AI Impact Barometer: Conviction in a Transforming World
From our Thought Leader Partner, Cushman & Wakefield.
Explore the Barometer
There are few questions more consequential right now than what the real-world impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is going to be: on the built environment; on commerce and the economy; on how we live, work and play. Those who can strip away the hype and speculation, using the right data to identify the direction and pace of change, will be in a unique position to steer the future of their organizations for a generation to come. Those are the stakes.
This is what our brightest minds have been working on: creating new ways to track AI’s evolving impact on the built environment.
This barometer is the first phase of that work, a foundation for separating signal from noise, and for making smarter, more confident decisions during a period of profound upheaval.
How to use the barometer
The main barometer covers nine categories. The top four are macroeconomic-focused and track the evolving impact of AI on the broader economy. The next five categories are key real estate sectors, each of which we’re tracking closely for signs that AI is reshaping fundamentals and investment.
Each category and its underlying indicators are color coded based on a set of Momentum Scores that reflect the direction and pace of AI’s emerging impact on that category or indicator. Definitions for the Momentum Scores are below:
Behind the Headlines:
Click deeper, and you’ll find two additional layers underlying the main dashboard. The second layer brings you to an expanded view of each category and our high-level commentary on why the selected indicators may provide unique insight into AI’s evolving impact on the economy and commercial real estate. Within the third layer, you’ll find a full view of each indicator’s data and commentary updated quarterly to summarize how the indicators are trending.
Measuring Momentum
The barometer does not isolate or precisely quantify AI’s standalone impact. Each of the underlying indicators is also being shaped and influenced by other factors. Instead, the barometer identifies indicators where AI is likely to have a pronounced impact. It focuses on momentum, tracking how each indicator signals changing conditions as AI exerts both positive and negative forces on the macro economy and the built environment.
To illustrate this momentum, here are summary charts which visualize emerging signals of AI’s impact by category, over time:
The Economic Impact Barometer shows a broadly upward trajectory, led by accelerating AI adoption, a strengthening growth engine, and rising capital formation tied to investment in AI-related infrastructure and innovation. At the same time, labor market signals are more mixed, with emerging headwinds in net employment, particularly in automation-vulnerable, white-collar sectors and among younger workers, highlighting how AI is simultaneously driving growth while reshaping workforce demand.
The CRE Impact Barometer shows an increasingly bifurcated landscape, with positive AI-driven demand clearly benefitting data centers and, highly automatable industrial facilities, where capital inflows, leasing activity, and investor pricing continue to strengthen. By contrast, office, retail, and multifamily signals remain mixed, with AI reinforcing quality and location differentiation, supporting prime assets and tech-exposed markets while leaving broader fundamentals constrained in more vulnerable segments.
What to look for
In a rapidly evolving landscape, the value of this work lies in providing a synthesized, data-driven view of how AI may influence segments of the economy and the built environment, while providing a quantitative framework to track how those influences are trending over time. The value is not in delivering single-point answers.
For investors, sustained shifts in the direction and intensity of the momentum scores will help to illuminate areas of emerging opportunity and risk. When signals tied to capital formation, power demand, and infrastructure development begin to strengthen in tandem, they can point to emerging demand. Where signals soften, they may highlight uncertainty or risk that warrants closer scrutiny.
Example: If momentum scores for a particular sector shift from negative or neutral to “Positive Impact Gradually Intensifying” it could signal emerging areas for increased investment as positive impacts of AI advancements are beginning to drive tangible improvements in fundamentals or capital flows to that sector. |
For occupiers and tenants, the dashboard works best as a tool providing visibility into the impacts that AI is having on the economy and the built environment. It can help frame decisions around workforce strategy, location choice, infrastructure requirements and operating costs by highlighting shifts in productivity, employment mix and demand across real estate asset types.
Example: If the dashboard signals “Negative Impact Gradually Intensifying” for a given sector, that may warrant increased caution. The sector could be entering a period of weakness, arguing to potentially hold off on new leases where possible, renegotiate terms, and over time if the signal remains negative, consider consolidating space. Conversely, a strong positive signal from the dashboard may argue for moving more quickly to secure space and committing longer lease terms, as fundamentals in the sector may be strengthening. |
Across both perspectives, the dashboard functions as a visibility tool, helping distinguish macroeconomic and built environment shifts in the new era of AI and supporting clearer judgment around AI’s potential impacts during a period of rapid transformation.
