Chat With Your Building Model: Meet Vera, Verify AI's Compliance Agent
· 3 min read · By Verify AI
Building codes run to hundreds of pages, and a single project can involve thousands of model elements. Finding the answer to a simple question, such as whether a particular stair meets the requirement, often means opening the code in one window and the model in another. Vera, the AI agent in Verify AI, is built to remove that step: you upload your file and ask.
What Vera does
Vera reads the file you upload and answers questions about it in natural language. It works across the disciplines Verify AI reviews, which are fire and life safety, electrical, HVAC and plumbing, and draws on the code libraries the platform is built on.
Every answer is meant to be checkable rather than just plausible:
- The code clause the answer relies on.
- The evidence from your file, so you can see what Vera looked at.
- Recommended actions where something needs to change.
How to use it
- Upload a file. Verify AI accepts IFC (2x3 and IFC4), DXF and PDF, exported from tools such as Revit, ArchiCAD, Bentley, Tekla or AutoCAD.
- Wait for the analysis. The platform detects the fire, HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems in the file and classifies the elements.
- Ask Vera. Type your question the way you would ask a colleague.
- Follow the citations. Open the clause and the evidence to confirm the answer before you act on it.
Example questions
Vera is designed for questions like these:
- Does this stair core meet NBC requirements?
- Show me all stairwells under 1500 mm wide.
- Does Floor 4 have adequate refuge space?
- Why is this sprinkler zone failing?
- Are the emergency systems compliant?
Tips for better answers
- Be specific about the location. "The east stair on Level 3" is better than "the stairs".
- Say which code you care about, especially if the project is under a particular state amendment or an international standard.
- Ask why. When a check fails, asking for the reasoning and the clause is the quickest way to decide whether it is a real issue or a model problem.
- Ask follow-ups. You can narrow a broad answer to a floor, a system or a single element.
Getting the best results from your file
The quality of the answer follows the quality of the model. Spaces should be present and named, objects should be properly classified rather than generic, and levels should be correct. Our guide to checking an IFC model for code compliance explains what to fix before uploading.
What Vera is not
Vera speeds up finding and understanding compliance issues. It does not replace the qualified professional who signs off a submission. Verify AI is built as a consultant-in-the-loop system: results carry confidence flags, uncertain ones are sent to human review, and consultants can annotate and override findings with an audit trail. Read more in what to automate and what still needs an engineer.
Try Vera on your own file
Open Verify AI and upload a model, or see the features for how Vera fits with automated code verification, the rule library and report export. If you would like a guided walkthrough, talk to the founder.