ChatGPT or Piloti for building law?
Piloti answers planning questions on Austrian projects from the state building codes and the OIB guidelines, with state, edition and a checked citation. Many offices already use ChatGPT for emails and summaries. Here is what makes the difference for building law.
ChatGPT details as stated by OpenAI (openai.com, help.openai.com), read in September 2026. We do not list prices, because they vary by plan and region.
In short
For Austrian building law, Piloti is the better choice: it draws on the state’s building code and the OIB edition in force there, checks every citation against the source text and records the result in the project. ChatGPT remains a good tool for writing.
What Piloti does for building law
You ask the way you would ask a colleague: “Which building class is this, and what does that mean for the escape routes?” Piloti draws on the building code of the state the project is in, the OIB guidelines and, where needed, federal law such as the ASchG. The answer starts with the result, followed by reasoning, assumptions and citation.
Every citation is checked against the source text before it appears as a link. Piloti cites state law the way an official decision does, for example “Bauordnung für Wien, § …”, and the RIS source opens at the marked passage. If a deciding fact such as the building class is missing, Piloti asks once or states its assumption.
In detail
| Piloti | ChatGPT | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Planning questions on Austrian projects, with evidence, through to the file note and approval | General assistant for writing, research, analysis and code |
| Building law | The nine state building codes from RIS, OIB guidelines, register of standards, federal law such as ASchG | No body of its own; answers from the model, a web search or your files |
| State and edition | Asks for the state or states its assumption; names the OIB edition in force there when it changes the value | Only as good as your question states both and you check the source yourself |
| Evidence | Citation the way an official decision cites, checked against the source text before it is shown; RIS sources open at the marked passage | Links with web search and connected company sources; without a source, a language model can invent citations |
| Project and team | Projects with drawings, files, versions, project memory, tasks and approval in the inbox | Conversations; in ChatGPT Business, according to OpenAI, company knowledge such as SharePoint and Google Drive can be connected, with links back to the source |
| Training | No training on office data | According to OpenAI: Business and Enterprise not used for training by default; Free and Plus on by default, can be switched off in settings |
ChatGPT details as stated by OpenAI, read in September 2026. If something has changed, write to us and we will correct it.
Where Piloti is ahead
- Austrian building law as the foundation: the nine state building codes from RIS and the OIB guidelines, cited down to section or clause.
- State and edition as part of the answer. If the state or the building class is missing, Piloti asks or states its assumption.
- Checked citations: each one is matched against the source text before it appears.
- Drawings as images: Piloti looks at plan and section and marks which drawing on the sheet it read.
- The project as the place of work: tasks, in-depth research with a report, file notes sent for approval, and a memory of what is already settled.
What ChatGPT is good for
- Writing: emails to clients, building descriptions, summaries of long permits or expert reports.
- Breadth: spreadsheet formulas, translations, code, far beyond building law.
- Ready to use, with public plans.
Why good phrasing is not enough
A question like “How long may the escape route be here?” has no single answer in Austria. It depends on the state, on the OIB edition that state has declared binding, and on the building class. According to the OIB overview, the 2023 edition applies in whole or in part in Vienna, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and Tyrol, and in the other four states the 2019 edition generally still applies. A general language model does not have this reliably to hand and rarely says which version it assumes. Piloti names the edition in force in the state when it changes the value.
Then there is the citation. A language model writes sections that sound plausible even when they do not exist in that form. Piloti matches every citation against the source text before showing it, and one click leads to the passage in RIS or in the OIB guideline.
More on this in our journal article “ChatGPT for building law? Where it falls short”.
Good to know
Responsibility for the design stays with the planning office. Piloti names the source of every answer so that you can check it in one click, and asks when a deciding fact is missing. Every answer can be downloaded as Word and filed.
Questions
Can I use ChatGPT for building law in Austria?
For terms and a first overview, yes. But ChatGPT brings no body of state building codes and OIB guidelines of its own; you would have to look every citation up in RIS yourself. Piloti draws on the project’s state law and checks every citation against the source text before it appears.
Is ChatGPT GDPR-compliant for a planning office?
That depends on the plan and on your agreement with OpenAI, not on the tool alone. According to OpenAI, Business and Enterprise data is not used for training by default; on Free and Plus it is, and that can be switched off in settings. Anyone copying drawings or clients’ names into a personal account should know this. Piloti does not train models on office data, and no other office sees the office archive.
Which ChatGPT alternative fits architects in Austria?
For questions whose answer goes into a submission or a file note, you need Austrian building law, state logic and checked citations. Piloti is built for that, with project, tasks and approval. For writing and general questions, ChatGPT remains a good complement.
Read on
- ComparisonsMicrosoft Copilot or Piloti?
- ComparisonsPerplexity or Piloti?
- ComparisonsResearch building law yourself, or with Piloti?
- GlossaryWhat are the OIB guidelines?
- Use casesDetermining the building class: GK 1 to 5 under OIB