AI use is growing fast in property management. Are your guardrails keeping up?
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Artificial intelligence has moved from a side experiment to a regular part of property management work. According to the new 2026 IREM®-AppFolio AI adoption survey report, 58% of real estate management professionals now use AI, up from 21% in 2023. This means the conversation is no longer simply about whether property managers will use AI. It’s about how to use it well.
The report, based on responses from 3,662 U.S. property managers, shows why so many teams are making AI part of their day. Among current users, 78% use it daily or almost every day, and 85% say it’s improved productivity. Property managers are using AI to draft communications, organize information, support reporting, and reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.
The bigger issue: readiness has not kept pace
The most important finding may be the gap between use and oversight. Only 8% of respondents say their organization has a formal written AI policy. Just 26% have received formal AI training, while 54% say their company neither encourages nor discourages AI use. In practice, that can leave employees without clear guidance on the appropriate information to share with AI tools, AI-generated responses that warrant additional review, and which decisions should remain firmly in human hands.
“People are moving ahead, but many organizations are not,” says James Scott, IREM Innovator-in-Residence and Director of Industry and Professional Programs, Real Estate Technology Hub, MIT Center for Real Estate. “When organizations remain neutral, the effect is not truly neutral: it shifts responsibility to individuals who may not have clear policies or guidance.”
Keep people in the loop
Property managers already understand that AI output is not the final word. Among AI users, 86% say they carefully review AI output before acting. That review matters most when the work touches payments, lease terms, fair housing, regulatory filings, resident or tenant communications, pricing, and owner or investor reporting. AI may help prepare the work, but accountability still belongs to a person who understands the property, the policy, and the situation.
Practice and structure lead to better results
The report’s new AI Maturity Index evaluates how well professionals understand AI, how open they are to using it, and how they incorporate it into their work. The largest group, 40% of respondents, is classified as “Curious,” meaning they see the potential of AI but have yet to adopt it consistently. That gap represents an opportunity to develop new skills and put AI to work in meaningful ways. Not surprisingly, the most experienced users report the strongest results: 94% say AI has improved productivity, and 67% say it has positively affected NOI or profitability.
Growth brings new risks
Nearly all respondents expressed at least some concern about AI-related cybersecurity risks, and 93% expressed concern about AI-generated fraudulent applicant documents. These risks make verification, data protection, and clear review processes part of everyday property management.
What property management teams can do now
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Set clear rules for what information can and cannot be entered into AI tools.
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Identify decisions that always require human review.
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Train teams with property management examples, not generic technology advice.
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Build AI into a few repeatable workflows, then measure the effect on service, satisfaction, and financial performance.
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Strengthen applicant-document verification and cybersecurity controls.
A practical way to close the governance gap
For organizations that do not yet have formal governance, IREM’s half-day AI and ethical decision-making for property managers course offers a practical place to start. The live, four-hour online session uses real property management scenarios to help participants decide when AI should assist, when human judgment should take the lead, how to spot risks, and how to create useful AI guidelines for their organizations. The course is offered each month through December, 2026, with the next course on Oct. 8. It’s offered at $99 for IREM members and $129 for non-members, and special discount pricing is available for groups of five or more (contact irempartners@irem.org for more information).
Download the full AI Insights 2026 report to explore the findings, then register for the course to start building a more responsible approach to AI.
