CDO Stack: 2026 AI Outlook for CRE

Based on significant feedback (thank you), my last column about the role of humans in a commercial real estate world with increasingly greater adoption of artificial intelligence seemed to resonate.

This quarter we’re going back to a focus on AI, coinciding with the release of Deloitte’s annual Commercial Real Estate Outlook for 2026. As an admitted commercial real estate geek, I’m always excited to see the results of the primary research we conduct in preparation for the outlook. Our methodology is fairly consistent, but we vary the questions we ask, depending on the market and what we’re seeking to better understand. While we typically ask a range of questions about technology-related matters, this year our focus was on AI uses and adoption.

First, a bit of background. Our survey responses came from over 850 individuals in the C-suite of commercial real estate companies (as well as their direct reports) with at least $250 million assets under management, across owners, developers and investors who were split fairly evenly between North America, EMEA and APAC. We asked a number of questions to understand how leaders at these companies view the market, what they’re worried about, where they see opportunities and how they’re leveraging or planning to leverage enabling technologies. Our respondents remain optimistic about the market in the year ahead, although we saw that optimism wane slightly from last year’s survey respondents. Top worries were related to capital availability, continued elevated interest rates, cost of capital and currency volatility. Interestingly, concerns about regional political instability and cybersecurity fell significantly relative to last year. As dynamics consistently change, it’s worth noting that our polling was conducted in June and July.

(AI) is no less magical, we’ve just become accustomed to the magic.

So what about AI? We asked respondents where they are on a spectrum of adoption—from “no interest, not pursuing AI” to “fully realized adoption and reaping benefits that are transformational.” One percent of those surveyed are on the “no interest, not pursuing AI” part of the spectrum—unchanged from last year. Those who reported transformational benefits and full deployment shrank from 12 percent last year to 1 percent this year. Interestingly, the number of respondents who noted incremental operational improvements also fell sharply, from 24 percent last year to just 7 percent this year, with those reporting mixed results staying roughly the same (25 percent). Those reporting implementation challenges because of technical or data issues rose significantly from 16 percent last year to 27 percent this year. We also saw an increase among respondents who reported benefits that undershot expectations, from 14 to 21 percent.

What’s happening here? Some of it is likely due to a dampening of enthusiasm and move from confirmation bias to a sober appraisal of actual benefits. Some is probably a slight reset in the definition of what “transformational” means. And some is likely expectations being adjusted as we become accustomed to what initially seemed magical; it’s no less magical, we’ve just become accustomed to the magic. In any case, the survey feedback we’ve received this year matches what we’re seeing and experiencing among our client base.

Wherever you are in your AI journey, know that you likely are in good company.

We also asked what form AI adoption is taking. Unsurprisingly, 56 percent of respondents who are planning for, implementing or leveraging AI functionality are seeing that functionality come through applications that are already in the enterprise. Specifically, 22 percent come from AI functionality being embedded in industry-specific applications (think property management or resident engagement), 18 percent from enterprise applications (think ERP or CRM) and 16 percent from productivity applications (collaboration tools, email, etc.).

Wherever you are in your AI journey, know that you likely are in good company. While this year’s results reflect the reality that applying AI solutions in the enterprise isn’t simple and requires realistic expectations for the effort it takes to implement and adopt solutions, there are also applications simply being embedded in tools already in use. Like so many technologies, change isn’t easy, instant or seamless.

John D’Angelo is a managing director with Deloitte Services LP and the real estate solutions leader, designing solutions to address client challenges and push the industry forward. With over 30 years of experience as a management consultant to the global real estate industry, John has helped some of the biggest names in real estate leverage technology and use data to optimize and transform their operations.

Read the November 2025 issue of CPE.