Client: Mott MacDonald, global engineering consultancy
Challenge: Connecting teams with dispersed expertise and knowledge across complex enterprise systems
Solution: Enterprise-aware AI agent with organisational intelligence and permission-native architecture
Results: full deployment in 6 months, 3x engagement increase, thousands of daily messages
Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management, and development consultancy and one of the world's largest employee-owned companies. They deliver complex infrastructure projects that shape our daily lives - from buildings, water facilities and major transportation networks to sustainable energy systems and urban development.
Operating across such diverse sectors requires deep technical expertise, strict security protocols, and seamless collaboration between specialists worldwide. With teams spanning civil and structural engineers, transport planners, environmental consultants, and urban designers, Mott MacDonald's success depends on connecting the right people with the right information at precisely the right moment.
Mott MacDonald has some of the world's leading engineering expertise and is committed to continuously enhancing operational excellence across the organisation. As part of this, the organisation identified a key opportunity to improve access to critical enterprise information which was scattered across multiple enterprise systems - SharePoint libraries, project databases, staff directories, technical repositories, and regulatory documents.
Finding the right information often meant navigating complex internal systems or sending lengthy email chains to track down experts. A seemingly simple question like "What are the fire safety requirements for this commercial building project?" would take careful consideration to answer properly, requiring teams to search through multiple document libraries and then locate the right specialist to validate the approach.
For a consultancy where time directly impacts client delivery and project outcomes, this process was limiting efficiency. However, any solution needed to respect existing permission structures and safeguard sensitive infrastructure such as defence project data. Open AI solutions posed unacceptable security risks, while traditional enterprise AI tools lacked the ability to understand Mott MacDonald’s organisational context. Recognising this, senior leadership prioritised the need for a Responsible AI solution. One that could streamline knowledge access whilst maintaining security and context. This would empower teams to spend less time searching and more time applying their expertise to solve complex engineering challenges.
Rather than implementing another search tool, ElementX worked with Mott MacDonald to develop EMMA (Every Mott MacDonald Answer) - an AI assistant that understands not just what information exists, but how Mott MacDonald's organisation actually works.
Enterprise knowledge isn't just stored in documents - it lives within the relationships between projects, people, and processes. The assistant was designed to understand Mott MacDonald's internal terminology, team structures, and workflows, creating an AI that could navigate their organisational landscape just like an experienced employee would.
When someone asks EMMA for help finding expertise in fire safety requirements for commercial buildings, the answer goes beyond a basic summary. It:
The system integrates seamlessly with Mott MacDonald's existing Microsoft 365 environment:
Deploying AI across 20,000 global users is no small task, and critically, it requires that stakeholders be informed along each step of the journey in order to build their confidence. ElementX supported this process through a series of phases, carefully designed to support buy-in.
The impact exceeded everyone's expectations. EMMA went from proof of concept to full production deployment across Mott MacDonald's global workforce in under six months - a timeline most organisations consider impossible for enterprise AI projects.
The real success lies in how people are actually using the system:
The depth of engagement tells the real story. It indicates genuine behavioural change where people aren't just trying the system once, they're using it for complex problem-solving and collaborative work.
"EMMA is transforming how we access knowledge and information at Mott MacDonald. By providing faster and easier access to insights, EMMA enables our team to fully appreciate the value of data. It facilitates more efficient sharing of best practices, making Mott MacDonald a more connected and collaborative workplace."
— Nasrine Tomasi, Head of AI, Mott MacDonald
Mott MacDonald’s employee assistant demonstrates that successful enterprise AI isn't about replacing human expertise - it's about amplifying it. By understanding how organisations actually work and respecting existing structures while enabling new capabilities, AI can become a genuine productivity multiplier rather than just another tool to learn.
For Mott MacDonald, EMMA represents the foundation of their AI-enabled future. The success metrics show a workforce that has embraced AI as part of their daily practice, with engagement levels that continue to grow as teams discover new ways to leverage organisational intelligence.
To learn more about implementing AI solutions that understand your organisation's unique context and requirements, contact the ElementX team at enquiries@elementx.ai
