Real estate brokerage leaders’ AI worry score rebounds as tools get more autonomous

The useful part

As artificial intelligence has expanded and improved, more brokerage leaders in a Delta Media survey reported being concerned about the risks of using AI in their businesses. Female brokerage leaders cited compliance and data privacy as top concerns, while male brokerage leaders were more focused on the cost and ROI of AI tools. Leaders at larger brokerages were most worried about economics, infrastructure and data risks, while those at smaller firms were most concerned about compliance issues.

How it works

• The share of brokerage leaders who gave AI risk a "high worry" score of 8, 9 or 10 followed a similar pattern.
• Nearly two-thirds (65.7%) of female leaders said data privacy and security risks were a leading concern, compared to less than half (48.4%) of the men surveyed.
• "[Women are] much more focused on compliance and protecting data, while men are considerably more focused on cost and ROI," Minard said in the report.
• Agent and staff training around AI was a top concern for 50% of those leaders, followed by data privacy and security risks (43.8%).
• "Whether a brokerage decides to build, buy or rent its AI capabilities, leaders need to know who is handling their data, how the technology is being managed and what protections are in place," Minard said.

What to take from it

With agent and brokerage adoption of AI now approaching 100%, concerns about the technology appear to be rising. Specific concerns vary, with gender and brokerage size playing a significant role in leaders' perceptions of AI risk, according to a three-year analysis released by Delta Media Group on Wednesday. As AI advances and the scope of its capabilities expands, brokerage leaders are becoming more concerned about the technology because "the decisions are getting bigger," Delta Media Group CEO Michael Minard said in the study.

Example or evidence

• As more tech executives, including Microsoft Founder Bill Gates, sound the alarm on the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, brokerage leaders too have become more attuned to the risks associated...
• Sixteen respondents led firms with 20 or fewer agents, while 67 brokers led firms with 101 or more agents.
• When breaking down the top AI risk concerns by gender, male and female brokerage leaders put greater weight on different issues.
• Just over 71% of female brokerage leaders said compliance with real estate regulations was a top AI-related concern, while only 39.1% of male leaders named it as a primary concern.

Details worth keeping

Brokerage leader concerns about AI rebound as the tech advances Shutterstock Tech Brokerage leader concerns about AI rebound as the tech advances An annual survey found that real estate leaders are now more worried about AI risks, including compliance and data security, than they were in 2025. Lillian Dickerson August 27, 2026 4 mins Key points: Male leaders,, were more worried about the costs involved with using AI.

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