The importance of artificial intelligence to real estate brokerage leaders has jumped more than 30% since 2024, according to Delta Media Real Estate AI surveys. Leaders rated AI’s importance at 5.45 out of 10 in 2024, compared with 7.12 today, while its expected importance over the next 12 to 18 months rises to 8.25 out of 10.
A three-year look back at Delta Media’s Real Estate AI Survey data shows how quickly AI has moved from a promising technology to a core business capability for brokerages. In 2024, leaders were still weighing where AI fit into their businesses. By 2026, the survey shows brokerages moving AI deeper into CRM systems, workflow automation, back-office operations, recruiting, training and other core functions.
“The big story today isn’t whether real estate is using AI. We knew that after the first survey we did in 2024,” said Michael Minard, CEO and owner of Delta Media Group. “What has changed is how important brokerage leaders believe AI has become to their businesses. The increase in just two years is a major shift, and when leaders look ahead, the importance score rises even higher. AI is quickly moving from something brokerages use to something they are beginning to build their businesses around.”
Nearly all (97%) of the brokerage leaders surveyed report that their agents are using AI today. But the latest findings suggest the more important story is what comes next: brokerages are moving AI beyond individual productivity tools and into the technology, workflows and business functions that support the entire organization.
Delta Media’s AI survey data show a striking progression in both the perceived importance of AI and where brokerage leaders expect to use it. Administrative AI has advanced from prediction to priority. In 2024, only 23% of leaders expected AI to be used for front-office or administrative support. In 2026, 53% of brokerage leaders say they plan to adopt or expand AI for administrative and back-office automation, more than double the level anticipated just two years ago.
Meanwhile, brokerages are moving AI into the systems that run their businesses. More than half of 2026 respondents plan to expand AI for CRM enhancement and workflow automation, at 55%, while 53% cite administrative and back-office automation and 52% cite agent recruiting, training and performance coaching. Another 50% plan to adopt or expand agentic AI tools capable of automating tasks. That is a notable progression from 2024, when brokerage leaders’ future AI plans were dominated by digital marketing at 73% and social media at 72%.
AI is becoming part of brokerage strategy, not simply agent productivity. Half of brokerage leaders, 50%, plan to adopt or expand agentic AI tools this year. Nearly half plan to expand AI for business intelligence, forecasting and predictive analytics (49%), document summaries and contract review (48%), market analysis and property valuations (46%), and client communication automation (45%).
“We’re watching AI move from the edges of the brokerage toward the center,” Minard said. “Marketing and content were natural places to start because the benefits were easy to see. Now leaders are looking at CRM workflows, administrative automation, forecasting, training and even agentic AI. These are decisions that can change how their entire brokerage operates.”
Conducted annually by Delta Media Group, a technology partner to more than 80 LeadingRE Affiliates and over 50 top-ranked brokerages nationwide, the Delta Media AI Survey provides an in-depth profile of real estate’s current AI landscape and future trajectory based on responses from over 100 top brokerage leaders representing firms responsible for more than two-thirds of all U.S. real estate transactions in 2025.
