200 photos. They sort themselves.

No. Upload your photos in any order — straight from your phone or camera card. The vision AI determines the correct RICS element, condition rating and caption for each image automatically. The only preparation needed is to ensure HEIC files are not blocked by your device (they are converted automatically server-side).

Yes. HEIC files are automatically converted to JPEG server-side before categorisation. No need to change camera settings on your phone before the inspection.

The practical limit is 200 photos per report, categorised in ~2–3 minutes. The selection step targets the best 35 images (configurable between 25 and 50 via the slider) regardless of upload size.

Typically 2–3 minutes for a 200-photo upload. The vision AI processes images in parallel so turnaround does not increase linearly with photo count up to the 200-photo practical limit.

Photos are scoped to a single report. For the same property you can access previously uploaded images via the property data drawer; the categorisation re-runs against the new report context rather than carrying over old assignments.

Photos upload directly to secure cloud storage linked to your Home.co.uk surveyor account. Access is restricted to your own account and the other surveyors in your organisation — your client property photos are never visible to other practices or third parties. Each photo is scoped to the specific report it was uploaded to and is not shared or indexed externally. If you need to remove photos after a report is completed — for data retention or client request purposes — the Photos tab lets you delete individual images or the full batch, which removes both the stored photo and its AI categorisation record from your account.

A vision AI processes each photo and returns a RICS section code (D, E, F, G or I), element code (e.g. D2, F1), condition rating (1/2/3), professional caption, defect list with urgency tags and a survey-relevance flag. A scoring algorithm then picks the best 35 for your report, with guaranteed section coverage and a defect-priority boost for rating-3 elements.

Roughly 90% of a typical 200-photo upload receives a high-confidence assignment (score 80 or above), meaning the element code, condition rating and caption are almost certainly correct with no review needed. Around 8–10% score in the medium-confidence range (50–79) and are worth a glance. Fewer than 5% score below 50 and surface in the review queue as genuine ambiguity cases. The AI is trained specifically on RICS survey contexts — chimney stacks, roof coverings, consumer units, damp patches, bathroom fittings — rather than general photography subjects, which is why accuracy is high for standard survey subjects but tends to dip for unusual or rare elements such as historic materials or very tight-access spaces.

Every assignment carries a confidence score from 0 to 100. Scores of 80 or above indicate a near-certain match — the element code, condition rating and caption are almost certainly correct and require no action. Scores between 50 and 79 are medium confidence, usually correct but worth a glance. Scores below 50 indicate genuine ambiguity — these surface at the top of the review queue so you can confirm, reassign or exclude the photo in seconds. In practice roughly 10% of a 200-photo upload needs any manual attention; the rest flows through automatically.

The vision AI identifies the dominant subject in each photo. If the room shot contains a clearly identifiable element — boiler, consumer unit, window, staircase — it routes to that element code. If the shot is genuinely room-level with no dominant subject, the AI routes to the most prominent element visible (e.g. E3 Internal walls for a general room shot). Confidence scores tend to be lower for these, surfacing them in the review queue. Drag-and-drop reassignment takes a few seconds if you prefer a different element.

The vision AI identifies damp staining as a visible defect regardless of which element the photo shows. A damp patch on an internal wall routes to E3 Walls and partitions with "damp staining" in the defect list and an urgency tag of immediate or short-term depending on severity. Penetrating damp on external render routes to D4 Main walls; ceiling staining from a roof leak routes to E2 Ceilings. Photos where damp is the dominant subject tend to receive high confidence scores because the defect is visually clear, and a condition rating of 2 or 3 is assigned depending on the extent visible in the image. The missing-evidence checker will also flag any element where your written findings note damp but no supporting photo has been attached.

Every assignment is overridable. Drag photos between sections, mark front elevation, bulk-reassign with section dropdowns and toggle inclusion via the eye icon. The photo AI suggests; the surveyor signs off. Overrides are preserved through re-runs.

