Institutional Investors Say “Data Problem” Hinders AI Use in Decision-Making

Adoption of artificial intelligence by institutional real estate investors is widespread, yet AI’s impact on decision-making is minimal. That’s according to Dealpath’s 2026 State of AI in CRE Investing survey, which found a gap between AI adoption and measurable returns.

Ninety-seven percent of the professionals surveyed by Dealpath said AI is integrated into their firm’s investment process. However, only 51% said AI actually saves them time once output verification is factored in, and 41% say work involving AI takes longer than doing it manually, because every output must be checked before it can inform a decision.

When AI falls short, fragmented data is the most commonly cited reason, named by 43% of professionals, ahead of hallucinated outputs or any limitation of the models themselves. “Dealpath’s survey findings reinforce that even with universal AI adoption, the data problem persists,” said Mike Sroka, CEO and co-founder of Dealpath. “The single highest-leverage move institutional CRE firms can make is to centralize, structure, and ensure governance of their strategic deal data. The winners of the next decade won’t be decided by who adopts AI, but by who built the foundation to make it trustworthy.”