A new study from Jones Lang LaSalle reveals a complex landscape for artificial intelligence adoption in the Asia Pacific commercial real estate sector. Despite fears that AI will lead to widespread job losses, 61% of senior executives in the region actually expect their workforce to grow in the coming years. However, this optimistic outlook is tempered by the fact that the Asia Pacific region is facing the most severe AI talent shortage globally.
The data shows a stark contrast within the region. While companies in Asia Pacific are leading the world in deploying AI for technology management (52%), portfolio optimization (51%), and commercial real estate strategy (47%), they are struggling to find the skilled personnel to support this growth. This creates a significant capability gap, which is the most acute in the world. Jones Lang LaSalle conducted its "2026 Future of Work Survey" between January and April 2026, polling over 2,200 senior executives and commercial real estate leaders across 21 countries. The survey found that while 78% of respondents expect AI to dramatically change their real estate portfolio strategy, only 31% of companies are actively preparing to redesign their office spaces to support human-machine collaboration. Even fewer, just 15%, have entered the "optimization phase" of AI implementation. This gap between corporate vision and actual action represents a core challenge, stemming from a tug-of-war between decision-making execution, internal capabilities, and budget constraints.
Where to start
The survey indicates that while most companies believe AI can enhance human productivity, the majority are still assessing its impact on business performance, leading to a nascent stage of adoption. Only a handful of companies (15%) have successfully moved beyond the pilot and scaling phases to enter the "optimization phase," where they actively reshape jobs and office spaces. In contrast, the majority remain in a watch-and-evaluate state: 46% of companies are closely monitoring AI trends, while 40% are still evaluating its potential impact on their commercial real estate operations. This hesitation is often fueled by management linking space transformation decisions to workforce changes, creating a stalemate that slows overall progress. Susheel Koul, CEO of Work Dynamics for Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle, noted, "A clear dividing line has emerged in Asia Pacific. A few leading companies have entered the optimization phase, but far more are still in a state of observation and evaluation. It's noteworthy that these leaders don't necessarily have the largest budgets; their advantage lies in building adaptive capacity and viewing AI as an engine for business growth, not just a cost-control tool. If not addressed, the gap between companies will widen rapidly. Filling the skills and capability gap is now an urgent priority."
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This capability challenge has a direct impact on corporate talent pools. Globally, 36% of respondents believe that a lack of skills in AI, data analytics, and emerging technologies is the biggest obstacle to creating value in commercial real estate. For the first time in the 15-year history of this survey, the skills gap has surpassed budget constraints as the primary barrier. The situation is even more acute in the Asia Pacific region, where 42% of respondents cite the AI skills gap as their biggest constraint, the highest proportion globally. Nearly half of the companies in Asia Pacific (49%) expect that talent shortages caused by the need for AI reskilling will dominate the labor landscape for the next three to five years, also the highest rate globally. Additional complexities include a lack of change management expertise (26%), organizational silos (25%), and difficulty in measuring results (23%). The accelerated deployment of AI in Asia Pacific is making the capability gap particularly visible. While the region leads globally in AI deployment in the most strategically impactful areas of commercial real estate, it is also most vulnerable to talent shortages that could stifle progress. This creates a "technology paradox": on one hand, companies must invest in advanced technology to achieve productivity goals, with 46% of executives now prioritizing productivity as a core KPI for commercial real estate, replacing traditional cost-focused metrics. On the other hand, of the four major real estate portfolio risks, three are technology-related, including cybersecurity and data privacy (47%), the disruptive impact of technology or AI (41%), and the uncertainty of AI's impact on office space (40%), alongside economic volatility and budget pressure (43%). In Asia Pacific, concerns about the disruptive impact of technology and AI are even more pronounced: 44% of respondents list it as a primary real estate portfolio risk, the highest rate globally. This not only reflects the centrality of technology to real estate strategy in the region but also highlights the deep anxiety among leaders about the accompanying risks.
Rethinking the office
Kamya Miglani, Head of Research for Work Dynamics for Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle, stated, "There is a common perception that AI will weaken the need for physical office space, but our survey results suggest the opposite. Companies that are furthest along in their AI journey are actually investing more in the physical office environment. They understand that the higher-value, more complex work enabled by AI requires spaces where employees can think, focus, and collaborate at their best. Technology and the office experience are not a zero-sum game; they are complementary, building a foundation for lasting cognitive performance." As the role of commercial real estate shifts from pure cost control to capability enablement, corporate investment priorities are also changing. To boost employee productivity, key infrastructure such as advanced technology and AI support (46%) and reliable technology infrastructure (44%) have become top strategic priorities, even surpassing physical space elements like flexible office space (31%) and wellness amenities (24%). In Asia Pacific, 39% of companies require employees to work five days a week in the office, the highest rate globally. This puts immense pressure on companies to ensure that the physical workplace is genuinely effective at boosting productivity. However, business leaders globally also see the cost of implementing this vision as a primary concern, including the cost of AI-driven workforce automation (39%), tech infrastructure needs (32%), and rising energy costs (44%). To balance this vision with financial reality, companies are primarily adopting three strategies: optimizing operations, strategic outsourcing, and capability building.
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