“AI – Its capabilities, use, and potential applications in real estate”
2025 has certainly been the year when the use of AI has gone mainstream. Whether you’ve been an early adopter or are a sceptic, from assistance with investment decisions to the management of day-to-day finances, optimising tenant experiences, and everyday working efficiencies, AI’s potential to influence the built environment is boundless.
As a sector that has traditionally been slower than others to adapt to new ways of working and new technological advancements, we explore below just some of the ways AI is already a part of the built environment, feature some of the most innovative product updates from clients we’re working with and, crucially, show how roles and the skills that are required are evolving across the sector, in this piece from our Real Estate Technology and IT recruitment expert, Joe Butterworth.
Product innovations using AI in real estate
At the heart of these changes are the programs that employees across the real estate sector have come to rely on. Sector-wide products like Yardi have made wholesale upgrades to their services, with their Virtuoso app having in-built AI functionalities to practically help property managers automate tasks, from maintenance through diagnoses of issues using photos, to the procurement of items, again using photos to match marketplace ordering, and invoicing, through automated reviews and AI-generated follow ups.
PredictAP is another one specific to real estate accounts payable teams, using AI to analyse invoices, automatically extract data from them and deliver fully coded invoices into existing AP workflows.
Even wider than this, we’ve seen several programs specialising in asset management valuation using AI to create predictive analyses and stunning visuals to make decision making easier, and entire sectors changing the way they work, with the announcement of the Extract AI tool for planning, that’ll be made available to all local governments from Spring 2026 to help speed up the planning process across the UK.
How real estate employees are using AI in their current roles
The capabilities of different real estate software are one thing, but the human using these functionalities is another.
“AI – Its capabilities, use and potential application.” – this was a bullet point part of a recent job description we took on when searching for a Senior Business Analyst on behalf of a Proptech provider – something we’re increasingly seeing across mandates specifically in real estate technology roles, or wider positions across the physical and financial management of properties.
In the day-to-day conversations we’re having with candidates and clients in the sector, we’ve seen those in FM businesses and roles using AI as part of their M&E processes, we’ve seen those in residential management using AI to enhance and personalise the experience of those in super-prime or high-end BTR accommodations, or even, as the Head of Systems of a FTSE 250 listed Real Estate business we regularly work with says, they’re combining the two across their portfolio – using AI to diagnose issues within properties, but also enhance the experience of their tenants through 24/7 chatbots, for example.
AI and employees in the real estate sector
What’s interesting to us from a talent perspective is HOW employees are learning these skills.
We recently spoke with a candidate who upskilled themselves – combining their background in surveying with a self-funded university course in Machine Learning and Computer Science to provide them with the edge in the next era, but this is not possible for everyone.
With 44% of the sector ‘regularly’ using AI in their roles, according to a poll we recently conducted, how many of those are learning the skills they need from their employer/employer-backed training? A report from the World Economic Forum earlier this year suggests that only 34% of employees in real estate have currently undergone reskilling or upskilling, compared to a global average across industries of 50%.
It’s down to individual L&D teams to upskill, or at least allow their staff the chance to upskill, both generally in the use of AI across mainstreams programs like ChatGPT, or in role/system-specific programs. Some of the firms we’re working with, like a combined investor, developer and property management firm, who we’re searching for a Senior Data Modeller on behalf of at the time of writing, are looking at automating their processes and incorporating AI into processes when it comes to data gathering. Companies like these have budgets specifically allocated to the technological development of their staff – a consideration for all HR teams going into the 2nd half of 2025 and beyond.
Recruiting across the entirety of the built environment, we understand how AI is influencing all facets of the industry. To find out more about the AI programs being used, how AI is being used currently within existing or new roles across different types of organisation, or the skills that the most forward-thinking candidates are learning when it comes to AI adoption and rollout in real estate, please get in touch with me here or via 07458163630.
