Will AI replace real estate agents?
Updated
Real estate agents score 54 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 59%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 25% outright, and 16% stays with people.
- 25% AI can do it
- 59% AI helps
- 16% Needs a person
High exposure
Higher than 83% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 33 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 7 of them today, speeds up 21 and leaves 5 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Generate lists of properties that are compatible with buyers' needs and financial resources. Property search matching is largely automated by MLS and AI tools. | 80% AI can do it |
| Contact previous clients for prospecting of referral business. CRM tools and AI can draft and send outreach messages. | 72% AI can do it |
| Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases. AI drafts standard contracts from templates; agent reviews and signs. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price. AI generates comparable sales analysis; agent reviews adjustments. | 70% AI can do it |
| Coordinate appointments to show homes to prospective buyers. Scheduling tools and AI assistants handle appointment booking and reminders. | 70% AI can do it |
| Solicit and compile listings of available rental properties. Compiling listings from databases and emails is largely automatable today. | 65% AI can do it |
| Contact property owners and advertise services to solicit property sales listings. AI drafts prospecting letters and mailers; agent handles owner conversations. | 60% AI can do it |
| Promote sales of properties through advertisements, open houses, and participation in multiple listing services. AI writes listing ads and posts; open houses need people present. | 55% AI helps |
| Answer clients' questions regarding construction work, financing, maintenance, repairs, and appraisals. AI answers general questions well; agent verifies local specifics and liability. | 55% AI helps |
| Evaluate mortgage options to help clients obtain financing at the best prevailing rates and terms. AI compares loan products quickly; agent confirms current rates and terms. | 55% AI helps |
Show the other 23 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Review property listings, trade journals, and relevant literature, and attend conventions, seminars, and staff and association meetings, to remain knowledgeable about real estate markets. AI summarizes market reports and news; attending events stays human. | 50% AI helps |
| Advise clients on market conditions, prices, mortgages, legal requirements, and related matters. AI explains markets and mortgages well; agent is responsible for legal advice. | 50% AI helps |
| Contact utility companies for service hookups to clients' property. Forms and requests are routine; AI can draft and track them. | 50% AI helps |
| Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates. AI tracks deadlines and drafts emails; coordination stays with agent. | 45% AI helps |
| Advise sellers on how to make homes more appealing to potential buyers. AI suggests staging and pricing ideas; agent assesses the actual home. | 40% AI helps |
| Review plans for new construction with clients, enumerating and recommending available options and features. AI summarizes plans and option lists; builder details need checking. | 40% AI helps |
| Investigate clients' financial and credit status to determine eligibility for financing. AI reviews income documents; lenders make final eligibility decisions. | 40% AI helps |
| Rent or lease properties on behalf of clients. Lease paperwork and marketing automate; showings still need people. | 40% AI helps |
| Arrange for title searches to determine whether clients have clear property titles. Ordering is routine; title examination itself stays with title professionals. | 35% AI helps |
| Conduct seminars and training sessions for sales agents to improve sales techniques. AI can draft training materials; delivering live sessions stays human. | 35% AI helps |
| Secure construction or purchase financing with own firm or mortgage company. AI can assemble loan applications; securing financing involves lender judgment. | 35% AI helps |
| Appraise properties to determine loan values. Formal appraisals need licensed appraisers; AI valuation models assist. | 30% AI helps |
| Locate and appraise undeveloped areas for building sites, based on evaluations of area market conditions. AI can analyze market data; field site scouting stays physical. | 30% AI helps |
| Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration. Agent delivers offer live; AI can prepare summary materials. | 25% AI helps |
| Coordinate property closings, overseeing signing of documents and disbursement of funds. Scheduling and checklists automated; signings and fund handling stay human. | 25% AI helps |
| Interview clients to determine what kinds of properties they are seeking. Live interviews need people; AI can prepare intake forms. | 25% AI helps |
| Arrange meetings between buyers and sellers when details of transactions need to be negotiated. Scheduling is automatable; the live negotiating meeting stays human. | 25% AI helps |
| Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other. Live negotiation needs people; AI helps prep counteroffer language. | 20% AI helps |
| Develop networks of attorneys, mortgage lenders, and contractors to whom clients may be referred. Relationship building is personal; AI can only organize contact lists. | 18% Needs a person |
| Display commercial, industrial, agricultural, and residential properties to clients and explain their features. Physical showing needs presence; AI helps only with virtual tours. | 15% Needs a person |
| Accompany buyers during visits to and inspections of property, advising them on the suitability and value of the homes they are visiting. Accompanying buyers in person needs presence; AI supplies comparables beforehand. | 15% Needs a person |
| Inspect condition of premises, and arrange for necessary maintenance or notify owners of maintenance needs. Physical inspection requires being on site; AI drafts notices. | 15% Needs a person |
| Visit properties to assess them before showing them to clients. Site visits need physical presence; AI only reviews listing photos. | 10% Needs a person |
How real estate agents compare
All occupations (923)
Sales and related (22)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $52,830 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 193,370 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +1.7% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Walk and assess each property on site before showing
- Check comparable sales adjustments in Microsoft Excel
- Review AI-drafted purchase agreements in Adobe Acrobat
- Run referral outreach from a CRM and Facebook
- Negotiate counteroffers live between buyers and sellers
- Hold an active state real estate licence
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about real estate agents and AI
Will real estate agents be replaced by AI?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly property search matching and drafting contracts from templates. What stays with people is the in-person work, visiting homes, negotiating live, and answering for the final sale.
Will AI take over real estate?
AI can already do 25% of the task time in real estate and speeds up another 59%. People still do 16% of it. The US has 193,370 real estate agent jobs, with a projected change of +1.7% from 2024 to 2034.
Which tasks will AI take from real estate agents?
Property search matching scores 80 on AI exposure, and comparable sales analysis and contract drafting each score 70. MLS filters already build lists of homes that fit a buyer's budget, and AI produces the comparable sales report, so the agent's job shrinks to checking the price adjustments before a price is set.
Which tasks stay with real estate agents?
Visiting and assessing properties, inspecting premises, and building referral networks stay with the agent. Site visits need physical presence, and AI only reviews listing photos. Relationships with attorneys, lenders, and contractors are personal, and AI can only organize their contact lists.
How can real estate agents stay valuable as AI spreads?
Keep the in-person work, which scores 10 to 15 for AI exposure, and take on the review steps AI leaves open. Walk each listing before you show it, check comparable sales adjustments in Microsoft Excel, and review AI-drafted purchase agreements in Adobe Acrobat before you sign. Call the lenders and attorneys who close your deals yourself.
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