Artificial Intelligence: Real Estate Revolution or Evolution?

89%

C-suite leaders believe AI can help solve major CRE challenges

Future of Work Survey, JLL Research, 2025

700+

companies providing AI-powered Real Estate Tech solutions by end of 2024

JLL Research

2.04M sqm

Real estate footprint of AI companies in the US as of May 2025

JLL Research

Existing AI companies prefer specific locations. In the U.S., for example, 42% of AI companies are concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, followed by Boston, Seattle and New York. AI startup growth is expected to continue to center around these major tech hubs in the near future.
 

U.S. sector distribution of AI company occupied

AI in PropTech will continue to grow. JLL research shows that as of end of 2024, among 7,000 global PropTech companies, about 10% (700 companies) are currently providing AI-powered solutions, including both AI native products and AI-augmented products. Venture capital (VC) is the main driving force backing the development of AI products. Among all AI-powered PropTech companies, around 62% are VC-backed. About 20% of companies are in the very early incubator, angel or seed stage; 25% are at early-stage VC rounds; and 15% are at late-stage VC rounds. Overall, this ecosystem is young and energetic, with most (83%) generating revenues or making profits, signaling long-term potential for the market. 

Read more about AI in PropTech in JLL Spark Featured Research: Where AI demand is creating investment opportunity

Act Now: Harnessing AI strategically and responsibly
 

There are still considerable uncertainties about the future impact of AI, the full range of its rapidly expanding capabilities and how these capabilities will be assimilated into specific industry sectors. It is crucial for real estate investors, developers and corporate occupiers to stay informed and strategic, considering how to leverage the power of AI to support your business objectives and how to do it in a responsible and ethical way.

As the regulatory landscape for AI evolves to keep pace with its growth, businesses must be vigilant about three types of emerging regulations:

• Market standards and protocols concerning data quality, IP rights, privacy and data security.

• Regulations to mitigate societal risks, such as measures to protect the labor market from shock or safety standards for autonomous vehicles.

• Environmental legislation, notably that aimed at mitigating carbon emissions from the growing digital economy.

Organizations will need to reflect on a number of key questions as they consider the right path forward: What does the growth in AI mean for your investment and location strategies across existing (or emerging) asset classes? What existing or future applications of AI do you need to be prepared for and pilot now? What are the potential business and societal risks?

Understanding how artificial intelligence will impact your business and creating a test and implementation strategy will be key to mitigating risk and harnessing the potential for growth.

Explore more of JLL's latest insights on World Economic Forum themes at our dedicated Davos page.