Building and site plan review has always required a careful balance between speed and safety. Departments must ensure compliance with code while also moving projects forward. This has become particularly challenging with building demand intensifying in recent years. According to Goldman Sachs, the US faces a shortage of 3 to 4 million homes beyond normal construction levels. As communities work to keep up, permit volumes are rising — often faster than staff capacity.

Over the past decade, the shift to electronic plan review software has helped modernize the process and alleviate some of the pressure. For many localities, paper files have given way to digital submissions, workflows are trackable, and approvals move more efficiently between departments. 

Yet even with these improvements, reviewers still manually scan building plans for missing information, repeatedly write the same comments, and catch inconsistencies late in the process. As permitting volumes rise and staffing constraints persist across the country, the balance between processing speed and public safety has become harder to maintain. 

New advances in artificial intelligence are tackling this challenge. Just as electronic plan review moved departments beyond paper-based processes and sped up review times, AI-powered plan review is reshaping how plans are analyzed and reviewed today.

AI Plan Review is Filling in the Gaps of Traditional Electronic Plan Review 

Electronic plan review software has modernized permitting by centralizing documents, tracking workflows, and routing approvals more efficiently between departments. What it hasn’t done is actually change how quickly or accurately reviewers read through and mark up documents. 

In most municipalities, staff still flag inconsistencies, identify missing required information, and suggest code-based comments manually. As a result, departments spend significant time on corrections and repetitive comments early in the review process, issues that could be surfaced sooner and more consistently.

This is where AI plan review comes in.

GovWell Supports Applicants and Staff with AutoCheck

GovWell leads the way in enabling government workflows with AI. AutoCheck is a new feature designed to support both application intake and plan review. Whenever a resident or contractor submits a form or application, AutoCheck automatically reviews the submission for completeness and accuracy, flagging potential issues to applicants. 

Upon submission, AutoCheck also speeds up reviews for government staff. The feature automatically analyzes uploaded plan sets against local requirements and code references, making it one of the first AI-assisted plan review tools on the market. AutoCheck makes AI plan review possible, helping departments surface issues earlier, reduce repetitive manual checks, and improve consistency without replacing professional judgment.

How AutoCheck Helps Residents and Contractors

AutoCheck begins working at the point of submission by notifying applicants of application errors, giving them the opportunity to fix errors before finalizing their submission.  

When scanning submissions, AutoCheck can:

• Highlight misalignment with municipal codes
• Notify applicants if they are applying for the wrong application and suggest the correct one
• Flag inconsistencies across document submissions
• Highlight incomplete documentation or required fields

By catching these issues early, GovWell helps prevent incomplete or inconsistent applications from reaching staff, minimizing unnecessary review time and back-and-forth communication with applicants.

How AutoCheck Helps Government Staff

By the time staff receive applications and building plans, documents should be complete and free of easily identifiable errors, allowing for much faster review of submitted plans. AutoCheck supports plan reviewers directly by:

• Analyzing uploaded plan documents and noting what should be done in the context of applicable building codes and standards
• Generates smart, ready-to-use comment suggestions
• Allows reviewers to insert and edit suggested comments directly within the plan set

Importantly, nothing is finalized without confirmation from plan reviewers. While AutoCheck identifies errors and suggests comments, staff remain fully in control of what is communicated to residents and contractors, speeding up plan review without lowering standards.

AI Assists the Review Process without Replacing Human Judgement

Across government, AI is increasingly being used to support staff capacity rather than replace it. According to the KPMG Global Tech Report 2024, 68% of government respondents say AI is helping fill skill gaps among knowledge workers that had previously been a major challenge for their organization.

AI plan review software follows that same approach. It is most effective when it operates as part of the review team, rather than in place of it. Instead of staff reaching out to applicants to inform them of missing application information or simple errors, AutoCheck can flag those issues early on and decrease time-consuming back and forth for both sides. And when it comes to plan review, AutoCheck highlights potential issues and offers structured comment suggestions, while leaving inspectors and reviewers to be the final decision-makers. 

While human judgement stays present, the streamlined process helps create consistency across reviewers and solidifies institutional knowledge through preserved comment patterns. This is especially helpful for training newer staff on the ins-and-outs of plan review in your municipality, as well as reducing overreliance on one individual’s expertise.

At a high level, AI plan review — including GovWell’s AutoCheck feature — helps clear routine errors and surface initial application issues earlier, allowing departments to move applications forward more efficiently while giving reviewers more time to focus on complex projects.

How AI Building Plan Review Impacts Local Governments Long-Term

Traditional electronic plan review has already made substantial improvements in efficiency at the local government level. AI plan review will have a similar, if not more substantial, impact, especially for departments overwhelmed by growing application volume.  

Over time, the impact is clear. 

• Faster turnaround times: Local governments can achieve faster turnaround times as repeatable issues are identified earlier and fewer applications require multiple review cycles or resubmittals. 
• Improved consistency: Review processes become more consistent as comment language and code references are applied more uniformly across reviewers. 
• Reduced burnout: By shifting time away from repetitive administrative corrections, staff can see reduced burnout and a stronger focus on substantive evaluation. 
• Better applicant experience: Developers, contractors, and residents all benefit when review times are quicker and actionable feedback is applied consistently.

“If it wasn’t for GovWell, I don’t know if I would still be doing this. My stress level was through the roof before, and within the first week of using it I noticed the difference."  – Dennis Guffey, Code Enforcement Officer, Nederland, TX 

Looking at the long-term impact, AI plan review and features like AutoCheck can strengthen trust in local government with better service delivery, faster review periods, and standardized comments, all while maintaining human judgement and oversight in the process.  

What to Look For When Evaluating AI Plan Review Software

As AI plan review tools become more common, not every solution will be built with the realities of local government in mind. When evaluating new tools, departments should look for some of  following capabilities:

• Works within your existing planning or permitting software. AI plan review should be embedded in current workflows, not require a separate system or parallel review process.‍
• Understands local building and permit code context. The tool should analyze submissions in reference to specific municipal or county requirements, application type, and relevant code references.
• ‍Generates smart, editable comments that are never auto-sent. Suggested comments should speed up the review process, but final decisions and communications should remain fully in staff control.‍
• Maintains a clear audit trail. Every flag, comment, and action should be documented and explainable so staff can stand behind their decisions.‍
• Meets security standards for government data. Applications can include sensitive information, including building plans, inspection notes, and personal applicant details. Any new software should offer strong encryption, and independent security verification such as SOC 2 Type II certification.

The right AI plan review software should build upon the existing plan review process, improving efficiency without changing the standards departments are responsible for upholding.

‍Explore AI Plan Review With GovWell

AI plan review helps departments move applications forward while maintaining the careful review community development  requires. For local governments seeking to improve turnaround times, reduce resubmittals, and support overextended staff, it can make a measurable difference.

GovWell’s AutoCheck feature brings AI plan review directly into existing planning and permitting workflows, combining structured analysis with the transparency, defensibility, and security local governments require. Designed specifically for small and mid-sized governments, GovWell supports departments that need to increase capacity without compromising standards.

If your municipality is evaluating permitting or planning software or looking to strengthen its current plan review process, GovWell’s team of specialists can help you assess what makes sense for your long-term goals. Schedule a demo to learn how AutoCheck can support your department’s building plan review operations.