Blu Estimator is an AI-powered estimating assistant in Buildxact that helps you create and update estimates faster by using reference estimates, uploaded plans, and documents.

With Blu Estimator, you can use an existing estimate as a reference, provide instructions on what you want changed, and have Blu update your estimate based on your requirements.

Blu can also read plans and documents, answer questions about them, and help add relevant information directly into your estimate costings.

Watch the video below for a walkthrough of Blu Estimatoror see the full detail below.

You can start the Estimate Assistant from either a Lead or directly from Estimates.

If you don't use Leads, go to Estimates from the main menu and create a new estimate. The process is the same.

There are several ways to give the Estimate Assistant information about your project.

Use the microphone or text field to give the assistant a description of the job. You can provide a rough brief and let the assistant work out the details it needs.

The assistant may ask follow-up questions to clarify things such as:

You can select one of the suggested answers or choose Other and enter your own response.

If you don't want to answer additional questions, you can use Skip and Generate to continue with the information already provided.

You can also use an existing estimate or template as a reference.

This is particularly useful when you're creating a similar project but need to make some changes.

For example:

Use this estimate as a starting point, but use a different flooring material and paint colour.

The assistant will use the previous estimate as a reference and adjust it based on your instructions.

You can also start with one of the available prompts, such as a typical bathroom or kitchen project.

You can then make changes to the generated estimate to suit your specific project.

Make sure the project has the correct address. The assistant uses the project location to help localize pricing.

Depending on your region, you may also be able to choose whether pricing is linked to a supplier catalog.

If a supplier catalog isn't available for your region, select No supplier linked.

Once the assistant has enough information, it will generate the estimate.

Behind the scenes, it reviews the information you've provided, determines the appropriate categories, checks for overlaps, calculates materials and labour, and performs a final review to reduce the chance of duplicate items.

When complete, you'll see an overview of the estimate, including:

The process works the same whether you're working in Imperial or Metric.

AI can save significant time, but you should always review the completed estimate before sending it to a customer.

Treat an AI-generated estimate in the same way you would an estimate prepared by another person: review the quantities, materials, labour, and pricing to make sure everything is appropriate for the project.

Once an estimate has been created, you can use the Estimate Assistant to make changes without manually editing every affected costing.

For example, you could ask it to:

Simply describe what you want to change and the assistant will identify the relevant items and update the estimate.

The assistant can also make updates based on measurements you've already entered into your estimate.

For example, if you already have a flooring measurement, you can ask:

"Update the flooring based on my flooring measurement."

The assistant can use the existing measurement information to update the relevant estimate items, rather than requiring you to manually work out and change the quantities.

This is particularly useful when your measurements have been completed separately from the estimate.

You can upload documents to the Estimate Assistant and ask it to use the information to update your estimate.

For example, you can provide:

The assistant can read the information in these documents and identify changes that should be reflected in the estimate.

For example:

"Update the estimate based on this specification."

Or:

"Review this supplier quote and update the relevant items in my estimate."

This can save time when a project contains a large number of specifications that would otherwise need to be manually matched to estimate items.

The Estimate Assistant is designed to be flexible, so don't be afraid to experiment with different instructions.

Instead of manually changing individual items, try describing the outcome you want. For example:

The more specific your instructions are, the easier it is for the assistant to understand what you want to change.