How AI data licensing works for builders

Short answer: you check if your records fit, apply to an independent AI data buyer, the buyer reviews your records, and you decide on any offer. You keep your originals.

By Hargrave & Co. · Updated · General information, not legal, tax or privacy advice.

Take the free Records Fit Check

What is AI data licensing for builders?

AI data licensing means a business gives an AI data buyer written permission to use a copy of its records, for set purposes such as training AI, in return for payment. The business keeps its original files. For a builder, the records are things like quotes, tenders, SOPs and site diaries.

How does AI data licensing work, step by step?

There are three steps. First, take the free Records Fit Check, or email us. Second, if it looks like a fit, apply through the buyer’s referral link. Third, the buyer reviews your records and may make an offer. If it does, you read the terms, get your own advice and decide. Nothing is final until you agree.

Step 1: Take the free Records Fit Check

Answer six quick questions about your firm and your records, or email Hargrave & Co. There is no cost and no uploads.

Step 2: Apply through the referral link

If it looks like a fit, Hargrave & Co. sends you the right buyer’s link. You fill in the buyer’s short application.

Step 3: The buyer reviews, and may make an offer

The independent AI data buyer looks at your records and decides. If it makes an offer, you read the terms, get your own advice, and choose whether to say yes.

Who pays Hargrave & Co.?

The buyer does, and only if your business is accepted. You never pay Hargrave & Co. for the check, the help or anything else. If you are not accepted, nobody pays anything. Hargrave & Co. is an independent referral service. It is not a data buyer and is not affiliated with any buyer.

What happens to personal details in my records?

The buyer says it removes personal details, like names, phone numbers and addresses, from the copy it licenses. Ask the buyer how they do this and what checks they run. Privacy laws differ in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, so talk to your own advisor about what applies to you.

How much is construction data worth to AI buyers?

There is no set price. It depends on the buyer’s review of your records, such as how many years and jobs they cover and how complete they are. Hargrave & Co. does not quote amounts, and no amount is promised. If a buyer makes an offer, you see it before you decide.

What should I ask a buyer before I agree?

Ask what records are in scope, what the buyer may use them for, and who else may see them. Ask if the license is exclusive, how long it lasts, how personal details are removed, when you get paid and what happens to the copy at the end. Then get your own advice.

  • Which records, jobs and years are included?
  • What can the buyer use the copy for?
  • Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
  • How are personal details removed, and can I see a sample?
  • When and how is payment made?
  • What happens to the copy when the license ends?

Do I have to accept an offer?

No. If a buyer makes an offer, you decide whether to accept it. There is no cost and no obligation if you say no or if you are not a fit. Please get your own legal and tax advice on any agreement before you sign. You can also check again later as your firm grows.

Start with the free Records Fit Check, or read which construction records AI companies want.

About Hargrave & Co.

Hargrave & Co. is an independent referral service. It helps construction firms with about 30 or more staff in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia find out, free, whether their past project records could be licensed to independent AI data buyers. It is not a data buyer and is not affiliated with any buyer.

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