Brokers have already moved well beyond the conversation stage with AI. They are applying it every day to write, market, analyze, organize, train, and run their businesses. Even with an aggressive level of adoption, brokers know they are still only scratching the surface according to WAV Group’s 2026 Broker Sentiment Survey.
Nearly 6 in 10 of brokers said embracing AI is extremely or very important to the continued success of their brokerage, while another 29% said it is somewhat important. Only 7% said AI is not important. Brokers clearly understand the stakes. They do not need to be convinced that AI is going to affect their business. They are already trying to figure out how to use it well enough, safely enough, and strategically enough to create a real advantage.
Brokers Are Using AI for Real Work Today
Many brokers started where most of us did, using AI to make the daily grind of marketing and communication faster and easier. Today, they are fully leveraging AI to create listing descriptions, social media posts, listing presentations, emails, scripts, and creating follow-up messages for agents and clients.
One broker described using AI for “graphic design, social media, listing narrative and marketing,” along with presentations, training outlines, financial and KPI reports, email templates, follow-up communications, and scripts. That is not experimentation anymore. That is AI becoming part of the everyday workflow of the brokerage.
Other brokers are using AI deeper inside their operations. One is applying it to document preparation, lead management, bookkeeping assistance, CRM management, and marketing. Another is using it to summarize HOA documents, review inspection reports, and support listing marketing. Others are using AI to evaluate large amounts of data, identify new insights for agents, and review vendor contracts. This is where the real opportunity begins to show itself. AI is starting to help brokerages become more efficient by helping them process more information, reduce manual work, spot patterns, and make better decisions.
Some Brokers Are Moving Much Faster Than Others
A few of the broker respondents have gone far beyond using ChatGPT to write a social post. One brokerage hired a dedicated AI Support Specialist to build tools internally that the company previously would have purchased from outside vendors. The broker estimates those efforts saved the company approximately $100,000 in the first year alone.
That same brokerage created an internal AI Agent Academy, offering master classes to help agents understand and use the growing number of large language models available to them. Another broker is creating custom GPTs and internal AI agents for both company and personal use. One respondent has been using AI products for approximately 18 months and is now operating with AI embedded in accounting and marketing tools across the business.
These brokers are not asking whether AI is going to change real estate. They are already using it to change how their companies operate. The distance between brokers who are experimenting with AI and those building it into the infrastructure of their business is growing quickly. That gap will become increasingly important as AI begins to affect cost structures, agent productivity, recruiting, customer service, and profitability.
AI Still Needs Adult Supervision
The brokers embracing AI are not blind to the risks. One respondent made the point clearly: The biggest problem is that many people do not read the documents or answers AI produces. They assume the output is correct and miss information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or simply wrong.
Brokers are very interested in finding ways to operate AI safely and responsibly AI can draft, summarize, analyze, and recommend, but it still needs an experienced person reviewing the work. Brokers remain responsible for compliance, advertising, transaction oversight, risk management, and the advice delivered by their companies and agents.
The more AI becomes embedded in daily operations, the more important it will be for brokerages to create clear policies about how it should be used, what information can be entered into it, which outputs require review, and who is ultimately accountable for the final work. AI does not eliminate supervision. It makes thoughtful supervision even more important.
Brokers Are Using AI, but They Do Not Feel Prepared to Fully Leverage it
Despite the amount of practical adoption already underway, brokers do not feel especially well equipped to take full advantage of AI. When asked how prepared they feel to fully leverage AI in their brokerage, the average response was just 5.75 out of 10. Only 12% rated themselves in the highest tier of readiness, while 8% placed themselves at the bottom of the scale.
Brokers are not sitting on the sidelines waiting for someone else to figure AI out, yet most feel like they are building the plane while flying it. They know AI is important. They are using it where they can and learning through trial and error. What they do not yet have is a clear roadmap for how to apply AI across the entire brokerage in a way that is coordinated, secure, compliant, and profitable.
Brokers Want Practical AI Training
Fifty-five percent said they are extremely or very interested in broker-owner-specific training on how to prepare their operations, staff, and agents to thrive in the era of AI. Another 27% said they are somewhat interested.
They want practical training that shows them how to use AI to reduce expenses, improve agent productivity, strengthen recruiting, streamline operations, create better marketing, analyze performance, protect confidential information, and improve profitability.
They also need help understanding how to manage AI adoption across the company. Which tools should the brokerage provide? Which tools should agents be allowed to use? What policies need to be created? How should outputs be reviewed? Where can AI create the greatest financial return, and where can it create unnecessary risk? That is a very different type of education from a basic introduction to ChatGPT.
Brokers Do Not Need More Convincing
The WAV Group survey findings tell a consistent story. Brokers already believe AI matters, and many are already using it in creative and meaningful ways throughout their businesses. What they need now is not more hype, more predictions, or another list of interesting prompts.
They need broker-specific guidance that helps them move from scattered experimentation to a coordinated AI strategy. They need help closing the gap between how important they know AI is and how prepared they currently feel to use it. The brokerages that figure this out first will not simply save time. They will operate more efficiently, support their agents more effectively, make better decisions, and build stronger, more profitable companies.
The brokers in this survey are already moving. The industry now needs to help them move faster and with much more confidence.
About the WAV Group Semi-Annual 2026 Broker Sentiment Survey
The WAV Group Semi-Annual 2026 Broker Sentiment Survey gathered feedback from broker-owners, broker-managers, and principal brokers about the issues shaping their businesses today, including MLS satisfaction, AI adoption, brokerage consolidation, and the long-term direction of the industry.
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