Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a central business priority for real estate brokerages, with leaders reporting a more than 30% increase in its importance since 2024, according to a Delta Media Group survey.
Brokerage leaders rated AI’s current importance at 7.12 out of 10 in 2026, up from 5.45 in 2024. The rating is expected to reach 8.25 over the next 12 to 18 months, the survey found.
Findings reflect a shift from experimenting with AI for marketing and content creation to integrating the technology into business operations, including customer relationship management (CRM), recruiting, training and administrative work.
“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 respondents, 97%, said their agents are using AI, according to the survey.
Brokerages expand AI applications
More than half (55%) of brokerage leaders surveyed in 2026 plan to adopt or expand AIfor CRM enhancement and workflow automation.
Administrative and back-office automation followed at 53%, while 52% identified agent recruiting, training and performance coaching. Half of respondents said they plan to adopt or expand agentic AI tools designed to perform tasks on users’ behalf.
Other planned applications include business intelligence and predictive analytics, cited by 49%; document summaries and contract review, 48%; market analysis and property valuations, 46%; and automated client communications, 45%.
The results mark a change from 2024, when leaders primarily anticipated using AI for digital marketing, cited by 73%, and social media, at 72%.
In 2024, 23% of respondents expected AI to be used for administrative support. By 2026, 53% planned to adopt or expand its use in administrative and back-office functions.
“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.”
Focus shifts to brokerage-wide strategy
The 2026 survey was the first in Delta Media’s three-year series to ask specifically about agentic AI, reflecting growing interest in systems that can carry out tasks rather than simply generate content.
“Three years ago, when you talked to brokers and agents about AI in real estate, they were talking about AI creating listing descriptions,” Minard said. “That conversation is completely different today. Brokerage leaders are looking at AI across virtually every part of their businesses. The opportunity now is figuring out where AI really delivers value, how all these capabilities work together and how you deploy them in a way that makes a brokerage better.”
Delta Media said the survey included more than 100 brokerage leaders representing firms responsible for more than two-thirds of U.S. real estate transactions in 2025.
This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.
