AI adoption in commercial real estate has accelerated sharply: A 2025 CBRE survey found that more than 60% of executives now use AI for space planning, with nearly half reporting measurable savings. This shift comes as global uncertainty and workplace mandates push occupiers to reevaluate their real estate strategies. Increasingly, AI is at the center—transforming how space is planned, leased, and optimized.

"AI isn't creeping in incrementally," says Robert Cressaty, SIOR, President and Managing Partner of Landmark Advisory Services and a veteran broker in Canada. "It's hitting like a tidal wave, especially when it comes to market intelligence and workplace optimization."

In China, Bjarne Bauer, SIOR, Managing Partner, NAI Sofia Group Shanghai, sees these trends accelerating. "Buildings are reacting to sunlight, humidity, and occupancy," he notes. "With AI, they’ll soon predict low-use days—like after holidays—and optimize HVAC and lighting automatically."

AI-Powered Design Is Reshaping Floorplans
One of the most significant shifts AI has driven is in architectural planning. Bauer highlights how visualization software now enables companies to simulate dozens of office layouts in minutes—a task that once required entire teams of architects.

"You can now evaluate how a space would function for your business using real data—projected headcounts, movement patterns, even employee interaction preferences," Bauer says. "It lowers the barrier to smart design and helps tenants avoid under- or over-leasing."

Cressaty sees similar potential on the corporate side. "In portfolio services, we manage over 1,000 leases across Canada. AI can help us forecast human resource needs based on lease cycles, identify markets that need local presence, and better predict space demand."

Using AI to Right-Size Office Footprints
AI also is changing the way tenants recalibrate their real estate strategies. In an era of hybrid work and return-to-office mandates, space planning has never been more complex. "Some firms cut space in 2022, only to realize in 2024 they needed more," Cressaty notes. "AI helps reduce that guesswork."

Bauer adds that tracking employee movement and preferences is revealing inefficiencies: "You might find that 30% of your current footprint is dead space."

In Asia, where adoption has accelerated due to lower integration costs and a younger, tech-native workforce, AI is already reshaping decisions. "Even small operators use warehouse robots and AI systems," Bauer says. "Once everything’s digitized, it’s easy to feed that data into AI to improve inventory, logistics, and staffing models."

Site Selection and Strategic Advantage
AI has become essential in site selection. Companies are relying on it not just to validate choices, but to uncover opportunities they didn’t know existed.

"The old way of doing labor analytics is gone," Cressaty explains. "We used to send teams to dig into workforce availability. Now, AI can ingest sales, demographics, and labor trends and recommend optimal cities in minutes."

A recent example underscores the impact: A multinational client used AI to compare four industrial markets, analyzing transportation costs, energy use, labor availability, and local incentives. The AI recommendation differed from the executive team’s initial bias—but ultimately saved the company $3.2 million in the first year.

Bauer looks further ahead: "Think about AI designing not just the building but the entire retail experience. It can A/B test layouts virtually, simulate consumer behavior, and suggest whether a coffee shop should be on the second floor or the lobby."

Why AI Still Needs Human Insight
Despite AI’s rapid rise, both experts caution against blind adoption. It’s a powerful tool, but one that demands context, caution, and human oversight.

"AI can’t replace relationships," Cressaty says. "It can’t know a landlord’s financial situation or that a tenant two floors down is about to vacate. That intel comes from relationships, not datasets."

Bauer warns of broader risks: "AI is already replacing travel agents, musicians, even creatives. A booking.com model for office space is very plausible."

Yet both agree that brokers who embrace AI won’t be replaced by it. "The smartest professionals are using AI to become smarter," Cressaty emphasizes. "You still need someone to interpret the data, guide the strategy, and build trust."

Advice for the Next Generation
To younger brokers entering the field, Cressaty is direct: "Know the tools. Learn how to use them. CRE has been a tech laggard, but that’s changing fast. AI won’t make you great—but if you’re already good, it can make you better."

And that, perhaps, is the real promise of AI-driven space utilization: Not a replacement for human insight, but a multiplier.

As AI reshapes commercial property strategy, its role in maximizing space utilization is undeniable. From real-time building intelligence to workforce planning and site selection, AI equips decision-makers with sharper tools. But those tools are only as powerful as the people who wield them.

The future of CRE isn’t just automated. It’s augmented—by brokers who understand both relationships and real-time data. The firms that thrive will be the ones that master both.