When operations are smooth, work orders are promptly assessed, and technicians complete the work quickly.
But when inboxes overflow and work orders drag on for days, small inefficiencies don’t stay small. They ripple through maintenance schedules and start to erode tenant satisfaction.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how work gets done.
While AI discussions often center on white-collar professions, the technology is already transforming how facility managers handle the work before them.
The idea of AI replacing technicians maintaining HVAC systems, plumbing infrastructure or electrical components feels a long way off. That’s because the complexity and variability of building systems make that kind of automation difficult, according to Jonathan Slain, founder and CEO of Autobahn Consultants.
“It’s easier to use AI to do desk work better, faster and cheaper,” Slain explains. “Take invoicing. AI can read it, enter it into the system, and even trigger the payment. That entire process can be almost fully automated.”
Building operations, however, are far less predictable.
“Every building has its own systems configured in different ways,” he says. “For example, a simple HVAC system has many options. The technology doesn’t all make the connections in the same way.”
Slain stresses that AI won't replace skilled technicians any time soon. In facilities, the biggest opportunity for AI, he says, is not in the field, but in the workflows that support it.
The most immediate gains in facility management are not happening in mechanical rooms or on rooftops, but in offices, inboxes and project files, according to Slain.
Slain says the highest returns for AI are in back office functions. “It’s in finance, communication and project management.”
Tasks like assembling proposals, drafting RFPs, managing workflows, communicating with team members, and evaluating submissions from multiple vendors are well-suited for AI support. These processes are structured and repeatable, allowing AI tools to streamline comparisons, highlight differences, and speed up bid-to-decision timelines.
AI can slash the time required to evaluate bids and manage communication. For instance, let’s say a facility manager needs to have the interior of the building repainted. Comparing bids from painting contractors might take up to a week. “AI can compare these bids in minutes,” he says.
This time savings can improve response times, reduce administrative backlog and free up more time for higher-value operational decisions.
For facility managers looking for a practical way to approach AI adoption, Slain frames it as a shift in daily workflow. He calls it the “Third Monitor Theory.”
He says most facility managers already operate two computer screens: one focused on active work, such as a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS), spreadsheet or building system dashboard; and a second for email, vendor communication or documentation. Slain argues that there should be a third monitor for AI functions.
Having a third monitor helps facility managers get in the habit of using AI throughout the day. Slain warns that facility leaders who are not actively experimenting with AI and using it for project management, reviewing bids, summarizing reports, etc. will quickly fall behind those who are.
“This shift is not like moving from a flip phone to an iPhone. It is more like moving from candles to electricity,” he says. “But if you’re still using candles when everyone else is using electricity, you will fall behind.”
Many facilities managers already use generative AI to summarize documents or draft emails. But a more advanced phase of this technology, called Agentic AI, is already here.
“Agentic AI doesn’t just answer questions. It takes action on your behalf,” Slain says.
In a facilities setting, agentic AI might monitor vendor proposals, pinpoint missing scope elements, and draft clarifying questions ahead of management's review. Or it might organize project timelines, flag delays or prepare summaries ahead of stakeholder meetings.
“This isn’t the future,” he says. “It’s all possible right now.”
Facility projects rarely follow a standard template. Each building has unique systems and constraints. Historically, this has forced managers to adapt workflows to rigid software tools.
AI is reversing that dynamic. “Now, you can create something bespoke for managing each individual project,” Slain says.
This allows facility managers to tailor project management to specific needs, whether managing a boiler replacement, coordinating preventive maintenance across multiple sites or overseeing a capital improvement project. The system adjusts to the work, versus the work being forced into a set structure.
Many facility managers use tools like Claude or ChatGPT for project management. To use these tools effectively, facility managers prompt Claude with the project they have, telling the tool what to do and asking what it thinks the best approach would be.
“Ask the tool for two or three approaches, so that you have options,” he says. “Pick the option that will work best in your building and your unique situation, and tailor it to your needs.”