Image AI supports RICS photo evidence requirements in two concrete ways. First, the missing-evidence checker alerts you if you have rated an element 2 or 3 but have not attached a supporting photo — so rated-but-unphotographed defects are caught before you sign off. Second, the section-coverage guarantee means every populated element section in the report has at least one photo, which avoids gaps in photographic evidence that could be questioned in a PI claim.

Three features work together. The missing-evidence checker flags any element rated 2 or 3 without a supporting photo before you sign off the report. The section-coverage guarantee ensures every populated element section has at least one photo in the report appendix — no gaps that could be questioned in a dispute. The defect-priority boost automatically allocates at least two photos to sections with rating-3 (Serious Defects) elements, so your most significant findings carry the strongest visual evidence. RICS Home Survey Standard requires photographic evidence for rated defects; Image AI makes compliance automatic rather than a manual checklist item.

The defect list is generated from what the vision AI observes in each individual image. Vision AI tends to under-report rather than over-report defects, so you should still review the list — especially for photos where a condition rating of 3 (Serious Defects) was returned.

Each photo receives a survey-relevance flag. Furniture-only shots, ceiling or floor accidentals and unrelated images are excluded from the report selection by default. You can override any exclusion — useful if an apparent furniture shot is actually a damp-stain or defect photo.

General-purpose photo AI assigns consumer labels — kitchen, garden, roof — which bear no relation to the RICS element catalogue. Image AI maps every photo against RICS element codes D1–D9, E1–E9, F1–F7 and G1–G3 specifically. It assigns a RICS condition rating (1/2/3), generates a survey-appropriate professional caption and extracts a defect list in surveyor language. The missing-evidence checker, section-coverage guarantee and defect-priority boost are specific to the survey reporting workflow — they exist because RICS photo evidence requirements are more precise than a generic image labelling task.

Yes. The photo categorisation pipeline runs identically for Level 3 Building Surveys. Element codes, condition ratings and defect lists flow into the expanded Level 3 report sections. The section-coverage guarantee and defect-priority boost apply equally — particularly useful for complex or older properties where Serious Defect (rating 3) elements are more common.

Yes. Image AI categorises, captions and extracts defects from snagging inspection photos in the same way as RICS Level 2 and Level 3 photos — giving you a photo-by-photo snag record with per-defect urgency tags (immediate, short-term or routine). The missing-evidence checker also applies, so any element you have rated without a supporting photo is flagged before sign-off. For structuring and presenting the full snagging list to a developer or client, pair Image AI with the Snagging Report Builder.

Yes — they run at different stages of the same report. Image AI runs first, categorising and selecting photos before or during element write-ups. Once your element narratives are drafted, the RICS Standards Checker reviews the full report text for rating contradictions, missing specialist referrals and language that falls outside the RICS Home Survey Standard. Running Image AI first means photo evidence and written findings are aligned before the compliance pass — reducing the chance of a photo-rated element conflicting with your written condition rating.

Image AI covers all 32 residential RICS element codes across five survey sections. Section D (external fabric): D1 Chimney stacks through D9 Other external. Section E (internal condition): E1 Roof structure through E9 Other internal. Section F (building services): F1 Electricity through F7 Common services. Section G (grounds): G1 Garage, G2 Outbuildings, G3 Grounds and boundary. Section I (risks): I1 Risks to the building, I2 Risks to the grounds, I3 Risks to people, I4 Other risks. The full catalogue is shown in the element coverage section above.

Yes. Every report produced with Image AI creates a structured photo evidence trail — RICS element codes, condition ratings, captions and defect lists — that documents how photographic evidence was gathered and linked to written findings. For APC candidates working toward Building Surveying or Residential Survey competencies, the missing-evidence checker demonstrates a quality-control step applied before sign-off: rated-but-unphotographed elements are flagged and must be resolved, showing professional diligence rather than accidental omission. The override history — photos the AI assigned one way and you reassigned — shows AI assistance was used and critically reviewed, not relied upon uncritically.