Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Construction Contract Management for Reducing Legal Disputes and Project Risks: A Comprehensive Literature Review

Abstract

Construction projects worldwide face persistent challenges related to contract disputes, cost overruns, and schedule delays. This review synthesizes current research on artificial intelligence (AI) applications in construction contract management, examining how machine learning, natural language processing, and blockchain technologies reduce legal disputes and mitigate project risks. Through systematic analysis of 40+ peer-reviewed studies, we identify four key AI implementation domains: contract analysis and review, dispute prediction and prevention, risk identification, and payment automation. Machine learning algorithms achieve up to 98% prediction accuracy in dispute forecasting, while NLP-based systems reduce contract review time by 76%. Blockchain-enabled smart contracts accelerate payment cycles from weeks to minutes. However, implementation barriers persist, including data quality requirements, integration complexity, and regulatory uncertainty. This review proposes an integrated socio-technical framework combining AI with BIM, blockchain, and governance mechanisms for effective deployment. Future research must prioritize standardization, explainability, and ethical AI frameworks to maximize benefits while minimizing legal and technical risks.