Auckland, 22 October 2026. New data released this week shows that artificial intelligence has gone mainstream faster than any technology before it. ListingLogic says real estate agencies that keep marketing the way they did in 2023 will lose ground.
The DataReportal Digital 2027 report, published 21 October, estimates that 83.5% of internet users aged 16 and over now use AI each month. That is more than 4.1 billion people. The report concludes that more than half of humanity already uses some form of AI. Monthly users of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude rose 57% in a single year, adding 1.2 billion new users.
Buyers are researching differently
The report’s most important finding for property marketers is about how people make big decisions. “Finding information” is the top reason people use AI, cited by 60.4% of AI users, followed by “getting advice on problems” at 40.6%.
AI is also becoming part of the purchase journey. 26% of online adults now use AI to research brands and potential purchases, up from 24.4% just three months earlier. That shift added roughly 58 million shoppers worldwide in a single quarter. Over the same period, the share of people using search engines for purchase research has declined steadily.
The report adds a caveat. Most consumers are not yet handing decisions over to AI. Instead, they use it to “make sense of options” while still choosing for themselves.
“That describes a property buyer or vendor exactly,” said Neil Campbell, founder and CEO of ListingLogic. “No one lets a chatbot buy their house. But they are asking AI which suburb suits their family, what a fair price looks like, and which agent to trust. If your listings and your agents aren’t visible and credible in that research phase, you aren’t in the conversation.”
Social and search still matter
The data doesn’t say traditional channels are dead. Search engines (45.3%) and social networks (41.8%) are still used for purchase research more often than AI. Social media ads (30.4%) still drive nearly twice as much brand discovery as AI tools (17%).
“This is the opportunity,” Campbell said. “Today’s attention is on Meta and Google, and tomorrow’s research is happening inside AI assistants. Agencies need both, and they need it automated, because no agent has time to run every channel by hand.”
Where ListingLogic fits
ListingLogic uses AI to automate property marketing for real estate agencies. It turns listings into targeted campaigns, reaches buyers and vendors where they spend time, and reports on performance in clear terms.
The report also found that adults aged 65 and over, a key vendor group, are the most likely to use AI simply to find information (78.5%). Younger buyers aged 16 to 24 use AI for purchase research at a rate of 31.6%.
“Your next vendor and your next buyer are both using AI, in different ways,” Campbell said. “Agencies that win in 2027 will use AI to be everywhere those people look, without adding headcount.”
About ListingLogic
ListingLogic Ltd is an Auckland-based real estate marketing technology company. It helps agencies use AI to generate more listings, leads and sales. Find out more at listinglogic.com.
Source: DataReportal, Digital 2027: AI use around the world.