Will AI replace building managers?
Locale's Chief Product Officer, Dan O'Gorman, addresses the fear that AI and new technology will replace building managers across the industry, and how in reality, AI can unlock huge potential for building teams - not limit them.
Artificial intelligence has quickly become the defining technology of the moment. New tools are emerging at remarkable speed, reshaping how work is done across industries. In software development, for example, AI coding assistants such as Claude Code are enabling engineers to produce output at dramatically higher rates than before. Similar productivity leaps are appearing in finance, marketing, healthcare and professional services.
With that acceleration comes a familiar question: if AI can take on increasingly complex tasks, will it eventually replace large numbers of white-collar roles?
It is a conversation that is beginning to surface in property as well. Across the real estate sector, AI is already beginning to influence how buildings are designed, operated and experienced. In planning and development, AI tools can analyse sites, model layouts and simulate building performance far faster than traditional methods. In operations, intelligent systems are increasingly used to monitor energy usage, detect maintenance issues early and optimise environmental systems in real time.
On the occupier side, AI is helping to power digital services, automate management requests and analyse data to improve the workplace experience. In many cases, AI acts as a powerful decision-support tool, helping teams run buildings more efficiently.
In other words, AI is no longer a distant concept for the property industry. It is already being embedded into the systems that run modern buildings.
Yet buildings are not simply pieces of infrastructure. At their core, they are places for people. They are environments where individuals live, work, collaborate and connect. While technology can optimise systems, it cannot replace the human dynamics that make a building successful.
This is where the role of the building manager remains fundamental. Great building management has never been solely about maintaining assets. It is about service leadership and innovation. It involves understanding occupier needs, building relationships, navigating complex situations and creating environments where people feel supported and valued.
Even the most technologically advanced building still relies on human judgement. A building may be digitally optimised, but the experience of that building is still human-led.
There is also a more practical consideration: accountability.
When increasingly sophisticated systems are making recommendations or triggering operational decisions, someone must ultimately be responsible for the outcomes. Recent reports suggest Amazon tightened oversight of AI-assisted code changes after incidents linked to automated tooling caused significant AWS outages. The response was not to abandon AI, but to reinforce human accountability.
Buildings operate under similar principles. Property operations involve safety, compliance, service delivery and tenant relationships. When things go wrong - and occasionally they do - there must always be a responsible figure at the helm. In most buildings, that role sits with the building manager.
What AI will change is not the existence of the role, but the nature of the work.
Historically, building management has involved a significant amount of coordination, reporting and reactive administration. Teams often spend large portions of their time compiling updates, managing operational tasks and responding to issues after they occur.
AI and automation have the potential to remove much of this operational friction. Intelligent systems can automate routine workflows, optimise performance, and surface risks earlier.
The result is that building managers will likely spend less time on administration and more time on the aspects of the role that create real value: developing relationships with occupiers, shaping the service culture of a building, improving operational strategy and building stronger communities.
In this sense, AI does not diminish the role of the building manager. If anything, it elevates it.
AI will undoubtedly make buildings smarter. But it will still take people to make them great.
The most successful building managers of the future will combine human insight with intelligent systems. They will use technology to run buildings that are more responsive, more efficient and more occupier-focused than ever before. Rather than being buried in operational reporting, they will act as experience leaders supported by better tools.
Every major technological shift has sparked fears about job replacement. Yet history tends to show that technology removes tasks rather than entire professions. AI will undoubtedly make buildings smarter and operations more efficient. But successful buildings will still depend on skilled professionals who understand people, place and service.