- \n
- Pete Cooper, non-executive director, XPE Group<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Matt Glenny, UK and Ireland director of sales, Yardi<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Jill Ju, chief executive and founder, True North Management<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Akeel Malik, partner and fund manager, Urban Splash<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sammy Pahal, managing director, UK PropTech Association<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Sanjeev Patel, managing director, PPP Capital<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- John Powell, managing director, Frankham Risk Management Services<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Chloe Sachikonye, senior account executive, Yardi<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Steven Skinner, chief executive, HB Reavis<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Troy Tomasik, founder and chief executive, Outpost Management<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Will Turner, director \u2013 fund and corporate Services, JTC Group<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Liz Hamson, editor-in-chief, BE News <\/a>(chair)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Increased use of agentic AI in the property sector could yield productivity improvements of more than 35%, but companies are being slow to adapt to the potential of the new technology, according to research undertaken by Yardi. The sector\u2019s adoption issue was one of a number of topics discussed by a panel of senior figures representing companies operating across the built environment, at a roundtable debate held in Cannes, France, earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussion kicked off with Yardi\u2019s Matt Glenny presenting some of the key findings of the group\u2019s latest study. One issue the study identifies is data fragmentation, which remains one of the main barriers to faster adoption of AI, with organisations keeping data in a variety of different systems and formats. As a result, Yardi has found that 88% of study respondents are piloting AI technology, but only 45% predict it will be the biggest disruptor over the next five years. Instead of being used for high-level strategic tasks, AI is often being used for low value, mundane jobs. \u201cWe\u2019re at the very early stages of adoption in real estate, but other sectors are deploying this at scale already,\u201d said Glenny. \u201cThe big barrier that businesses identify is data fragmentation; 86% say the biggest barrier to them realising these benefits is data being in lots of different solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to John Powell, from Frankham Risk Management Services, that is an accurate assessment of the current situation. \u201cOur industry is in a really bad place in terms of data fragmentation and data management. We often work with public sector clients, with local authorities, with social development providers. They have significant amounts of data within their organisations, but they cannot locate the information that they\u2019ve got to analyse it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"Matt](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Matt-Glenny.jpg\")
Matt Glenny<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Sanjeev-Patel.jpg\")
Sanjeev Pahal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Will-Turner.jpg\")
Will Turner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n Additional assessments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The situation is such that consultants are frequently called in for additional assessments because existing data cannot be found, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re at the very early stages of adoption in real estate, but other sectors are deploying this at scale already\u201d
Matt Glenny, Yardi<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n\u201cWith the Building Safety Act coming into play, which requires property owners to make an assessment of their buildings holistically, AI has got a fundamental place in terms of analysing all of the datasets that currently exist within those organisations,\u201d said Powell. This point struck a chord with Sanjeev Patel of PPP Capital, which has started to implement AI for customer support management processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t yet figured out how we\u2019re going to link the different data silos together, but we\u2019re certainly implementing it for the operations side, and we have more things coming online over the next six months or so,\u201d he said. Meanwhile, the sheer complexity of some businesses can make it hard to establish which AI packages and applications are going to offer the optimal solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As JTC Group\u2019s Will Turner said: \u201cPart of the issue of us working in so many different industries is finding tools that fit for all of those different scenarios. But also, we have a lot of software that might work really well.\u201d JTC currently uses separate software solutions for the real estate and private equity sides of its business and another for employee share plans. \u201cAll that data is held in different places,\u201d Turner added. \u201cWhat do we need to invest in that creates a customer experience that is positive and that actually fits all the different platforms?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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“If we\u2019re not answering a question within five minutes at 10pm on a Saturday, we lose them or they complain”
Troy Tomasik<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Troy-Tomasik.jpg\")
Troy Tomasik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Akeel-Malik.jpg\")
Akeel Malik<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Jonathan-Vanstone-Walker.jpg\")
Jonathan Vanstone-Walker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n According to Outpost Management\u2019s Troy Tomasik, his company is currently implementing AI to enhance tenant experience. \u201cIt took a year to get the Q&A data warehouse together: the questions that you wanted to answer, the tone of voice you wanted it to give,\u201d he explained. \u201cBut when it comes to residents and customers, if we\u2019re not answering a question within five minutes at 10pm on a Saturday, we lose them or they complain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The built environment industry is already exhibiting an appetite for AI, and its potential Jonathan Vanstone-Walker uses and benefits, but many companies are still at the experimentation stage. Urban Splash\u2019s Akeel Malik said: \u201cThere are two immediate ways we could be applying it: one is on the investment side, so looking at new acquisitions, and then the other is operationally, both for the actual customer experience of our residents and also reporting and understanding what\u2019s going on within our assets.\u201d However, there was broad recognition among roundtable participants that although many AI projects may seem relatively straightforward, they can be more demanding than initially anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
