Nearly one-fifth of surveyed companies in the Asia-Pacific region believe wider adoption of artificial intelligence will reduce their real estate needs, a study by property consultancy CBRE has found.

More than half, 56 per cent, held a neutral view, believing either that AI had no impact on office space demand or that it was too early to determine its effect, while 25 per cent said AI adoption would require them to expand their office footprint.

The survey of 651 corporate real estate executives, conducted between May 26 and July 10 across nine regional markets, showed that AI currently has a more significant impact on office operations than on physical space requirements, according to Ada Choi, head of research for Asia-Pacific at CBRE.

Corporate deployment of machine learning in property management expanded sharply over the past two years. The survey, conducted between May 26 and July 10 across nine markets including Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore, Japan, Australia and India, found that 46 percent of occupiers now classify themselves as active AI adopters in corporate real estate functions. That represents a steep increase from 9 percent recorded in 2024.

Automation currently assists facility monitoring, leasing analytics, space planning and workplace energy management rather than eliminating core real estate demand. Property teams use algorithmic tools to streamline building maintenance schedules and track daily badge swipes, turning automation into an administrative efficiency tool rather than a headcount guillotine.

Regional leasing patterns show that companies rebalance rather than abandon their commercial leases. Fifty percent of surveyed occupiers project portfolio expansions through 2029, with 60 percent citing organic corporate growth as the primary catalyst.

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