Most brokers see artificial intelligence (AI) as helpful to their future, but few have built it into how they work. David Benett (pictured), founder of consultancy Addaptive, says the answer is to start small, with one repeatable task you can check.
His comments were published by the Property Council of Australia, after he co-led a masterclass on AI agents at Property Congress.
The gap he addresses is stark. A Connective survey of more than 300 brokers found 86% see AI as essential or helpful to staying competitive, yet only 3% have AI tools embedded in their workflows.
Benett sees the biggest opportunity in agentic AI. These tools go beyond answering prompts, planning and carrying out tasks towards a goal with limited human input.
Before delegating, his test is whether the output can be checked against a reliable source, and whether the user understands the task well enough to spot an error. “I’d start with tasks that have clear source material and an output you can check,” he said.
Number-crunching, document comparison, and turning meeting notes into updates are where he sees agents earning their keep.
For brokers, checking cuts both ways. Verification is a growing issue on the client side as well: nearly one in five Australians say they have used AI on loan documents, according to an OurTop10 survey of 1,018 people published in October 2026.
Rather than relying on one-off jobs such as drafting emails, Benett recommends setting a tool up around regular work. That means loading it with background material, past examples, and clear instructions, then drawing on it every time.
A monthly report is a good example. With the structure, earlier editions, and audience priorities in place, the user adds fresh data each month and asks for a draft that flags anything missing or inconsistent.
His challenge is to set up just one such process, with a built-in point for reviewing the result, then refine it and extend the approach to other tasks.
Benett is clear that negotiation, legal interpretation, and commercial judgement still need a professional. AI can organise the evidence, but “you remain responsible for the decision”.
Relationships matter too. Knowing when to call someone or how to raise a difficult issue comes from experience and trust, he said, because “property is a relationship business”.
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