Inside CBRE’s AI Playbook: What Small Brokerages Can Learn

The AI Divide in Real Estate

While most small real estate teams are still debating whether to try ChatGPT, CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate firm, built its own enterprise AI system. It’s called Ellis AI, and it’s changing everything from how they write sales reports to how they schedule building maintenance.

But what does this mean for independent brokerages, solo agents, or regional teams that don’t have CBRE’s billions or their data science team?

In this article, we’ll break down CBRE’s AI strategy, unpack how Ellis AI works, and show how small brokerages can apply the same principles, without needing an enterprise budget.

CBRE’s AI Strategy: A Structured Approach

CBRE’s success with AI isn’t about having the most advanced tech. It’s about how they approached adoption, focusing on key areas like training, testing, deployment, and ethics:

1. Education
   CBRE didn’t just give their teams access to tools. They invested in internal AI literacy. From engineers to brokers, employees were trained to understand how AI could improve their daily workflows. By fostering curiosity and demystifying the tech, they created a workforce that could adapt and innovate.

Small firm takeaway: AI adoption starts with understanding. Host short internal demos, bring in a tool expert for a 30-minute lunch-and-learn, or assign one team member to explore use cases.

2. Experimentation
   Rather than rolling out AI company-wide, CBRE piloted “proof of concept” projects in focused departments. They tested how well AI could summarize long research docs or automate maintenance scheduling before scaling those features to other regions or teams.

Small firm takeaway: Test one tool for one task. Track results. If it works, expand. If not, try another.

3. Execution
   Behind Ellis AI is a robust MLOps infrastructure, a system for deploying, monitoring, and updating AI models safely across global teams. This allowed CBRE to scale AI in a reliable, secure, and agile way.

Small firm takeaway: You don’t need MLOps. But you do need a repeatable process. Document what worked. Train others. Build internal workflows around successful tools.

4. Ethics
   CBRE took data governance seriously. With sensitive client information at stake, they implemented strict data isolation practices, ensuring proprietary data was never leaked or reused improperly. They also stress-tested for bias in models to avoid unfair treatment in decisions like tenant screening or property evaluations.

Small firm takeaway: Choose AI tools with transparent privacy policies, don’t input sensitive client data blindly, and review AI-generated outputs for fairness.

What Ellis AI Actually Does (And Why It Matters)

Launched in 2023, Ellis AI is CBRE’s internal generative AI platform. It empowers teams to automate complex workflows, summarize huge datasets, and generate insights across departments like research, sales, operations, and sustainability.

Core Capabilities:

• Multi-step workflow automation: Ellis AI handles complex chains of actions, like generating a sales pitch based on recent market activity and pushing it to the CRM, with minimal human input.
• Conversational interfaces: Teams interact with Ellis AI via chat, asking questions like, “Summarize this investment memo,” or “What’s the average rent increase in LA last quarter?”
• Role-specific agents: From supply chain to sales to facilities, Ellis AI adapts to department needs, proving that AI isn’t one-size-fits-all.
• Insight generation: It doesn’t just retrieve data. It connects the dots, identifies trends, and suggests actions based on historical and real-time information.

CBRE reports that Ellis AI reduces some task times from “weeks to minutes.”

That’s not a productivity boost. That’s a complete transformation.

Real Examples:

• Investment Management: Discovered real estate secondaries market size to be 2.3x larger than previously estimated using AI-enhanced data capture.
• Smart FM: Achieved 10–20% cost reductions in facilities maintenance by using predictive scheduling.
• Sales Enablement: Automated the creation of prospecting emails, trend reports, and custom research briefs with remarkable speed and accuracy.

Small brokerage takeaway: You don’t need Ellis AI. But you can:

• Use ChatGPT to summarize market reports
• Automate lead responses with tools like automated email platforms or workflow automation services
• Streamline social content with AI-powered content creation tools

It’s not about building the most powerful tool. It’s about using the right ones to save time, close faster, and think bigger.

Translating CBRE’s AI Wins for Small Brokerages

CBRE’s achievements can be broken down into practical lessons for smaller real estate teams.

Start Small, Scale Smart

Audit your team’s time.
Start with AI for repetitive tasks (like lead follow-up emails).
Tools: ChatGPT, AI content platforms, automated email tools, or property description generators

Augment, Don’t Replace Agents

Use AI to save time, not remove the human touch.
AI drafts the listing. You add the local flair.

Build a Culture of Curiosity

Appoint one team member as the “AI point person.”
Run low-risk tests and share wins to build internal buy-in.

Invest in Data Hygiene

Use clean CRM data.
Review AI tool privacy policies.
Don’t feed in client data blindly. Know where it goes.

RELATED: Top-Ranked AI Tools That Real Estate Pros Are Using to Close More Deals

CBRE’s Struggles Reveal What Not to Ignore

Even CBRE, with all its tech infrastructure, ran into problems that small brokerages can learn from and avoid.

Limited Internal Awareness

Despite the rollout, some CBRE employees weren’t fully aware of how AI was being used or weren’t authorized to use it.

Small firm lesson: Don’t assume awareness. Train your team. Explain why this tool matters and how it helps them.

Resistance to Change

Departments were slow to adopt AI due to fear of automation and unclear benefits.

Frame AI as a helper, not a threat.

Show how it lets agents focus on people, not paperwork.

Ethical Blind Spots & Data Risks

CBRE had to architect systems to prevent privacy breaches and biased outputs. These aren’t optional. They’re essential.

Vet every tool’s data handling practices

Ask questions. Be cautious with anything that touches client information.

A Playbook Any Small Brokerage Can Follow

You don’t need to build Ellis AI. You just need a framework to get started. Here’s a practical path:

Step-by-Step AI Playbook

1. Identify a high-friction task (e.g., writing property descriptions)
2. Choose 1 AI tool (e.g., a property description generator or AI content platform)
3. Use it for 30 days
4. Track results (hours saved, response time improved, leads converted)
5. Share your findings internally
6. Repeat with the next process

This agile mindset mirrors how CBRE scaled AI, without the risk or cost of full-on transformation.

Conclusion: You Don’t Need CBRE’s Budget, Just Their Mindset

CBRE’s Ellis AI shows what’s possible when AI is built into the foundation of a real estate firm. But the most valuable lesson for small brokerages isn’t about custom tools. It’s about adopting a repeatable, intentional approach.

If you stay curious, experiment smartly, and build internal support, you’ll move faster than firms with 10x your budget. In the age of AI, it’s not the biggest team that wins. It’s the most adaptable.