Generative AI Adoption in Facilities Management: An Exploratory Study of Professional Uses, Impacts, and Barriers

Robson Quinello

Authors

Robson Quinello UniSENAI, São Paulo, Brazil

Keywords:

generative artificial intelligence, Facilities Management, Brazilian professionals, organizational readiness, technology adoption

Abstract

This study investigates how generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) is being incorporated into Facilities Management (FM) practice among Brazilian professionals, providing empirical evidence in a field still dominated by conceptual and review-based studies. Survey data from 42 professionals were analyzed using descriptive statistics, qualitative content analysis, and exploratory text mining to identify usage patterns, perceived impacts, and adoption barriers. Gen AI was primarily used for operational documentation, managerial support, information retrieval, and routine text processing, with ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini as the most frequently reported platforms. Perceived impact was predominantly moderate to high, indicating that current applications mainly support cognitive and informational activities rather than directly transforming technical building operations. Exploratory clustering reinforced this cognitive-augmentation pattern. Reported barriers comprised organizational governance uncertainty, technological and integration limitations, and capability-related concerns involving trust and training. Kruskal-Wallis tests identified differences in perceived impact across frequency-of-use and organizational-authorization categories, whereas no statistically detectable differences emerged for demographic or structural characteristics. Overall, the findings indicate that current Gen AI adoption in FM is concentrated in knowledge-intensive activities and is shaped by organizational governance and opportunities for recurrent practical engagement.

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