Nearly half of Realtors now use AI daily or weekly, NAR's 2026 Technology Report finds

The National Association of Realtors published its 2026 Technology Report on 22 September. Its headline finding is that agents adopt technology to get time back: 81% named saving time as their primary goal, up from 66% a year earlier, and 71% named a better client experience, up from 64%.

What the page says

On AI, the release says it is "moving from novelty to routine". 23% of agents use AI daily and 25% weekly; 31% experiment occasionally; 9% are curious but have not tried it; 12% are not using it and do not plan to. Among agents who use it, the top uses are writing listing descriptions (75%), social media posting (56%), emails and follow-up (52%), market summaries (30%), marketing content in a personal tone (30%) and document review or summarising (27%). AI-generated content tools sit seventh in the list of technologies used, at 41%, behind the MLS (96%), e-signature (79%), showing schedulers (68%), pricing tools (59%), drone photography (48%) and CRM (46%).

The two barriers named are the learning curve (63%) and cost (59%). 36% of agents spend $50 to $250 a month on technology; 22% spend more than $500.

The check

The release says the 12% not using AI is "down from the 32% who had not yet tried AI in 2025". Those are two different categories: "not using and do not plan to" is a narrower group than "had not yet tried", which in the 2026 figures would also take in the 9% who are curious but have not tried. The year-on-year fall is likely real; the size of it is not what those two numbers show. Everything else in the release is a 2026 figure stated on its own.