Artificial intelligence is rapidly gaining traction in commercial real estate, but even as firms experiment with its ability to streamline work, industry leaders say it is far from replacing the human relationships that drive deals.
"Technology tends to be a little bit slow to adopt in commercial real estate, whether that's because people see it as an expense and not as an investment, or they're just used to their process that they already have," Adam Siegel, vice president of product growth at Crexi, tells GlobeSt.com.
That dynamic is shifting as AI sparks interest rarely seen in the sector. "But I've never seen any technology come along in the last 13 years that has been so asked about in the industry like AI has," Siegel adds. "It seems everybody's looking for … that magic thing that's going to make the light bulbs go off and make their life easier, and I think everybody's trying it."
So far, much of that experimentation is centered on efficiency. AI is proving useful in handling repetitive, time-consuming tasks—everything from building Excel formulas to parsing large data sets—freeing brokers and investors to focus on higher-value work.
"It stands for artificial intelligence, but really for me it stands for abundant intelligence," Siegel says. "What that means is that I can have a conversation that goes beyond Google and really get true work and output done through agents, through Claude, through ChatGPT. A lot of people are starting at the basic level, where it's, 'Hey, can it write a formula for me in Excel?' Maybe they're using it to help them understand data that they have. I think that's where the time savings are coming in, and I think long term it's going to start to automate some of the repetitive processes that brokers and investors do on a regular basis to save them time to work on the more important things."
Those time savings could have broader implications across the industry. By accelerating data analysis and underwriting, AI has the potential to reduce reliance on large teams and give smaller investors access to tools that were once limited to institutions. According to Siegel, tasks that traditionally required "an army of analysts and … army of property managers and asset managers pouring over every number" can now be handled more efficiently, allowing firms to avoid "spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in manpower." At the same time, larger organizations can redeploy staff toward more strategic priorities.
Even with those gains, the core of brokerage remains unchanged. "Brokerage is a relationship business, you know," Siegel says. "No one hands over a $5 million or $10 million or $20 million asset to an AI agent to sell. They want to know who they're talking to."
That reality is shaping the adoption of AI across commercial real estate. Rather than replacing brokers, the technology is emerging as a support tool—one that enhances productivity but still depends on human oversight and expertise. Interpreting data, structuring deals, and building trust with clients remain firmly in the human domain.
As adoption expands, the distinction is becoming clearer: AI may transform how work gets done, but it is not displacing the people responsible for getting deals across the finish line.
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