By Kevin Bradley, Sales Leader for Controls & Engineering at Boland, and Paige Andrus, Senior Digital Marketing Specialist at Boland

Artificial intelligence is quickly becoming part of commercial building operations. New tools can identify equipment faults, detect unnecessary energy use, optimize schedules and setpoints, and help maintenance teams focus on the issues that matter most. However, common misconceptions about this technology may keep organizations from realizing its benefits or implementing a successful pilot. Here are five common myths and the realities behind them:

Myth #1: The Strongest AI Starts with a Technology Purchase

Reality: AI is a tool, not the objective. The most successful AI initiatives begin with a specific business challenge, such as reducing energy costs, improving occupant comfort, decreasing equipment downtime, or increasing operational visibility. A clear operational problem and business objective underpin any successful AI project. Goals such as “reduce after-hours HVAC runtime by 15 percent” are far more actionable than “use AI to improve efficiency.”

Myth #2: You Need Perfect Data Before You Can Use AI

Reality: While AI relies on clean, understandable data to establish a baseline and test performance, facilities don't need flawless data to get started. Start with a current inventory of major HVAC assets, controls platforms, meters, and connected systems. Historical trends should be accessible without excessive manual effort. Sensor accuracy matters as well: inconsistent point names, missing trends, or poorly calibrated devices can cause an analytics platform to produce unreliable recommendations.  AI can learn from the data you have now and use it to recommend improvements.

Myth #3: AI Implementation Is Only a Facilities Team Decision

Reality: Many promising pilots stall because impacted parties are involved too late. Before selecting a solution, identify who must approve network connections, remote access, cloud services, and data sharing. Owners should also document expectations for vendor access, data ownership, retention, governance, network segmentation, and incident response. They all play important roles in ensuring the solution integrates properly, meets security requirements, and delivers measurable business value.

Myth #4: AI Can Run the Building Without Human Involvement

Reality: AI creates value when someone responds to what it finds. Building operators, technicians, and service partners are essential to validate AI recommendations, prioritize work, and make operational decisions. Advisory analytics, in which the system recommends actions and people approve them, is a better starting point for most facilities than autonomous control.  As your team learns to trust the AI, you can decide to give it more control.

Myth #5: If a Product Is "AI-Enabled," Your Facility Is Ready for AI

Reality: Purchasing AI technology does not automatically make a facility AI-ready. True readiness depends on having clear objectives, reliable systems and data, cybersecurity processes, engaged stakeholders, and a way to measure success. Choose a small set of key performance indicators and agree on how improvements will be calculated. Organizations that focus on these fundamentals are more likely to see meaningful results from their AI investments.

Bonus Myth: AI Readiness Is a Yes-or-No Decision

Reality: AI readiness isn't a yes-or-no decision; it’s a practical assessment of whether your objectives, systems, data, security, workflows, and measurement practices are ready to support a responsible pilot. Most facilities are ready in some areas and need improvement in others. Assess your readiness objectively and make a plan for next steps. A small pilot covering one site may be the right next step and a great way to make informed decisions about other sites. 

The bottom line: AI success isn't determined by the technology itself. Clear goals, quality data, cross-functional collaboration, and a well-defined plan for measuring results drive it. Facilities that focus on these fundamentals are best positioned to turn AI from a promising concept into measurable operational improvement.

Ready to get started? Contact us today to begin your AI journey.