The overall vision we have is AI to empower the engineers, not replace them. And we use our own experience actually as an analogy. Our own engineers are leveraging GitHub Copilot to be much more productive. GitHub copilot as I explained in the prepared remarks is taking over all the mundane tasks so they can really focus on high-value tasks. So, we see exactly the same for infrastructure engineers. And we — the potential is huge, as I mentioned two weeks ago, in every conversation with infrastructure engineering firm CEOs, AI came up. So the potential is huge for sure. We all see the same. Our approach is going to be leveraging our own engineering applications to train the AI agents not the data of our users, which is different from an approach that other companies may take, right?
So, we will train the AI agents with our own engineering applications so that they can learn from entering applications, whether the engineer roles, right. And based on this, we’ll be able then to suggest site layouts or components of designs of infrastructure, et cetera, going forward. And what we envision is our users will then leverage their data to fine-tune those models, those AI agents, this copilot will give to them. So, it’s a quite distinct approach from what you may see in other industries, actually very adapted to our industry infrastructure and very much resonating. The idea of AI is a copilot, the idea that we training with our own engine applications that we let the users decide when and if they want to use their own data to fine tune.
This is what’s really resonating. With exploration right now with a number of engineering firms gaining us feedback, the time line for us to deliver those capabilities will depend on that feedback.
Greg Bentley: Blair, on monetization, I will point out indirectly when engineering firms and owners recognize the value of the data for ways in which they didn’t even anticipate it could compound in value in the future, for instance, with generative AI training their own tools. ProjectWise has become our single largest product just now. And the advantage of ProjectWise is a common schema where this state can be understood and come understood and comprehensively more valuable. So, there are ways for us to implicitly monetize on the value of entering data without yet working out how the — whether there would be new products or enhanced products as far as monetization.
Eric Boyer: Our next question comes from Clarke Jeffries from Piper Sandler.
Clarke Jeffries: So I wanted to follow up on a prior question and maybe reflect I think there are some memories of some of the civil construction projects being positive at the shovel-ready stage. And I think that there has been discussion of that before. So, I wanted to pose a question like that. How much of the engineering design work will be done entirely pre-shovel-ready on the construction? And how much continued engineering design work could be available after it moved to that final stage when construction on site starts to happen? And then as a follow-up, when can the sale to the owner-operator occur when it’s entirely at the sort of specialty contractor or engineering consultant stage or somewhere during the project?
Greg Bentley: Well, what an interesting question. And yes, it could be that in staging of projects, even those funded under IIJA. Some might wait for materials costs and labor costs and so forth to balance out rather than bulge. But that won’t have, in general, the impact on the design, getting the project to being with shovel ready. However, we’re just back from year-end infrastructure last month, and we are reminded that in Asia, which leads in so much in the world, in Singapore, a case in point of that, if you get a chance to watch some of the keynotes. Things have moved very far toward design build. And very often, major projects in Asia, the owner from the SAR has a Digital Twin in mind, and it isn’t something that comes along after the fact that it really is interesting.
And it is leading the way. We say they’re leapfrogging ahead not being constrained by traditional contracting structures and so forth. So I think you’ll see some examples of that in Going Digital Awards finalists and winning projects Asia. And that’s why we remarked that to me, it’s a pleasant surprise to see that 17% of all of these 300-plus nominated projects this year, use SYNCHRO. So, they’re incorporated six even incorporating 4D modeling of the construction process during the design, and it’s just an indication of the progress of design build and constructability ultimately to improve civil project execution and take out risk and variability.
Eric Boyer: That concludes our call today. We thank each of you for your interest and time in Bentley Systems and look forward to updating you on our progress in coming quarters.
Greg Bentley: Thank you.
