South Africa’s listed property sector is not lacking in digital capabilities. The underlying technology is already embedded across the value chain, from real estate and asset management systems to online marketing platforms, tenant engagement applications, market intelligence solutions, and data-driven reporting tools. Change today is less about adoption and more about how effectively that capability translates into operational performance and measurable commercial outcomes. Equally important, we are transforming the stakeholder experience, turning static information into more active and accessible engagement across digital touchpoints.
The next stage of this evolution is being shaped by the application of AI. While advanced technologies are entering the space, their integration into core revenue-driven or cost-reducing workflows remains uneven. A significant portion of the process remains manual, highlighting the gap between digital capabilities and practical implementation at scale. When applied intentionally, these capabilities begin to move beyond efficiency gains, enabling teams to respond faster, improve decision-making, and enhance how assets are leased, managed, and presented to market.
Accelerate business results with AI
While AI is often associated with generative tools, its more direct application to real estate is operational. Technology is already being used to uncover leasing opportunities, inform portfolio decisions, and improve how stakeholders access information. AI builds on these foundations, embedding intelligence into the systems that already shape the functioning of the sector.
This is consistent with the findings of MRI Software’s 2026 PropTech Trends report, which notes that AI implementation in real estate is increasingly moving from experimentation to measurable business outcomes. The report highlights that the most successful organizations are those that integrate AI into their daily operational workflows, supported by strong data governance, an empowered workforce, and connected digital platforms.
This technology is the most effective and reduces the time from insight to action within core business functions. McKinsey’s recent ‘Superagency in the Workplace’ report highlights that the greatest value is realized when AI is integrated into daily work, enabling employees to complete work more efficiently and make better-informed decisions. Operationally, the path from information to action is shortened, reducing the time it takes to identify and respond to opportunities. The shift from delayed, multi-step processes to more immediate, informed execution is what positions AI to power business acceleration in core operations.
For property owners, this results in a more responsive and connected operating environment, allowing them to make decisions faster and collaborate across departments. As information becomes more accessible and actionable, the gap between insight and action begins to close.
Review your portfolio management method
This represents a change in the way portfolios are managed and understood. Until now, fragmented data has limited the depth and accuracy of portfolio-level insights, often requiring interpretation across multiple systems. As digital capabilities evolve, there is an increasing emphasis on a more integrated, data-driven approach that increases visibility across assets and supports more informed decision-making. JLL’s 2025 Global Real Estate Technology Study highlights the shift to targeted, high-impact use cases as companies move beyond isolated tools and embed intelligence directly into their operations. In this context, performance will increasingly be shaped by how effectively data is transformed into actionable insights across assets.
Rather than functioning as separate, continuous workflows, leasing, reporting, and marketing are becoming increasingly interdependent, with information flowing more directly between them. This reduces reliance on incremental activities and enables a more tailored approach to managing performance, with clearer links between activities and commercial outcomes.
This has implications for prioritizing digital investments. There is an increasing focus on strengthening the connections between systems and capabilities, especially where gaps in visibility or coordination impact outcomes. Here, AI-enabled features play a supporting role, allowing these connections to work more effectively and managing performance more consistently.
Establish conditions for recruitment
Equally important is creating an organizational environment that enables the adoption of AI at scale. Redefine has expanded Microsoft Copilot licenses across the business, giving employees access to AI-powered productivity tools within their daily workflows. This is supported by the implementation of AI governance protocols, AI training, and acceptable use policies that guide the responsible, ethical, and safe use of AI.
In parallel, we took a pragmatic, value-driven approach to AI implementation through targeted value demonstration initiatives. These small-scale deployments help you identify real-world use cases, test measurable business benefits, and build internal confidence in how AI can be applied to different functions. Successful applications can be scaled and replicated across multiple value streams, allowing organizations to incrementally build AI capabilities while managing risk and supporting adoption.
what actually happens
For us, these changes are already reflected in the way we perform key functions, with digital and AI capabilities being applied in a targeted manner to drive leasing, investor engagement and marketing. Rather than operating as standalone initiatives, these applications are embedded into existing workflows to support more consistent execution, enhance the way information moves between functions, and have a measurable impact on efficiency and engagement.
To streamline and improve the leasing process, our new broker portal provides real-time access to vacancy data, enables more direct engagement with brokers, and reduces delays in how opportunities surface and are acted upon. The platform supports a more responsive approach to bringing space to market by centralizing availability and providing instant access. This creates a tighter alignment between demand and available inventory, especially across multiple assets. Since its launch in October 2025, the broker portal has recorded over 570 registered users and over 17,000 sessions, reflecting its growing role as a practical digital touchpoint for broker engagement.
Beyond leasing, AI is also changing the way stakeholders access and engage with information. Increased investor engagement by integrating AI into modern integrated reporting. Stakeholders can interact with financial and ESG information through natural language queries, moving reports from a static format to a more accessible, user-driven experience. This will change the way we consume information, allowing users to more efficiently manipulate large amounts of data and engage with content in ways tailored to their specific areas of interest.
In marketing, AI and digital tools are enabling teams to create content faster and more cost-effectively. Investments in mobile camera kits and digital content creation platforms like Canva have given our in-house teams the ability to capture, edit, and publish leasing, retail, and social media content with greater agility. This shortens delivery times, reduces external production costs, and allows marketing efforts to respond more quickly to business and tenant requirements.
AI is also used to automate the enrichment of retailer information across Redefine’s mall websites, replacing manual input with a much faster and more consistent process. This improves the quality and accuracy of store-level information available to shoppers and tenants, while also allowing updates to be implemented more efficiently. The result is a more consistent deployment of marketing results, more responsive tenant promotions, and increased digital visibility.
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into the real estate sector, the distinction between experimentation and value creation will become increasingly important. The greatest opportunity lies not in the technology itself, but in how effectively it can be applied to solve real business challenges, improve stakeholder experiences, and unlock commercial value.
For property owners, the future will be characterized by more intelligent buildings, more responsive portfolios, and increasingly data-driven decision-making across all functions. Success depends on combining technology with strong governance, quality data, and people who understand how to turn insights into action. At Redefine, we remain focused on building on these foundations so that AI functions not as a standalone technology initiative, but as a practical means of delivering long-term growth, operational excellence, and stakeholder value.
- Douglas Mainne, Redefine Properties Head of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations
