Guides Earthworks takeoff AI connectors
Run your earthworks takeoff from Claude or ChatGPT
SitesAI Estimate has an MCP connector. Ask an AI assistant to open a plan, set the scale, draw the takeoff and price the estimate — while you watch and approve.
Most takeoff software gives you a toolbar. SitesAI Estimate also gives you a connector, so an AI assistant can use the same tools you do: open the plan, calibrate the scale, trace the boundary, run the takeoff and price the lines. You describe the job in plain words. The assistant does the clicks. You check the result before anything is saved.
This is done through MCP (Model Context Protocol), a standard way for an assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT to call the tools of another application. There is nothing to install on your machine. You connect the assistant to SitesAI Estimate once, and from then on "open my Kilsyth plan and give me the cut and fill" is a sentence, not a twenty-minute session.
What can the assistant actually do?
The connector exposes a small, explicit set of tools. Read tools look at the project; write tools change it.
| Ask for | Tool the assistant uses | Type |
|---|---|---|
| A summary of the open project, its layers and sheets | get_project_summary, list_layers, list_sheets | Read |
| The current estimate and the take-off groups behind it | get_estimate, list_takeoffs, list_elements | Read |
| A picture of the plan, or the context it needs to draw on it | get_page_image, get_ai_authoring_context | Read |
| Add a plan from a link or a file, set its scale, line it up | add_layer_from_url, add_layer_from_data, calibrate_layer_scale, align_layer | Write |
| Draw boundaries, levels and elements on the plan | apply_delta | Write |
| Run the takeoff — deterministic from vectors, or AI vision from the drawing | run_vector_takeoff, run_auto_takeoff | Write |
| Price lines, group them into stages, change rates | update_estimate | Write, irreversible |
| Add or activate a design sheet, list CAD layers on a page | manage_sheets, list_cad_layers | Write / Read |
| Save, start a new project, open an existing one | save_project, new_project, open_project | Write |
The full list, with what each tool can and cannot see, is on the AI connectors page. Twenty-two tools in total, and the assistant cannot do anything that is not on that list.
Two ways to run it
Live in your tab. Keep SitesAI Estimate open in the browser and connect the assistant. Every change the assistant makes appears on your screen as it happens. This is the mode to use while you are learning what it does well: you watch the boundary go down, see the volumes update, and correct it in words if it picked the wrong line.
Background mode. The assistant opens or creates a project without a tab, does the work, saves, and hands you the link. This suits batch jobs: "open the three tenders in this folder and give me the bulk earthworks volume for each."
An example session
A realistic exchange, with the assistant's actions in between:
You: Open the Kilsyth plan, calibrate the scale from the 10 m bar on sheet 1, and give me the cut and fill for the building platform at RL 112.4. The assistant opens the project, reads the page image, finds the scale bar, calibrates the layer, traces the platform outline from the drawing, sets the design level, runs the takeoff and reads back the estimate. Assistant: Platform traced at 1,840 m². Cut 612 m³, fill 88 m³ against RL 112.4 using the surveyed spot levels on the plan. Want me to price the bulk excavation line? You: Price it at $28 per cubic metre and put it in a stage called Bulk Earthworks.
The numbers above are illustrative. What matters is the shape of the work: you supply the intent and the site knowledge, the assistant supplies the clicks, and the result is a normal SitesAI Estimate project you can open, check in 3D and export.
What will the assistant not do?
- It will not invent levels. If the plan has no spot levels or contours, it will tell you, and you either trace them from the survey or add a DXF that carries them.
- It will not hide a change. Irreversible tools are flagged, and live mode shows every action.
- It will not replace your judgement on batters, over-excavation, rock, or what the client actually wants. It removes the drawing time, not the estimating.
Why does this matter for a small contractor?
An estimator in a three-to-twenty person earthworks business prices a lot of plans that never turn into jobs. The connector cuts the time to a first number, which means you can price more tenders and spend your attention on the ones worth winning. It also means the person who understands the site does not have to be the person who is good with the software.
If you already use Claude, Codex or ChatGPT at work, the setup is a few minutes. Start from the connectors page, or open SitesAI Estimate and try the manual workflow first so you know what the assistant is doing on your behalf. The AI plan has a free 14-day trial, so the connector costs nothing to try.
Once it is connected, the next step is to stop re-explaining your pricing every session: teach Claude or Codex to price jobs your way with a skill that carries your rates, factors and stage names.
Questions people ask
Do I need the AI plan to use the connector?
Yes — the connector is part of the AI plan (US$99 per user a month), and there is a free 14-day AI trial with no card, started from the app. The free tier lets you sign in and try the manual workflow on one design sheet.
Can the assistant change my estimate without asking?
It can only use the tools listed on the connectors page. Tools that overwrite or delete are marked irreversible, and in live mode every change appears in your open tab as it happens, so you see and can undo the work.
Which assistants work?
Anything that speaks MCP — Claude, Claude Code, Codex, ChatGPT, and other MCP-capable assistants and agent frameworks.
Try it on your next plan set — free.
Sign in with Google or Microsoft, add a PDF or DWG/DXF, and see cut and fill in minutes. Pro is US$39 per user per month, the AI plan has a free 14-day trial; cancel any time. What SitesAI Estimate does.