2024 in review: AI’s influence on building management (and beyond)
This year, BrainBox AI continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in AI-driven building management. From cutting-edge advancements in generative AI to real-world applications of ARIA, our blog has been a hub for innovative insights and practical advice.
As we close the chapter on 2024, we’re revisiting the articles that sparked the most engagement, inspired the most shares, and led the most conversations in our industry.
6.Is Generative AI Hosting a Restaurant Revolution? Yes, Yes It Is.
A fun departure from our more traditional topics, this article explored how GenAI is reshaping the restaurant industry in five key ways: hyper-personalized dining experiences, innovative menu creation, smarter inventory management, unique branding opportunities, and operational automation. For example, Dishoom in London reduced food waste by 20% using AI-driven inventory tools, while Kenya’s BangBang restaurant used GenAI to craft a story-driven brand around a fictional Muay Thai champion. Even energy management isn’t out of reach, as GenAI-powered tools optimize HVAC systems and predict equipment issues to keep diners comfortable.
Fun fact: Almost half of food delivery customers (45%) say that a personalized menu based on AI would make them likelier to order.
5. Sharing Is Caring: Open-Protocol BAS for Future-Proof Facilities
Building Automation Systems (BAS) are the "brain" of a building, controlling everything from HVAC and lighting to security and IoT devices. While traditional BAS systems have long promised improved efficiency, reduced costs, and better performance, the future lies in open-protocol BAS, which take these benefits to the next level.
Unlike closed systems that lock facility managers into specific vendors, open protocols like BACnet and Modbus enable seamless communication across devices from different manufacturers - transforming not just how buildings function, but how we think about managing them.
Fun fact: The Glumac Building in Shanghai uses open protocols, integrating HVAC, lighting, and even motorized blinds to optimize energy use and occupant comfort. With smart systems like these, facilities managers gain the flexibility to mix and match solutions, incorporating new technologies as buildings evolve.
4.Tackling Alarm Overload: AI for Smarter Facility Management
Twelve alarms per hour—that’s the tipping point where facilities managers hit overload. Ironically, alarms are meant to improve safety and efficiency, yet too many create chaos instead. This deluge leads to critical warnings being missed, stress skyrocketing, and decision fatigue setting in. The problem lies in outdated systems: alarm protocols that don’t adapt to building changes, overuse of generic alerts, and poor prioritization that turns helpful notifications into overwhelming noise.
Thankfully, AI and LLMs (Large Language Models) are stepping up with smarter solutions. AI can sift through mountains of building data, flagging only the alarms that matter most and predicting issues before they escalate. When paired with LLMs, these tools can contextualize alarms, provide actionable insights, and even learn a manager’s preferences to tailor notifications—cutting down on the noise and turning alarms into proactive tools. Imagine a future where alarms not only alert but also advise, guiding facilities managers with clear, data-driven strategies to protect their buildings and enhance efficiency. The result? Safer, smarter, and more manageable operations that give managers control over their spaces, not the other way around.
For FMs during steady-state operations, the recommended benchmark is to receive no more than one alarm every 10 minutes. This translates to approximately 144 alarms per day under normal operating conditions. Understaffed facilities managers can, however, end up dealing with thousands of alarms daily. Fortunately, AI can cut through the noise, identifying the most critical alerts to enhance building safety and performance.
3. How LLMs Are Revolutionizing Building Management
LLMs like ChatGPT are fundamentally transforming industries, including building management, where innovation has been slow but sorely needed. For facilities managers, these tools offer practical solutions: predicting equipment failures, optimizing energy use, and simplifying complex operations through actionable insights. By analyzing vast amounts of data, LLMs can highlight inefficiencies, forecast energy trends, and even schedule preventive maintenance, addressing some of the biggest everyday challenges of managing buildings.
Fun fact: Since the emergence of generative AI in 2021, corporate investment volumes totalled over US$3.5 billion through October of 2023.
2. Introducing ARIA: Revolutionizing Building Management with AI
This article introduced our latest, and debatably most exciting, product yet: ARIA. Named a TIME Top 100 Inventions for 2024, our virtual engineer agent is the modern facility manager’s Jarvis, processing and contextualizing vast amounts of internal and external building data to deliver precise data visualizations, sound reasoning, and informed actions. Harnessing industry-leading LLMs and BrainBox AI’s proprietary algorithms, ARIA is saving time, reducing truck rolls, and streamlining diagnostics – and best of all, it’s available anywhere, anytime, and from any device.
Fun fact: According to the JLL State of Facilities Management 2024, 59.1% of respondents said they don’t have an AI strategy yet but are interested in learning more.
1. 10 Ways to Leverage AI in Facilities Management
AI is making day-to-day facility operations smarter, more efficient, more responsive and a whole lot more sustainable – and our most popular article of 2024 details 10 powerful examples of just that. From automating repetitive tasks and providing actionable insights, to intelligent space utilization that boosts productivity and occupant satisfaction, AI is democratizing building data and empowering facilities managers to make faster, more informed decisions.
Fun fact: Fact: The adaptability and personalization afforded by GenAI promise a significant enhancement in operational efficiency and occupancy satisfaction, setting a new standard for the future of facilities management.
Want to know what’s next for AI and facilities management in 2025?
