In this conversation, Kyle Halls, Director of Community Engagement at CREtech, talks with Vaibhav Gujral, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company, about how AI is transforming the real estate industry. They look at where AI will create the most value across the real estate value chain, what sets the fastest-moving organizations apart, and what leaders should do now to avoid falling behind. The discussion also covers how a challenging macro environment and the rise of the AI ecosystem are shifting capital toward data centers and digital infrastructure. Vaibhav argues that the industry can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines.

Takeaways
- AI and automation could unlock up to half a trillion dollars in annual value globally across real estate, construction, and development.
- Value will come from three main areas: more efficient development, smarter investment decisions, and increasingly self-managing operations.
- Real estate has traditionally lagged other industries on technology, but it is adopting AI much faster than it adopted previous technologies.
- Leading organizations recognize that scale and data are the foundations of AI success.
- Access to operational data, not just financial reporting, creates faster feedback loops and a lasting competitive advantage.
- AI transformation starts at the top, with the CEO setting a clear ambition for how the business will operate in the future.
- Vendors won't solve every problem, so top companies are building internal muscle and AI talent.
- A culture of experimentation and strong change management are essential as roles and operating models evolve.
- Capital is moving away from underperforming sectors and toward data centers and AI-related infrastructure.
- The organizations already seeing results invested boldly and moved with conviction: they scale what works and keep experimenting elsewhere.

Sound Bites
- "AI could generate half a trillion dollars in annual value"
- "Scale and data are key to AI success"
- "Bold investments and leadership clarity drive transformation"

Vaibhav Gujral, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaibhav-gujral/

Learn more about McKinsey & Company Real Estate: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/real-estate

See Vaibhav on stage at CREtech New York Oct 20-21 with leaders from Vivmark, BGO, Kimco Realty, Prologis and Brookfield for the session "The Institutional Outlook: How Real Estate’s Most Powerful Firms Are Positioning for What’s Next". Agenda here: https://cretech.com/agenda