AI tools for commercial real estate
AI tools for commercial real estate come in three kinds: a general chat assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude with prompts written for CRE work, CRE software built for one job, and custom tools built on your team's own deals and sources. Start with the first, because it is free. Below are the free tools I built for CRE teams, and the custom tool I built for CBRE's Miami tenant-rep team.
Dani Ifrim, Embedded AI Partner
Updated 31 October 2026
In short
- CRE teams use three kinds of AI tools: chat assistants with good prompts, CRE software products and custom tools.
- Start with a chat assistant and my free prompt library. There is nothing to install.
- Buy software when one product already does the job you need.
- Build a custom tool when the work runs across your deals, data and tools.
- For CBRE's Miami tenant-rep team, I built a tool that tracks 10,000+ companies. The team gets a Daily 10 every working day.
I build custom tools, so I am one of the options on this page. The free tools work without me.
Three kinds of AI tools
The difference is how much each tool knows about your deals.
- 01
A general chat assistant with good prompts
ChatGPT or Claude, given a prompt written for CRE work. It drafts, summarizes and analyzes what you paste in. It knows nothing about your deals until you give it the facts.
- 02
A CRE software product
One product for one job, paid per seat or per use. JLL announced Falcon, its CRE AI platform, on 29 October 2024. Data platforms such as CoStar and Reonomy sit next to these tools, and you still build and check the list yourself.
- 03
A custom tool built on your team's deals
A tool for one job your team repeats, built on your own sources, CRM and deal files, in your own accounts. One person on your team learns to run it.
The free tools I built
Everything below is free and open. Use it with or without me.
125 AI prompts for CRE work. Copy-ready prompts in 11 categories, including deal sourcing, tenant rep, underwriting, due diligence and market research. Fill in the blanks and paste them into ChatGPT or Claude.
AI in commercial real estate: evidence and hypotheses. A research report on where AI saves CRE teams time. Every claim has a source, and one chapter lists what the research can't tell you.
Office space calculator. Enter a headcount and a work style to see how many square feet a team needs, with the source for every number. Then see when to start the search.
Which AI consultant should a CRE firm hire? Four types of help compared, what to look for, and the questions to ask on the first call.
What a custom tool does for a brokerage team
A custom tool does one job your team repeats, on your market and your deals.
CBRE's Miami tenant-rep team wins when it knows which companies will need space before other brokers do. The signs are spread across funding news, hiring, lease dates and company moves. Nobody can track them by hand across a whole market.
- 01
A monitor that covers 10,000+ companies in the Miami market.
- 02
A short brief for each company, with the evidence behind it.
AI research turns scattered public signals into the brief.
- 03
A 3D view of each building, floor by floor.
The team sees the market at a glance.
- 04
The Daily 10.
The team now gets a Daily 10 every working day.
A confidentiality agreement limits the details I can share. The case study shows what I can. Read the case study.
I build tools for other repeated work too: proposals, tour books, lease abstracts and client reports. If you want the research without a build, see The Daily 10.
How to choose
- What you get
- Chat assistant and promptsDrafts and analysis from what you paste in
- CRE software productOne product for one job
- Custom toolA tool for your team's live deals
- Knows your deals
- Chat assistant and promptsOnly what you paste in
- CRE software productIts own data
- Custom toolYes, built on your sources and files
- Setup
- Chat assistant and promptsNone. Copy a prompt
- CRE software productLearn the product
- Custom toolAn Assessment, then the build
- Where your data goes
- Chat assistant and promptsCheck your firm's rules first
- CRE software productAsk the vendor
- Custom toolYour own accounts
- Who runs it
- Chat assistant and promptsEach broker, by hand
- CRE software productThe vendor
- Custom toolYour team, with a trained AI champion
- Fits when
- Chat assistant and promptsYou want to try AI on one task this week
- CRE software productA product already does the job you need
- Custom toolThe work runs across your deals, data and tools
| Compare | Chat assistant and prompts | CRE software product | Custom tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Drafts and analysis from what you paste in | One product for one job | A tool for your team's live deals |
| Knows your deals | Only what you paste in | Its own data | Yes, built on your sources and files |
| Setup | None. Copy a prompt | Learn the product | An Assessment, then the build |
| Where your data goes | Check your firm's rules first | Ask the vendor | Your own accounts |
| Who runs it | Each broker, by hand | The vendor | Your team, with a trained AI champion |
| Fits when | You want to try AI on one task this week | A product already does the job you need | The work runs across your deals, data and tools |
Start with the prompts. They cost nothing to try, and they show your team which tasks AI handles well.
Buy software when one product already does the job you need. Build a custom tool when the work runs across your deals, data and tools, or when nobody on the team has time to make the tools stick.
The tool alone does not decide the result. In JLL's 2025 survey of 1,000+ senior CRE decision-makers in 16 markets, 92% of occupier respondents had started or planned AI pilots in 2025. Separately, 5% reported most program goals achieved. These are two separate measures, not a failure rate, and the survey does not say why the gap exists.
In my view, a tool helps only when someone builds it into the team's real deals and trains the team to use it.
Source: JLL, 2025 survey of 1,000+ senior CRE decision-makers in 16 markets, as cited in my research report.
Where to start
- 01
Pick one task your team repeats every week.
A proposal, a tour book, a lease abstract or a client report.
- 02
Try a prompt from the library on a real deal.
Follow your firm's rules on client data.
- 03
Compare it with how you do the task today.
Record how long the task takes now, so you can see if the prompt helps.
- 04
Bring in help when the work spans your deals and data.
I start with a paid 2-week Assessment. I find where AI saves your team the most time and rank what to build. I also tell you what is not worth building yet.
Read next
Questions
What AI tools do commercial real estate teams use?
Three kinds: a general chat assistant such as ChatGPT or Claude with prompts written for CRE work, CRE software built for one job, and custom tools built on the team's own deals and sources.
Is there a free AI tool for commercial real estate?
Yes. My library of 125 CRE prompts is free and open. You fill in the blanks and paste the prompt into ChatGPT or Claude. The office space calculator and the research report are free too.
How is AI used in commercial real estate?
My research report looks at four workflows: lease abstraction and clause extraction, proposal and pitch material assembly, market intelligence retrieval, and prospect research. It treats them as hypotheses to test against your current process, not as proven savings.
Should we buy CRE software or build a custom tool?
Buy software when one product already does the job you need. Build a custom tool when the work runs across your deals, data and tools, or when nobody on the team has time to make the tools stick.
Can we paste client deal files into ChatGPT?
Check your firm's rules first. When I build a custom tool, it runs in your own accounts, and the code and data stay yours.
Is The Daily 10 an AI tool?
No. It is a service, not a tool you run. We use AI to read sources faster. You get a finished list, and every fact links to its source.
Who runs a custom tool after it is built?
Your team. One person becomes the AI champion and learns to run the tool without me.
Want AI built into your team's deals?
Book a call and tell me where your team's hours go. I'll tell you which kind of tool fits.