Five AI Developments That Could Affect CRE

A recent conversation with CEO Standard Aaron Rafferty pointed to some aspects of artificial intelligence that could have an impact on commercial real estate. The firm is a holding company with a division, CRE Hawk, that uses newer technologies in its insight and acquisitions platform.

Rafferty mentioned five different uses of AI (and given the broad nature of the group of technologies, this doesn’t necessarily mean generative AI systems like ChatGPT):

• AI Copilots — AI copilots will have the ability to work according to directions to get access to data and insights, like having an expert dig up what you need.
• Small Language Models — Devices and apps will use software that will seem like a Siri or Alexa, “but better,” Rafferty says. It’s a miniaturized version of one of the large language models designed to work on mobile devices.
• AI Autonomous Agents — Agents are small software applications that can act on their own to achieve designed ends, allowing routine work just to happen.
• Generative Video — AI-created high-definition video will apply to property visualization “across multiple roles in CRE, allowing for vivid virtual tours, property modeling, and assessment of space utilization with minimal effort.
• Computer Vision and Machine Learning — Although not new, it is more accessible. but now more accessible than ever through natural language, firms will be able to use satellite imagery for autonomous site selection and best use modeling.

“With developers, we are using computer vision to enable them to pinpoint opportunities,” Rafferty explains, using his company as an example. “We can measure parcel data, categorize that, and use a client’s criteria from their underwriting process.” They can bring the data together for an entire county into analysis, develop a rank ordering, and then provide them to human staff to consider.

Another use is having software “crawl the web for the latest updates from either city council or federal reports that are offering grants and funding” when looking at opportunities. Software could also search for potential tax relief and credits.

But what seems amazing in concept needs work to approach. There’s a certain degree of technical achievement and sophistication necessary to implement more advanced applications. If you don’t have good accounting software of building management software in place, trying to use imaging to find new deals seems like a waste. You should have the basic business working well first.