This urgency is reshaping technology budgets. Real estate tech spending has been reorganized around AI initiatives, with the top 5 budget priorities all relating to implementing AI or preparing for its impact through upgraded cybersecurity and digital infrastructure.

However, this budget prioritization reveals as much about the challenges as the opportunities. The rush to invest in AI has notably outpaced strategic planning—comprehensive AI strategies for CRE remain absent in most organizations. 

While some companies proactively embrace the technology based on genuine conviction, a considerable portion of CRE teams implement AI not by choice, but by C-suite mandate viewing AI adoption as competitive necessity.

This strategic gap translates directly into execution challenges. While 92% are piloting AI, only 5% report having achieved most program goals. Though implementation is widespread, most initiatives remain experimental with limited scaling.

This raises a critical question: if achieving AI goals is challenging, how are we deciding where to focus limited resources?

2. Portfolio optimization

Amid ongoing market challenges, CRE portfolios are challenged to be agile, fluid and liquid as a key component in reducing operational costs, making portfolio optimization the most important baseline expectation for business leaders over the next three years. Space planning and location strategy are shifting from a once-a-decade ordeal to a quarterly requirement – and for very large occupiers, a continuous assessment to right-size their footprint and manage costs. The breadth of data involved in these processes means that AI can bring significant efficiencies, and many CRE leaders are piloting its use in portfolio analysis, optimization strategy and capital planning. 

3. Energy management

93% of occupiers agree that sustainability, energy efficiency and decarbonization remain key drivers for technology adoption, with many increasingly turning to AI to accelerate progress. Energy management has been proven critical to both environmental compliance and cost-reduction measures. Current initiatives focus on use cases that can deliver long-term resilience for organizations, including AI for energy tracking and analytics, decarbonization roadmap planning and automated HVAC control. Unlike data workflows or portfolio optimization, energy management offers more immediate, measurable returns on AI investment. It is often considered as one of the most mature categories of AI use.

2. Invest in AI talent and resources, internally and externally

Despite facing similar budget pressures, leading companies are better resourced in terms of AI skills and capabilities - and the greater the priority on nurturing innovation, the greater the return. Currently, only 33% of the workforce feel adequately trained on AI. Regarding sourcing AI capabilities, 70% of occupiers use multiple sourcing strategies: internal GenAI training, custom tool development, hiring AI talent and external partnerships with tech companies and service firms.

3. Strengthen data and cybersecurity systems

AI innovation must be supported by robust digital infrastructure that protects data and corporate systems. Retiring or upgrading legacy tech systems in CRE is an imminent challenge for CRE leaders to undertake without disrupting business functions or losing data. Such legacy systems represent key barriers to AI adoption, with 81% of companies reporting at least three existing systems that aren’t generating the expected results and 88% allocating budget to upgrade legacy technologies.

4. Align AI rollouts with corporate decision-making cycles

Technology adoption requires multi-level stakeholder buy-in and change management. Our survey respondents highlighted that the best time to adopt or change a technology system would be during other major changes to the business, such as an IT system overhaul, leadership restructuring, response to new regulatory requirements and/or during capital planning cycles. CRE professionals who align AI rollouts with planned organizational changes are best placed to secure resources and engage the workforce.