82% of Independent Real Estate Agents Believe AI Will Force Career Changes
News related to:CYPHER Learning · 2 min read
DALLAS, Oct. 22, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- CYPHER Learning, an enablement and training platform for distributed organizations, has released findings from a survey of 400 U.S. independent real estate agents, revealing a significant shift in the industry’s landscape due to the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the research, 82% of independent real estate agents believe it is likely they will need to switch careers at some point because of AI. Meanwhile, one in five (21%) say they are very likely to stop selling for their current affiliated organization within 12 months. Additionally, 76% of agents report that their companies do not care about helping them develop AI skills.
The survey, conducted in September 2026, also found that 96% of real estate agents use AI tools at least a few times a week. Their most common uses include researching properties or assets (65%), finding answers to client questions (55%), creating marketing and social content (54%), and drafting client communications (53%). Despite this frequent use, many agents feel they lack the practical support needed to use AI effectively and responsibly over the long term. They ranked better AI tools and guidance as the benefit most likely to increase their loyalty to an affiliated organization after better commission or compensation. More than half (53%) said AI skills and workflow training would be the most valuable type of training they could receive right now.
John Mazur, CEO of CYPHER Learning, highlighted the gap between the use of AI and the support provided by affiliated organizations.
The research also revealed that nearly all respondents (97%) said their affiliated real estate organization has provided AI training. However, 55% said that training has been broad or general rather than tailored to the work agents do each day. When agents have questions about using AI at work, they are more likely to turn to AI tools such as ChatGPT (79%) or online searches and forums (59%) than to official training support or resources (55%) or colleagues and peers (45%).
Agents are concerned about the compliance risks associated with AI use. Only 31% of agents are very confident that their AI use complies with legal and compliance requirements. Eighty-eight percent admit they have sent AI-generated content to clients without editing it first, including 57% who say they do so "usually" or "always." Nearly all respondents (97%) say they or someone else have already bent or skipped brand guidelines to close a deal.
To address these concerns, CYPHER Learning has announced a partnership with Bright MLS, the nation’s largest multiple listing service (MLS), to launch the Bright MLS AI Academy. This initiative aims to build personalized AI learning directly into the daily platform agents rely on to run their business.
The survey, which included 150 real estate agents, was conducted across real estate, finance, and insurance sectors. The findings underscore the urgent need for real estate organizations to provide more practical and tailored AI training to their agents to ensure compliance and long-term loyalty.