TSP UK\u2019s Jonathan Vanstone-Walker said his business has started using AI for customer service and the project has not exactly been plain sailing. \u201cWe were getting huge amounts of emails,\u201d he explained. \u201cSo, we thought it would be one nice easy project to get a platform and be able to get people to self-serve. What we thought would take three months is now well over a year down the line, and it\u2019s not done yet.\u201d A lot of processes and information weren\u2019t stored centrally, but \u201cin people\u2019s heads\u201d, he added. \u201cWhat was very good for us was that it forced us to write down a lot of processes and a lot of information about buildings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prep work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For AI to be fully effective, a lot of preparatory work is required, agreed Sammy Pahal of the UK PropTech Association. \u201cYou first have to digitise those documents and then you can start to use AI to extract information from them\u201d she said. \u201cThe UK government is recognising that.\u201d This has resulted in a push by local authorities to get planning documents digitised more consistently, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"Sammy](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Sammy-Pahal.jpg\")
Sammy Pahel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Chloe](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Chloe-Sachikonye.jpg\")
Chloe Sachikonye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Jill](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Jill-Ju.jpg\")
Jill Ju<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n The scope of AI is huge, allowing companies to use it for a variety of tasks, big and small. But as yet there is no set playbook of how to use it, or how not to use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yardi\u2019s Chloe Sachikonye said: \u201cI would say one of the most important roles that we come across is business change.\u201d This process involves mapping out the systems and processes used, and required, by an organisation. It is a tough job to carry out while also running the business, and AI tools can be hugely beneficial in helping to establish a clean dataset and overall preparation, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the ubiquity of AI can lead to security concerns, cautioned Sachikonye. \u201cThere are some operators that I speak to where operations managers and property managers use their own private ChatGPT to do work, and that is something that businesses should be alerted to,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Powell, such practice needs to be stopped immediately. Many new laptops come with AI assistants installed and this enables team members send out minutes of all video meetings instantly. \u201cWe tell them they\u2019ve got to turn it off, because anyone can access it \u2013 we\u2019re quite worried about that,\u201d he said. After data fragmentation, concerns about security and confidentiality may be the next big barrier to wider AI adoption in the industry. Participants were not entirely convinced that confidential information shared with AI systems would truly remain confidential. Specific data, or insights from it, might then be accessed in answers given to rival companies, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instances of AI \u2018hallucinations\u2019 are also of concern. Another note of caution highlighted by some of the roundtable participants surrounded trust and the ability of AI to be 100% accurate. As Turner said: \u201cWe\u2019re cautious about accuracy, because it\u2019s all very well and good doing something quickly, but if it\u2019s rubbish, it doesn\u2019t work, that will lose confidence. I see hallucinations all the time, and when you ask, \u2018where did you get that information?\u2019 it\u2019s just blatantly wrong.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experiences of such issues vary, and others are more trusting of the technology. \u201cI\u2019m not worried about hallucination, because that seems to be getting better, especially if you use the better, large language models. But the contamination of data is a real problem,\u201d said Jill Ju of True North Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Verification stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The more verification stages that an AI model goes through, the slower it will ultimately be. \u201cUntil we understand how to really do that, it can\u2019t be that agentic, because then you are pushing out potentially wrong answers,\u201d Ju added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Powell said: \u201cConfidentiality is a real barrier to the adoption of AI in the way that we like to embrace it. Dinosaurs like me who are at the end of their career don\u2019t really understand it, we\u2019re nervous about its adoption, so therefore you hold back on it. \u201cAlso, there is such a plethora of different systems that are coming into the market from software companies that are developing another model that could be useful. So how do I understand which models are appropriate to the efficiency of my business?\u201d added Powell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite concerns about data fragmentation and confidentiality, enthusiasm for the efficiencies that can be driven by AI remained high among the experts, the majority of whom were confident the technology would help them achieve their goals. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s an option, really, anymore,\u201d said Malik. \u201cI think the industry as a whole will definitely get there [in terms of adopting AI].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Steven-Skinner.jpg\")
Steven Skinner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/John-Powell.jpg\")
John Powell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n ![\"Pete](\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2026\/07\/Pete-Cooper.jpg\")
Pete Cooper<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n AI revolution<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
However, some companies may need to adjust their business models to truly benefit from the AI revolution, according to Yardi\u2019s Glenny. \u201cThe operating model sometimes really needs to be changed in order for you to be able to benefit from it,\u201d he said. \u201cSome businesses will already have the data somewhere in some system that allows them to see, at a granular level, what\u2019s happening with their tenants, what\u2019s happening in their portfolio.\u201d He added: \u201cMany businesses we speak to don\u2019t have that. They have financial information, high-level information that comes on a monthly or quarterly basis, and they have to pick up the phone to access that data. And so for those businesses, there is a big transformation to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ju said: \u201cSome companies will get there. There will be a real bifurcation in terms of operational excellence, because it\u2019s a challenge. The biggest challenge I see in the real estate industry is actually talent, because real estate really is quite a slow industry and the technology is moving so fast.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The point about the real estate industry being slow to embrace change was echoed by XPE Group\u2019s Pete Cooper, who cautioned: \u201cI think this is the single biggest change to society we\u2019re ever going to see in our lifetime. This is every science fiction film you\u2019ve ever seen coming real right now, and it\u2019s going to come at 1,000 miles an hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think people have got any idea quite what\u2019s going to happen and what impact it is going to have on the sector and on society.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Matt Glenny, UK and Ireland director of sales, Yardi<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n