78% of Trade Contractors Use AI - AI Adoption in Construction Is Way Ahead of What You Think

Feb 17, 2026

Colin Piper, CMO at BuildOps and former Autodesk marketer, speaks about building software for MEP trade contractors. He explains BuildOps’ go-to-market playbook and full-funnel marketing tactics. He highlights findings from a survey of 600 trade contractors on AI adoption, how trades use AI daily, and why training — not fear — is the main barrier.

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ADVICE

Use High‑Touch ABM For Enterprise Targets

For ABM, map the buying committee and tailor outreach with bespoke landing pages and direct-mail swag.
Combine digital targeting with high-touch in-person tactics to win enterprise accounts.

INSIGHT

Product-Market Fit In The Trades

BuildOps targets MEP trade contractors with an integrated ops platform for service and projects.
Tailoring product-market fit to trades yields high adoption in an underserved segment.

ADVICE

Prove Brand ROI With Metro Incrementality Tests

Use incrementality tests by running campaigns in a single metro to measure localized revenue uplift.
Compare against a baseline to attribute ROI for large brand investments.

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78% of trade contractors are already using AI.

Yeah, you read that right. The industry everyone calls "slow to adopt tech" is actually out front leading the way.

In today's episode of Bricks & Bytes, we had Colin Piper, CMO of BuildOps, and we got to learn about what it actually takes to market in construction tech, why no one was building software for the trades until now, and what 600 trade contractors revealed about AI adoption in their businesses... and many more!

Tune in to find out about:

✅ How BuildOps became a unicorn by solving a problem everyone else ignored building software specifically for MEP trade contractors

✅ The real reason trade contractors aren't adopting AI faster (spoiler: it's not fear, it's training)

✅ Why some trade contractors are now hiring data scientists and operating like mini software companies

✅ The marketing playbook behind scaling a construction tech startup from brand awareness all the way through to closed deals

Whether you're in the trades, selling to the trades, or just trying to understand where construction tech is actually heading this one's worth your time.

🎧 Watch now on YouTube! Link in the comments!

Our Sponsors:

Aphex is the multiplayer planning platform where construction teams plan together, stay aligned, and deliver projects faster – check out aphex.co

Archdesk - “The #1 Construction Management Software for Growing Companies - Manage your projects from Tender to Handover” check archdesk.com

BuildVision - streamlining the construction supply chain with a unified platform - www.buildvision.io

Chapters

00:00 Intro

01:36 Introduction to BuildOps and Colin's Background

04:49 Marketing Strategies in AEC Industry

07:31 Understanding Demand Generation

10:48 Account-Based Marketing Tactics

13:46 Overview of BuildOps and Its Market

16:35 Top of Funnel Awareness Strategies

19:37 Effective Channels for Targeting Trade Contractors

22:29 Influencer Marketing in B2B

34:41 Content Strategies for Trade Contractors

37:28 The Importance of Testing in Marketing

40:37 Campaign Development and Execution

43:32 The Role of Offline Marketing Channels

45:40 Structuring Marketing Teams for Success

47:32 Building an Effective Marketing Tech Stack

50:36 Insights from the BuildOps AI Report

56:39 Marketing Strategies for Trade Contractors

59:28 The Future of AI in Construction