How Florida cities are using AI to streamline building permits
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As Florida keeps growing, companies like Swiftbuild.ai say their AI software can help local governments handle the influx of construction permits.
The big picture: Slow permitting systems frustrate business owners and residents — and promises to fix them are a hallmark of political campaigns.
- Cities from Miami to Jacksonville are now using artificial intelligence to try speeding things up.
Driving the news: Swiftbuild.ai, founded in 2024 by two University of Florida alumni, has signed over $3 million in contracts with Florida governments and developers to improve permitting efficiency, according to managing partner Sabrina Dugan.
- SwiftGov, the government branch of the company, works with governments like Jacksonville, Titusville, Hernando County and Walton County.
How it works: When a city receives a permit application, the AI system produces a preliminary report that the city planner or engineer reads and validates before sending comments back to the applicant.
- For single-family home reviews, the AI-powered permit reviews are typically at least 90% accurate, Dugan tells Axios.
- "The system is built for the human reviewer, not as a substitute but as a force multiplier," she wrote in an email.
Case in point: After Hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Florida's Gulf Coast in 2024, a surge in rebuilding created a permit backlog in Hernando County that slowed roof repairs and rebuilds, the county has said.
- Dugan says SwiftGov helped the building department clear a backlog of 6,000 permit applications for single-family homes.
- AI helped cut the permit-review process from 30 days to under two hours, according to the county, which was honored with a national planning award for the program.
Yes, but: Dugan stresses that while SwiftGov can review construction plans, it doesn't inspect construction quality and can't substitute for expert-led site visits.
- "Plan review is one layer of building safety," she says.
Follow the money: SwiftGov's current contracts range between $50,000 and nearly $2 million, depending on project scope and jurisdiction size, Dugan says.
Meanwhile, in Miami, where Mayor Eileen Higgins campaigned on fixing a slow permit system, the city recently announced an AI-powered partnership with Oracle to automate review processes.
- The contract, which can be renewed for up to five years, carries a total price tag of more than $18 million, according to the city.
The bottom line: "Accelerating permitting with the latest technologies can save residents time, money, and frustration," Higgins said in a press release.