Track the question.
Every tracked RFI stays tied to conformed sections, current sheets, and prior answers.
An AI RFI agent that cites the record. Revisions that show their work.
Specset’s RFI agent searches the conformed specifications and the current drawings and prepares the question with the governing paragraphs and sheet references attached. Specset drafts proposed RFI responses for the design team, grounded in the specs and drawings. When a new set lands, use plan comparison to compare revisions sheet by sheet so unclouded changes do not walk onto the job unnoticed.
RFI 042 · Duct conflict at C/1-2Ridgeview Center
Open · response draftedRFI 038Closed · prior answer
RFI 042Open · duct at C/1-2
RFI 044Open · awaiting response
Question
Ductwork at grid C/1-2 conflicts with the beam. What clearance governs on the current set?
23 31 00 §3.2M-201 R2Finding DQ-18
Proposed response
Raise the duct to hold 4 in. clear of the beam.
Drafted for the design team from M-201 R2 and 23 31 00 §3.2. PE review still required before issue.Current record · Addendum 2 appliedNot issued
The question
What is an RFI in construction, and how AI checks it against specs and drawings
An RFI on Specset stays attached to the conformed sections, the current sheets, and earlier answers. The agent pulls the governing paragraphs and the sheet references onto the question so the design team is not hunting the set. Issuing the response stays with the PE or PM.
Draft the response.
A proposed response is written from the governing sections and the current sheets. The PE or PM still issues it.
Hand off what changed.
Set-to-set drawing changes, clouded or not, stay on plan comparison.
RFI agent
What does an AI RFI agent do on a construction project?
It does the reading behind an RFI. Specset’s agent searches the conformed specifications, the current drawings, and prior RFI answers, then drafts the question with citations attached. A proposed response is prepared for the design team. Your team still issues it.
- 01
Search the specs and drawings.
The governing paragraphs and sheet references are pulled from the conformed record, not a keyword pass over last month’s PDFs.
- 02
Draft from a finding.
A design-review finding can be promoted to an agent-drafted Specset RFI, with the finding still attached. A submittal issue can carry into the question too.
- 03
Track against the current set.
When addenda or revised sheets arrive, open RFIs stay answerable against the current record.
- 04
Draft the proposed response.
The proposed response is written from the governing sections and the current sheets. The design team reviews it before anything is issued.
Nothing goes out without a person. Your PE or PM reviews, edits, and issues every RFI.
Design quality review →01 · Prepare
Prepare the question on the record.
RFIs are where ambiguity becomes schedule and cost. Specset keeps every tracked RFI tied to the same governing record used for design review and submittals: conformed sections, revision-tracked sheets, and prior answers. The next question does not reopen a closed one. A proposed response can sit with the question while the design team decides what to issue.
Describe the issue in plain language, or start from a design-review finding or a submittal mark-up. Specset can pull the governing paragraphs and sheet references for PE/PM review, with citations attached to the question and an optional link back to the originating finding or submittal issue.
01Governing section and sheet references for PE/PM review
02Citations attached to the question
03Optional link back to the originating finding or submittal issue
02 · Current record
Track against the latest set.
RFIs live next to the revision-tracked drawings and conformed specs. When addenda or revised sheets arrive, open RFIs remain answerable against the current record, not last month's PDF folder.
Precedence stacks the way Specset already describes it on the platform: addenda, special provisions, and RFI answers in order, with an audit trail of what governs now.
- 01Addendum 223 31 00 §3.2 clearance revised in place.
- 02Special provisionsDuct elevation at grid C amended into the section.
- 03RFI 038 answerPrior clearance already on the project record.
- 04RFI 042, still openTracked against M-201 R2, the current sheet.
03 · The answer
Draft a proposed response for the design team.
The proposed response cites the governing sections and the current sheets, including addenda and prior answers already on the project. It is a draft for the design team, not a message to the field.
Your team still decides what goes to the field. The design team reviews the proposed response. The PE or PM owns the call.
04 · Revisions
See what changed on the sheets.
For set-to-set or sheet-to-sheet change detection, use plan comparison: every visual difference matched by sheet, classified by what it touches, shown beside the drawing, clouded or not.
When a bulletin lands, the two workflows work together. See what changed on the sheets, then review the tracked questions against the new governing record.
