AI takeoffs let you identify and measure elements on a plan page without drawing each measurement by hand. You describe what to find, and AI locates matches, creates symbols, and places measurements on the canvas.

Open the chat panel and click New takeoff. The composer becomes a takeoff form with a What do you need measured? prompt box.

Type a description of what to measure (e.g., "interior doors and windows") and submit. The AI reads your description, finds the matching elements on the page, and places measurements on the canvas in one step.

Detection requires credits. If your balance is too low, a dialog prompts you to add more before the run starts.

For more control, the takeoff form groups elements by measurement type. Use the Count, Linear, and Area tabs at the top to switch between them. Each tab gives you rows to fill in: type an element name into a row, like "interior door" or "wall." A new blank row appears as you fill the last one, so you can add as many as you need.

Detection costs 1 credit per element per page. The running credit estimate shows at the bottom of the form before you run.

On a Count row, you can give the AI a visual example to improve detection. Click the sample button on the row, draw one or more boxes around matching symbols on the canvas, then click Done. The clips attach to that row. This works on count elements only.

The page selector sits in the form footer next to the run button. It defaults to Current page, which runs on the page you're viewing. Choose Select pages... to pick specific pages from an overlay, or Auto to let Exa pick the relevant pages for you. The credit estimate updates to reflect the number of pages.

To run, click the round arrow button in the footer. Detection starts in the background.

A Takeoff card appears in the Exa chat with a status badge: Pending, then Analyzing, then Complete (or Failed if something went wrong). When a run spans several pages, the card shows a line like Processing: 2 of 5 runs complete. If some pages fail but others succeed, the card warns you that results may be incomplete.

AI measurements land on a new takeoff layer named for the run date and time, for example AI analysis (Jun 3, 2026, 2:14 PM). You can rename it. Each run is saved as a version you can revert to from the layer history. AI-detected symbols are marked with (AI) in the sidebar so you can tell them apart from manual measurements.

The measurements behave like any other takeoff. Select, move, resize, or delete individual shapes, and adjust symbol properties, rename elements, or add cutouts just as you would by hand. When a run completes, the card offers a Generate bid button to turn the results into a proposal.

When a page has a legend, you can detect every symbol it defines instead of describing elements yourself. Click Detect from legend below the takeoff form. A Detect symbols from legend? dialog lets you pick a detection mode: Fast (around 1 credit) or Detailed (around 3 to 8 credits). Check Generate bid proposal after detection if you want a proposal built automatically once detection finishes. Click Detect to start.

Exa reads each symbol in the legend and finds its instances across the drawing.

AI analysis works best on clearly drawn plans with distinct symbols. Set your page scale before running analysis so measurements are accurate. Use descriptive prompts -- "interior doors" rather than "doors" helps the AI produce more precise results.