Do you run Exact Online Bouw (Exact Online for construction) for your projects, cost calculations, labour hours and instalment invoices? Then you know the endless switching between modules just to find one simple answer. With AI it works differently: you connect Exact Online Bouw to an AI assistant and simply ask your question in plain language.
For general Exact Online accounting there is Ledger Botje. For the construction sector there is a sister product built specifically on Exact Online Bouw: Bouw Botje. This article shows how to connect Exact Online Bouw to AI, which assistants work (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini) and what you get out of it.
Why connect Exact Online Bouw to AI?
In construction your information is scattered: project status in one module, the cost calculation in another, labour hours somewhere else and instalment invoices on top. A question like “is project De Vries still within its calculation?” can cost half an afternoon of digging. An AI assistant that talks directly to Exact Online Bouw fetches that data in seconds and lines it up for you.
Which AI assistants does it work with?
The connection works with virtually every modern AI assistant. The best known:
- ChatGPT (OpenAI) — the most widely used; ideal for an easy start.
- Claude (Anthropic) — strong at careful reasoning over numbers and long project overviews.
- Microsoft Copilot — handy if your construction firm already works in Microsoft 365.
- Google Gemini — convenient within the Google ecosystem.
Mistral, Perplexity, Grok, Cursor and OpenClaw can be connected too. The connection is the same for every assistant, so you can switch AI later without any rework.
What can you ask your AI about Exact Online Bouw?
Once the connection is in place, you ask questions or give commands in plain language:
- “How is project PRJ-2026-014 doing on cost and margin?”
- “Book 38 hours for Jansen on project Nieuwbouw De Vries, work item structural, week 23.”
- “Which projects risk exceeding their calculation?”
- “Stage instalment 4 for project X: structural work 80% done, €48,000.”
Whether you use ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini — the assistant pulls the right data from Exact Online Bouw and does the lookup work that would otherwise eat half an afternoon.
Safe: read-only unless you decide otherwise
Just like Ledger Botje, the construction variant is read-only by default: the AI may query and report on everything, but only when you enable read-write per user can it actually book an hours line or stage an instalment invoice. The connection is encrypted and you revoke access with a single click. That keeps you in control of what changes in Exact Online Bouw.
How to connect Exact Online Bouw to AI
The connection runs over MCP (Model Context Protocol), the same open standard Ledger Botje uses for Exact Online. Connecting is not an IT project:
- Paste your Exact Online Bouw API key into the Bouw Botje connection screen.
- Pick your AI assistant (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, Gemini …) and add the MCP server.
- Ask your first question — done.
The approach closely mirrors our MCP connection guide for Exact Online; the construction-specific steps are on bouwbotje.nl.
Ledger Botje or Bouw Botje?
Simple: if you use plain Exact Online for your bookkeeping, Ledger Botje is your connection. If your administration runs on Exact Online Bouw — with projects, calculations, labour hours and instalment invoicing — then Bouw Botje is tailored to your way of working. Both deliver the same promise: run your administration with AI, in plain language.
Conclusion
Connecting Exact Online Bouw to AI turns your construction administration into something you simply talk to — from calculation to handover, with the AI assistant of your choice. Curious what it does for your construction business? Take a look at Bouw Botje and connect your first AI assistant today.