For years, using AI in real estate was the kind of thing a handful of ambitious agents dabbled with while everyone else waited to see if it actually stuck. That window is closing fast. NAR's newly released 2026 REALTORS® Technology Report, published September 22, found that 48% of Realtors now use AI tools weekly or daily, and the share who say they're not using AI and have no plans to has collapsed from 32% a year ago to just 12% today.
That's not a fringe trend anymore. It's close to becoming the baseline, and it's worth understanding exactly what agents are actually doing with these tools, because the report's real value is in the specifics, not the headline number.
Where the Adoption Numbers Actually Land
Broken down, 23% of Realtors say they use AI daily and another 25% weekly, adding up to that 48% figure. A further 31% describe themselves as experimenting occasionally, and 9% say they're curious but haven't tried it yet. NAR's own research staff framed the shift as agents moving from broad, scattered experimentation toward settling into a handful of specific applications they've found actually useful, rather than trying everything at once.
Those applications are fairly concentrated. Seventy-five percent of AI users say they use it to write listing descriptions, by far the most common task. Fifty-six percent use it for social media posts, 52% for drafting emails and follow-up messages, 30% for market summaries, and 27% for reviewing or summarizing documents. None of this is replacing the broader tech stack agents already run. MLS access still sits at 96% adoption, e-signature platforms at 79%, showing and scheduling tools at 68%, and CMA or pricing tools at 59%. AI is layering on top of that foundation, not swapping it out.
Why Some Agents Are Still Sitting This Out
The two biggest reasons agents give for not adopting AI more fully are a learning curve, cited by 63%, and cost, cited by 59%. NAR's research director suggested part of the hesitation is less about resistance and more about not fully understanding the range of ways the tools could actually be used day to day. That tracks with what's driving the agents who have adopted AI, too: 81% say saving time is their main motivation, up from 66% just a year ago, and 71% point to a smoother client experience, up from 64%. The payoff agents are chasing is practical, not novelty for its own sake.
Here's the part worth sitting with, though. None of this means the technology is doing the job for them. NAR has been explicit that AI is meant to complement an agent's professional judgment and local market knowledge, not stand in for it, and members are still bound by NAR's Code of Ethics no matter what tool produced the first draft of a listing description or a client email. A generated paragraph that skips a fair housing review, or a market summary an agent hasn't actually checked against local comps, creates real risk that has nothing to do with whether the software worked correctly.
Key Takeaway
If you're already using AI daily, you're in the majority now, not the early-adopter minority you might have been a year ago. If you're one of the 12% who's decided against it entirely, that group has shrunk by two-thirds since last year's survey, which is worth a second look even if the answer is still no for now. And if you're somewhere in between, the data suggests the smartest move isn't chasing every new tool. It's picking one or two of the workflows agents are actually sticking with, listing copy, follow-up emails, a first-pass market summary, and building the habit of reviewing what comes out before it goes to a client. HouseJet has been tracking how agents are adjusting their workflows as adoption climbs, and the pattern holds across brokerages of every size: the agents getting the most out of these tools are the ones treating them as a draft, not a final answer.
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