From ChatGPT to e-signatures, technology has become woven into the everyday business of real estate. The newly released 2026 REALTORS® Technology Report offers a closer look at what agents are actually using and what they want those tools to do for them: reduce busywork, improve client experiences and make their businesses easier to run.
While artificial intelligence tends to grab much of the attention lately, it’s just one piece of the technology puzzle for agents.
“Real estate agents are making practical choices about technology, and the two payoffs they want most are time and a smoother experience for their clients,” says Jessica Lautz, NAR’s deputy chief economist. “Those priorities have grown stronger over the past year. When routine work gets handled faster, agents have more time for guidance, negotiation and steady advice that clients count on through a major financial decision.”
To do that, agents want more from their technology, without spending a fortune. About half of the 1,200 agents surveyed say they budget between $50 to $500 monthly for technology expenses; 22% spend more than $500 monthly; and 18% spend less than $50 per month, according to the NAR report, which is based on responses from 1,200 agents.
The Must-Have Tech for Agents
AI may be the newest addition to the tech stack, but agents continue to rely on a range of more established tools for their day-to-day job, like the MLS, e-signatures and home-showing schedule tools.
Overall, the top tech tools that agents say they most often use for their business are:
- MLS: 96%
- E-signature: 79%
- Showing schedule tools: 68%
- CMA/pricing tools: 59%
- Drone photography/video: 48%
- CRM: 46%
- AI-generated content, like ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, etc.: 41%
- Transaction management: 36%
- Social media scheduling/content tools: 32%
- Virtual tours: 29%
- Personal website using IDX: 26%
- Lead generation: 21%
- Marketing automation: 16%
On the other hand, based on the report, the least popular tech applications are predictive analytics and chatbots for lead capture or client communication.
Top 10 Uses of AI in Real Estate
With relatively modest tech budgets, agents are putting a premium on the tools they do choose to use. AI is one way they’re trying to stretch that investment.
Nearly half of agents use AI daily or weekly, with only 12% say they aren’t using it and have no plans to—down from 32% who had not tried AI in 2025. Among agents who use AI, 55% say it’s had a positive impact on their business, according to the NAR report.
Agents are turning to AI for some of the most routine parts of the job, from writing listing descriptions and social media posts to crafting emails and follow-ups. Fifty-four percent of real estate pros expressed an interest in using generative AI for content creation over the next 12 months to enhance their real estate business.
The AI tools agents are most overwhelmingly turning to was led by ChatGPT, with usage at 91% of agents who use AI, followed by 42% who use Gemini, 27% use Copilot, 25% use Claude and 14% leverage Apple Intelligence, according to the report.
So, what are agents actually asking AI to do? Here are the 10 most common uses highlighted in the 2026 REALTORS® Technology Report:
- Writing listing descriptions: 75% (among those who use AI)
- Social media posting: 56%
- Creating emails/follow-ups: 52%
- Market summaries: 30%
- Drafting marketing content with a personal tone: 30%
- Document review/summarizing: 27%
- Client education (such as for creating FAQs and guides): 26%
- Pricing insights/comps support: 23%
- Role-play and objection handling: 13%
- Improve lead generation and prioritization: 11%
Meanwhile, the least popular uses of AI, among 10% or less of respondents, was using it to recommend next steps in a transaction timeline, providing pricing or risk insights, creating an automatic client update or status report, summarizing disclosures and contracts, or auto-filling forms from client-provided information.
Related: What You’re Getting Wrong About AI—and How to Fix It
The Tech Agents Are Most Closely Watching in 2026
Agents have more technology options than ever, with a sprawling proptech ecosystem spanning thousands of companies and tools. The industry continues to attract billions in investment: 231 proptech funding rounds totaling $4.53 billion were recorded in the first half of 2026 alone, according to the Center for Real Estate Technology & Innovation.
NAR’s Second Century Ventures’ REACH accelerator program has helped scale more than 375 technology companies worldwide since its launch in 2013, covering everything from AI and data analytics to transaction management, marketing and home services.
Related: 6 Startups Looking to Disrupt Real Estate
But choosing which tech to invest in or staying ahead of what’s next isn’t easy. Agents say their biggest pain point when adopting new technology is the learning curve, followed by cost and having too many options to choose from. When deciding what to use, 81% of agents say they prioritize tools that help them save time, followed by 71% who say they look for tools that will improve the client experience.
With so many options competing for agents’ attention and budgets, real estate pros are evaluating which emerging technologies could have a place in their business next. According to the NAR report, the emerging technologies agents are watching most closely for their business for 2026 are:
- Generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT) for content creation: 54%
- Client relationship management tools: 51%
- AI-powered lead generation and follow-up: 48%
- Marketing automation workflows: 34%
- Agent safety and secure showing management solutions: 32%
- Smart-home integration marketing strategies: 18%
- AR/VR tools for immersive property listings: 18%
- Predictive analytics for lead scoring: 17%
Meanwhile, the emerging tech attracting the least attention from agents are “blockchains for streamlined title and contract processes” and “digital twins for property visualization,” each being watched by fewer than 8% of agents. Cryptocurrency-enabled real estate purchases ranked even lower at just 5%.
Cryptocurrency appears to remain a niche topic at the moment among real estate professionals. Only 9% of agents say they’ve even had a client discuss its use in real estate transactions, with those conversations occurring most often around commercial, land or mixed-use transactions.
