Brokerage leaders now rate artificial intelligence as significantly more important to their operations than they did two years ago, according to a Delta Media Group analysis of survey data collected from roughly 100 brokerage leaders between 2024 and 2026. The shift signals that AI is moving from a peripheral marketing tool into the backbone of how real estate firms plan to run their businesses.
In 2024, the average importance score for AI's current role sat at 5.45 on a 10-point scale. That figure crept to 5.9 in 2025, then jumped to 7.12 in the latest survey - a 31% increase over the three-year span. Ratings for AI's near-future importance rose from 7.02 to 8.25 over the same period.
Where brokerages are deploying AI
The share of leaders using or planning to use AI for front-office and administrative support more than doubled, climbing from 23% in 2024 to 53% in 2026. Over half of respondents now intend to apply AI to workflow and back-office automation, as well as agent recruiting, training, and performance coaching. Just under 50% plan to expand AI use for data-intensive work such as predictive analytics, market analysis, and property valuations.
Delta Media Group CEO Michael Minard said the findings mark a sharp departure from 2024, when most firms limited AI to content creation and digital marketing. "We're watching AI move from the edges of the brokerage toward the center," Minard said. "AI is quickly moving from something brokerages use to something they are beginning to build their businesses around."
Agentic AI enters the conversation
One factor driving both interest and anxiety is the rise of tools that operate without human intervention. Half of the brokerage leaders surveyed plan to adopt or expand their use of agentic AI this year, targeting business intelligence, forecasting, and contract review. "These are decisions that can change how their entire brokerage operates," Minard said.
Why this matters for operations
For operations professionals, the data points to a concrete shift in resourcing and process design. When half of surveyed firms say they will deploy AI that works independently on forecasting and contract review, the implication is clear: manual workflows in these areas are being reevaluated. The jump in back-office automation intent means ops teams should expect AI to handle more routing, compliance checks, and reporting tasks, while their own roles tilt toward oversight, exception handling, and system configuration.
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