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Deltek · May 2026

47th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study

Deltek's 47th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study (May 2026; n=896) found that 38% of A&E firms report measurable positive business impact from AI.

Read the original report ↗Cite2 min read · Summary updated
Reported business impact of AI at A&E firmsPercent of A&E firm respondents, 2026
Too early to see benefits or still piloting
39%
Measurable positive business impact
38%
Source: Deltek, 47th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study, 2026.

Key findings

  1. 01
    AI adoption among A&E firms rose from 53% to 70% year over year; generative AI use rose from 64% to 78%.
  2. 02
    Only 38% report a measurable positive business impact from AI.
  3. 03
    Utilization declined to just under 60%, operating profit fell to 16.7%, and staff growth was only 1.2%.

By the numbers

38%of A&E firms report measurable positive business impact from AI
70%of A&E firms have adopted AI, up from 53% a year earlier
59%agree successful AI implementation will create a significant competitive advantage
A&E firms that believe they could lose market share within two years without significant digital transformationPercent of A&E firm respondents
Source: Deltek, 47th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study, 2026.

What it means for you Draft

For executives at $10–100M companies

A&E firms show the same pattern as other services: adoption is broad, measurable payoff is not, and utilization is sliding. For a project-based firm, the practical step may be picking a few metrics (utilization, write-offs, proposal hit rate) and checking whether AI use is moving them at all.

Limitations

Medium trust.Long-running study with large sample; Deltek sells project ERP and AI features to these firms; methodology details are in gated report.

About the publisher: Sells project-based business software.

The headline figure measures the “Pays off” stage of adoption (measurable profit impact).Why adoption numbers disagree

Cite the original

Deltek. "47th Annual Deltek Clarity Architecture & Engineering Industry Study." May 12, 2026. https://www.deltek.com/company/news/latest-deltek-clarity-industry-studies-highlight-ai-challenges/

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