Forma, and Autodesk Construction Cloud are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Groundbook AI is not affiliated with or endorsed by Autodesk. Details taken from construction.autodesk.com and the Autodesk construction blog on September 10, 2026; confirm current features and packaging with each vendor.
AI-assisted, professional-led
Professional judgment stays with your team
Groundbook AI organizes possible issues and the evidence behind them. Architects, engineers, contractors, owners, code officials, and authorities having jurisdiction retain every professional decision.
- Evidence linked to every possible finding
- Severity, discipline, impact, and recommended action
- Results typically ready in 20 minutes to 24 hours, depending on project size
Keep reading
Related pages
Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
Does Autodesk Forma review drawings for coordination errors?
Autodesk's published AI page describes Autodesk Assistant, Construction IQ risk insights, AutoSpecs, photo tagging, and OCR-based drawing extraction. It does not describe a cross-discipline review of a drawing set against specifications and codes. Groundbook AI runs that review and imports the set from Forma.
Is Autodesk Construction Cloud the same as Autodesk Forma?
Autodesk states that Autodesk Construction Cloud is now part of Autodesk Forma, its industry cloud for AEC. The products teams know (Build, Docs, and the rest) sit under the Forma name.
How do I get a set from Forma into Groundbook AI?
In a Groundbook draft, choose Autodesk, connect your account, browse your hub's projects and folders, select the PDFs, and import them. Availability depends on your account and organization permissions.
Do either replace professional review?
No. Autodesk positions its AI as assistance. Groundbook AI returns possible issues with evidence for a professional to verify. Decisions stay with the responsible professionals and the authority having jurisdiction.
Import the set from Forma and review it whole
Set up a review yourself, or book time to talk through your project.