As AI is integrated into facility operations, Slain recommends treating it like a really smart and responsive intern.
“You wouldn’t ask an intern for their recommendation and then do it that way with no oversight,” he says. “You would listen to what they come up with, consider it and then do it the way that you think is best.”
He adds, “We need to think of AI as an intern who is really, really smart but lacks the experience of the humans who have done this for 10-20 years. Too many people give AI too much credence and forget to manage it like they would anyone else working for them. If you don’t oversee AI, it can and will confidently lead you down dead ends.”
AI can accelerate work, but it does not replace professional judgment, he concludes.
AI's impact on staffing and scalability is a major consideration for facility managers.
“If you’re managing 10 properties with a team of three and you want to double to 20 properties, that doesn’t mean you need three more people,” he says. “AI might make it possible to grow your numbers from three to four, while doubling the number of properties you manage.”
For organizations managing multiple buildings, campuses or portfolios, this creates an opportunity to boost capacity without proportionally increasing headcount. That shift can help facility teams operate more efficiently while maintaining service levels, a boon in a field where skilled labor can be difficult to find.
“If you don’t decouple portfolio growth from headcount growth, you will get less profitable as you scale. More properties, more risk, but shrinking margins,” he says.
AI is also changing how facility teams train and upskill technicians, according to Slain. “Now, you have a customized, bespoke trainer for each individual on the team,” he says.
Imagine giving every technician an AI-powered “personal coach” trained on your building systems, SOPs and common issues.
The AI tool could quiz technicians on specific topics, such as boiler operations, HVAC troubleshooting, safety protocols, etc. It could simulate actual situations. Such as: ‘The chiller is short cycling. What’s your first step?’ The employee would respond, and then the AI tool would provide immediate, structured feedback on their response.
The result is training that’s continuous instead of occasional, personalized instead of one-size-fits-all, and more engaging than traditional methods. Technicians can take ownership of their training while receiving tailored instruction, reinforcement and feedback based on their specific roles and knowledge gaps.
“Technicians could train anywhere, even as they drive home in their truck,” Slain says. “AI could ask them questions and if they get it wrong, ask them again in a different way.”
Google Gemini offers a tool called NotebookLM. This tool can generate a personalized podcast from a Word document training resource.
“Where we used to tell employees, ‘Hey, we're doing a training on safety. You've got to read the safety manual and take a quiz,’ we can now ask them to listen to a podcast that has virtual hosts discussing safety protocols,” he says.
Slain notes this helps reach people with different learning styles.
“Some of us are readers, others are auditory learners, and still others learn by doing,” he explains. “AI allows us to have all three formats available to employees.”
As AI becomes more embedded in facility operations, it also introduces the potential for cyberattacks and fraud.
Slain points to the growing use of AI in social engineering attacks, where bad actors use sophisticated tactics to impersonate employees or vendors.
“The best defense against AI-powered cyberattacks is knowing that they exist. Once you know what’s possible, you stop trusting things you shouldn’t,” he says. “There are also settings on AI models that prevent your information from being shared and used by the model.”
Facility managers must strengthen internal controls around financial transactions, train staff to recognize suspicious communications and ensure sensitive building and operational data is handled securely within the AI platforms being used.
These risks are becoming part of the broader responsibility of managing modern facilities. Facility managers must work with the IT department and check with their insurance provider to ensure the building’s insurance policy covers fraud.
“It's increasingly important to have a managed service provider who keeps up with AI trends,” Slain says. “Some do. Most don’t.”
From vendor coordination to project oversight to team training, AI is becoming embedded in the daily workflows that keep facilities running.
Thus, the question before facility managers is not whether to adopt AI, but how quickly they can begin using it to improve efficiency, reduce administrative burden and better manage increasingly complex operations.
For more insights on how growing companies are navigating this transition, Slain explores these ideas further in “Rock Your Business: Navigating the Road from $50 Million to $500 Million and Beyond,” available soon on Amazon.
Ronnie Wendt is a freelance writer based in Minocqua, Wisconsin.
