Does everyone in your firm need to become an AI expert?

Over the past month, I’ve been researching how the role of the AEC knowledge manager is evolving in the age of AI. One theme has come up again and again in surveys and interviews: AI literacy is quickly becoming a core responsibility of KM teams. In many firms, knowledge managers are stepping into a new role as AI educators, guides, and shepherds.

They’re the ones helping colleagues understand the art of the possible. Teaching prompting techniques. Introducing good habits like verifying sources. Navigating the messy intersections of internal data, external tools, and firm-specific workflows.

But a question keeps tugging at me:

Do we need to elevate everyone to the same level of AI fluency? Or will the future of AI learning look more jagged, role-based, and use case specific?

A few weeks ago, I sat in on a session at PSMJ and saw an impressive collection of advanced AI prompts—some for Microsoft CoPilot, others for Synthesis AI Search. I had a split reaction. On one hand, the prompts were smart, useful, and creative. On the other hand, I thought: Does everyone in the firm really need to learn how to write prompts like this?

That thought reminded me of BIM.

When BIM first arrived, there was a push for broad literacy. Over time, firms developed layered models of BIM education. Designers learned the tools they needed to create. Project managers learned to review and coordinate. Principals understood just enough to ask the right questions. Meanwhile, specialists went deep by configuring standards, optimizing workflows, and pushing the envelope.

BIM literacy wasn’t one-size-fits-all. It was role-based and purpose-driven. I think AI literacy will follow a similar path.

There will likely be a shared baseline. Enough for everyone to understand what AI can do, how to use it responsibly, and how to apply it in their domain. But beyond that, I imagine deeper training will emerge along functional lines: project teams, marketing teams, HR, IT, design technology, project managers, and principals. Some people will become embedded “AI Specialists” in key departments or teams. Others will float across the organization as internal consultants or R&D catalysts.

We’ll stop asking “How do we train everyone?” and start asking “What does good look like in this role, for this person, for this team, for this department, given their goals, strategy, and responsibilities?"

From an organizational design perspective, this shift matters. But it also matters from a technology design perspective. At Knowledge Architecture, we’ve tried to minimize the amount people need to learn in order to get good results with Synthesis AI Search. From the start, we’ve believed the tools should do more of the heavy lifting, not the user.

This is one reason we’re designing a new feature called Custom Search Agents. It allows a power user to wrap advanced prompts, filters, and configuration into a reusable agent that others in the firm can use without needing to understand how it all works under the hood. Think of it as operationalizing AI know-how in a repeatable, scalable way.

So here’s how I see it unfolding:

AI education in AEC firms won’t be a straight line. It’ll be layered, role-based, and use case specific. Some people will go deep. Others just need a solid baseline. And the best tools will meet people where they are—enabling more people to do more advanced things without requiring everyone to become a specialist.

But I’m curious…how are you approaching AI education in your firm? What’s your current strategy, and how do you imagine it will evolve over the next few years?

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Smarter by Design is a biweekly newsletter about how AEC firms are rethinking knowledge, learning, and leadership in an era of rapid change.

Drawing on 25 years in the industry, Christopher Parsons shares stories, insights, and practical strategies from firm leaders and knowledge champions who are scaling learning, growing expertise, and designing more resilient organizations.

This isn’t just about AI (though that’s part of the story). It’s about how firms become learning organizations—places where knowledge flows, people grow, and insights compound over time.

If you care about the future of knowledge and leadership in the AEC industry, this newsletter is for you.