[User Survey on PDF Utilization by Construction and Architecture Companies] Challenges in Drawing Version Management and Collaboration, Expectations for AI in Administrative Tasks

Wondershare Software Co., Ltd. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative: Bing Wu), provider of the PDF editing software "PDFelement," conducted a survey targeting 40 users of PDFelement who work in the construction and architecture industry regarding their daily document tasks and PDF/AI utilization.

The survey revealed that while the digitization of drawings and contracts is progressing, challenges remain in collaboration between the field and the office, as well as in administrative tasks such as meetings and reporting. Furthermore, specific needs of small and medium-sized construction and architecture companies became clear, such as the expectation for AI to reduce administrative tasks rather than process drawings themselves.

Survey Background

The construction and architecture industry routinely handles a wide variety of documents, including drawings, contracts, and reports.

To understand the actual situation of these document tasks and PDF utilization, our company conducted a questionnaire survey targeting individuals in the construction and architecture industry who use the PDF editing software "PDFelement."

Survey Results

1. Document tasks are centered on Windows PCs. Documents handled are "Contracts/Forms" and "Drawings."

The primary device for handling PDFs was "Windows PC" at 90%.

On the other hand, smartphones (28%) and iPads (20%) are also used to some extent, indicating a coexistence of PCs and mobile devices.

The documents handled on a daily basis were "Contracts/Estimates/Purchase Orders" (52%), followed by "CAD Drawing PDFs" (48%) and "Construction Drawings" (45%). Site photos (38%) and daily construction reports/various reports (35%) followed, showing a wide range of documents handled, with "Contracts/Forms" and "Drawings" forming the core of business operations.

2. Digitization is progressing, but "division between field and office" is a challenge.

When asked about challenges they would like to solve if real-time synchronization between smartphones, tablets, and PCs were possible, "Immediately reflecting annotations made on-site to the PC" was the most frequent response at 45%. This was followed by "Always checking the latest version of drawings" (40%), "Viewing/editing in offline environments" (40%), "Automatic organization and saving after taking photos/scanning" (30%), and "Smoothly sharing with team members" (28%).

Furthermore, current challenges include "Difficulty in managing drawing versions" (22%), "Difficulty in collaborative work with multiple people" (18%), and "Difficulty in file sharing" (12%).

While the digitization of paper and PDFs is advancing, it has become clear that challenges remain in the communication spanning the field and the office, such as information written on-site not being immediately reflected on office PCs, and the latest versions not being shared with everyone.

3. AI is expected to "reduce administrative tasks" rather than "drawing processing."

When asked about useful AI functions to be included in PDFelement, "AI Translation" (45%), "AI Chat (asking questions about PDF content, summarizing, extracting information)" (42%), and "AI Grammar Check" (28%) were the top responses.

Additionally, when asked about tasks they would like AI to assist with besides the above, "Automatic transcription of voice recordings" (40%), "Automatic organization of meeting minutes" (38%), and "Automatic classification of files such as drawings, contracts, and photos" (32%) were mentioned.

The demand to reduce administrative tasks around meetings, reports, and document organization is as strong as, if not stronger than, the expectations for drawings themselves, such as automatic extraction of text/dimensions and detection of version differences (each 28%).

It appears that AI is expected to provide practical support by taking over daily administrative burdens, rather than processing drawings.

4. The deciding factor for adoption is "reasonableness of price." Ease of operation and Japanese support are also important.

Regarding points considered important when considering enterprise or team adoption of software, "Reasonableness of price" stood out at 78%. This was followed by "Ease of managing multiple accounts" (42%), "Ease of license transfer when changing PCs" (35%), and "Japanese manuals/training/support system" and "Impact of updates on existing usage" (each 30%).

Over half of the respondents (52%) belong to companies with 1-10 users, indicating a high sensitivity to cost and operational burden.

Challenges Identified in the Survey and What PDFelement Can Do

This user survey identified challenges in managing drawing versions and difficulties in collaboration when handling a wide range of documents such as drawings and contracts, as well as the burden of administrative tasks like document organization and reporting.

"PDFelement" is an all-in-one PDF editing software equipped with functions to support these daily document tasks.

Handle a Wide Range of Documents with One Software

In addition to direct PDF editing, it supports OCR, conversion to other formats such as Word/Excel, merging, splitting, and compression. It can process files of different types and purposes, from drawing PDFs to administrative documents, all within a single software.

Reduce Workload with AI

Supports AI chat for summarization/information extraction, AI translation/proofreading. It assists in understanding the content of long reports and contracts, and in preparing materials. It also features an "Auto Redact" function that automatically detects and blacks out personal information or specified phrases within documents.

Streamline Confirmation and Approval Processes

Supports annotations, comments, and electronic signatures, streamlining the confirmation and approval process for multiple users.

PDFelement Official Homepage

A special page is also available, introducing Wondershare's products and use cases that can be utilized in the construction and architecture industry, including PDFelement.

Special Page for the Construction and Architecture Industry

Survey Overview

Survey Name: User Survey on Document Tasks and PDF Utilization in Construction and Architecture Companies

Target Audience: PDFelement users working in the construction and architecture industry

Number of Valid Responses: 40

Survey Method: Internet Web Questionnaire

Survey Period: June 15-19, 2026

Survey Organizer: Wondershare Software Co., Ltd.

*When publishing the content of this release, please clearly state "Source: Wondershare Software."

About PDFelement

PDFelement is an all-in-one PDF editing software that broadly covers the functions required for daily operations, including PDF creation, editing, conversion, merging, compression, signing, and OCR.

It also includes AI-powered translation, rewriting, proofreading, and summarization, as well as functions to check AI-generated content, enabling smarter PDF work.

The latest version allows users to switch between multiple AI models such as ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Gemini, and enhances functions to streamline PDF editing and document management, such as the "Auto Redact" function that automatically detects and blacks out personal information or specific phrases within documents.

About Wondershare Software Co., Ltd.

Since its establishment in 2003, Wondershare has been dedicated to developing innovative and highly practical multimedia software for various scenes. Based on the corporate philosophy of "wonderful" (wonderful) to "share" (share), which is the origin of the company name Wondershare, we aim to share "software = wisdom" with the world and make people's daily lives more enjoyable, convenient, and easy.

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