AI has arrived. Now what?

One thing became immediately obvious.

The debate has moved on.

Nobody was asking whether AI is here to stay. Instead, the discussion focused on how we use it wisely, where it can genuinely improve property management and, perhaps most importantly, where human judgement must always remain.

A show of hands early in the session revealed that almost everyone in the room now uses AI every day in their work. The challenge is no longer adoption. It’s making sure we harness the technology effectively.

The debate that split the room

One of the morning’s biggest talking points came from a simple question:

If your business had £500,000 to spend, would you recruit more property managers – or invest the same money in AI and technology?

The panel was genuinely divided.

Some argued that technology will unlock enormous productivity gains, while others maintained that property management will always remain a people business built on trust, empathy and experience.

Perhaps the strongest conclusion was that the future belongs not to organisations with the most people or the most technology – but to those that combine both successfully.

Can AI make buildings safer?

Building safety naturally featured heavily throughout the morning.

The panel explored whether AI can help manage the ever-growing volume of compliance information, maintain the golden thread, support Gateway 3 handovers and even contribute to future safety case reports.

The discussion reinforced that while AI can organise information at remarkable speed, it still depends on one thing above all else: Good data.

The self-healing building

One of the phrases that captured the audience’s imagination was the idea of the “self-healing building.”

Imagine a residential development where connected sensors monitor plant rooms, detect leaks, identify overheating equipment and spot damp before residents even realise there’s a problem. The technology already exists.

The challenge now is integrating these systems effectively rather than creating yet another collection of disconnected software platforms.

What happens to tomorrow’s property managers?

One of the more thoughtful discussions centred on the profession itself.

If AI increasingly takes over the routine administrative work that junior property managers have traditionally learned from, where will tomorrow’s experienced professionals gain their knowledge?

Combined with hybrid working and fewer opportunities for informal mentoring, the panel recognised that AI should not only improve productivity, but it must also support the development of the next generation of property professionals.

Looking beyond the technology

The conversation ranged far beyond chatbots and automation.

Topics included:

• AI “sycophancy” and the importance of critical thinking.
• The growing geopolitical influence of large language models.
• The environmental cost of AI and the energy required to power increasingly sophisticated data centres.
• Better informed residents—and whether AI will help them ask better questions or simply become more confident in the wrong answers.

And finally…

No Proper Talk would be complete without a few laughs.

The session finished with each panellist sharing a favourite AI or technology story.

One of the biggest laughs came from Pete Thomas, who told the tale of a robot vacuum cleaner that had accidentally been left accessible online. Using AI, one curious owner discovered they could control (using a Playstation controller) not only their own vacuum, but thousands of other people’s robot vacuum cleaners around the world! It was a hilarious reminder that as technology becomes smarter, cybersecurity must keep pace.

Another memorable story came from Tom Shrive. AI had summarised an urgent maintenance issue involving water leaking through a light fitting as simply a “heavy light leak” – and promptly classified it as a low-priority repair! Fortunately, a human spotted the mistake before it became a serious problem, neatly illustrating one of the day’s recurring themes: AI is an incredibly powerful assistant, but it still needs intelligent human oversight.

Perhaps that was the biggest takeaway from the morning.

AI is no longer coming.

It’s already here.

The challenge for all of us is learning how to use it wisely.

Thank you

A huge thank you to our excellent panellists, everyone who submitted questions, and everyone who joined us at RICS for another fantastic Proper Talk.

Special thanks also go to Liz Isles Photography, whose superb photographs captured the energy and atmosphere of the morning so beautifully.

Finally, thank you once again to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for generously hosting us in their Westminster headquarters.

Proper Talk is a collaboration between Earl Kendrick, Bridge Insurance Brokers and JC Property Consultancy, bringing together professionals from across the residential property sector to discuss the issues shaping its future.

Missed this event?

Don’t worry – Proper Talk will return, and AI & PropTech is now set to become an annual fixture in our calendar. We’d love to see you at the next one.

Proper Talk will continue into 2026, with future sessions tackling the most pressing issues facing the sector.

Want to attend a future event? Fancy asking a question, or joining a future panel? Get in touch with Jonathan Channing at jonathan@jcpropertyconsultancy.com