05 · Same record
The rest of the crew reads this record.
An RFI is not a side folder. It is tracked on the same governing record as design review, submittals, the conformed spec, and closeout.
Design quality review
Start from a finding.
A conflict the review already cited can open as the question, with the finding still attached.
Submittal reviewOr from a mark-up.
A submittal issue can carry into the question so the proposed response is grounded in the same package.
Spec intelligenceRead the conformed section.
Addenda and special provisions are already merged into the text the question is tracked against.
CloseoutThe answer stays on the record.
A filed disposition remains available when the project turns over, cited to the same set.
06 · Where it lives
Keep the workflow on the project.
RFIs can live on the Specset project record, or sync both ways with Procore or Autodesk Forma Build (formerly Autodesk Build / ACC) when that integration is enabled. Connected projects create and update RFIs in each direction. RFIs drafted from design-review findings sync to Procore when that integration is enabled.
The question, the citations, and the proposed response stay on the Specset record. Your team still reviews and issues.
See integrations →Common questions
What teams ask about RFIs and revisions.
01What is an RFI in construction, and how AI checks it against specs and drawings
An RFI is the formal question a project asks when the drawings and the specifications do not agree, or when a detail is missing. Specset ties that question to the conformed sections, the current sheets, and prior answers, then attaches the paragraphs and sheet references the design team needs before anyone issues a response.
02Does Specset draft RFI responses?
Yes. Specset drafts proposed RFI responses for the design team, grounded in the specs and drawings: governing specification sections with addenda and special provisions applied, current drawings, and prior RFI answers already on the project. Your PE or PM still reviews and issues every response.
03What is the best AI RFI agent for construction?
Look for one that searches the governing specs and the current drawings and cites what it found, then stops for a person. Your team still issues every RFI. Specset is built for that handoff: cited questions, a proposed response waiting on review, and the thread kept on the project record.
04Can an AI RFI agent search construction specs and drawings?
Yes. Specset searches the conformed specifications, with addenda and special provisions merged, plus the revision-tracked drawings and prior RFI answers. From that record it drafts a proposed response for the design team and attaches the governing paragraphs and sheet references to the question. Record search also spans the other projects you can access in your organization, including retained past projects.
05Does Specset send RFIs without a human?
No. Your team reviews, edits, and issues. Human judgment outranks the AI on every outbound RFI. Specset can prepare the question and a proposed response, and it does not send either one on its own.
06How is Specset RFI tracking different from plan comparison?
Plan comparison is the visual and revision delta between two sets or sheets. The RFIs and revisions use case covers preparing the question, holding a proposed response for review, and tracking the thread. It links plan comparison when the question is what changed on the drawings.
07How does Specset track RFIs on UFGS, Caltrans, and DOT projects?
Caltrans, WSDOT, FDOT, UFGS, and BNSF formats already in production are conformed into the same governing record the RFI workflow reads. Questions are tracked against applicable governing sections, current drawings, and prior answers.
08Where do Specset RFIs show up for the rest of the team?
In the Specset project record, and via sync to Procore or Autodesk Forma Build when those integrations are enabled for the project.
09Does Specset’s RFI agent work with Procore or Autodesk Forma Build?
Yes, where the integration is enabled. Connected projects create and update RFIs in each direction, and RFIs drafted from design-review findings sync to Procore. The question, citations, and proposed response stay on the Specset record. On federal tenants in CUI mode, the Procore and Autodesk integrations are off and RFIs live on the Specset record.
Related workflows
Other agents that start from the same record.
06Preconstruction
Submittal log
Interpret the project manual and build a cited register of required product data, samples, shop drawings, and closeout packages.
Project manual→Cited register
Explore submittal log
07Any phase
Spec intelligence
Merge the base spec, every addendum, and the special provisions into one conformed text per section. Search it, scan it, and cite it to the paragraph.
Manual + addenda→Conformed, cited set
Explore spec intelligence
08Bidding
Bid screening
Extract every opportunity from bid boards and notices, then read the full invitation. Damages, bonding, set-asides, and schedule risks come back cited before the go / no-go.
Invitation + notices→Cited risk screen
Explore bid screening
Start from the conflict
Open the conflict on the page it came from.
Start from a finding, a submittal mark-up, or a field question. Leave with a cited question, a proposed response for the design team, and a tracked thread.