83% of Agents Are Ready for AI. Here's What They Actually Want It to Do.
Ask a room of agents whether AI will make the CMA obsolete, and you would expect a lot of nervous nodding. The data says the opposite.
In the 2026 Survey of Best Practices, 83.2% of agents said they are open to AI-assisted CMA tools. We asked this question for the first time this year, and the answer was not close. Nearly half (42.7%) said they are very likely to use these tools. Another 40.5% said somewhat likely.
Here is the part that surprises people. The same agents are more bullish on the CMA than ever. 89.6% say the CMA will be more relevant in the future, up 22 points from 67% in 2020. That is the largest single shift in the survey's history.
So agents are not choosing between AI and the CMA. They want AI to make the CMA sharper, faster, and easier to defend.
The survey got specific about where. Three uses came up over and over.
Surface comps faster. Let AI narrow thousands of records down to the strongest candidates, while the agent keeps final say on which ones make the cut.
Automate the adjustments. This was the number one pain point in building a CMA. Agents want AI to suggest market-calibrated adjustment ranges and take the guesswork out of the most tedious step.
Write the story. A growing group uses AI to turn raw numbers into plain-language pricing rationale that a seller can actually follow.
Notice the pattern. Every one of these speeds up the work without handing over the judgment.
That is the whole argument in the new AI chapter of The Art of the CMA. AI can crunch numbers, suggest language, and design a cleaner presentation. It cannot walk the neighborhood, read a nervous seller across the kitchen table, or catch the small things you only notice by standing inside a home.
The 16.7% who said "not likely" are not wrong to be cautious. That group skews experienced, and AI tools vary widely in quality. But the direction is clear. Most of the industry is already moving.
The takeaway for agents is simple. AI is not the threat to the CMA. It is the power tool that makes a good CMA great, as long as you stay the one holding it.
The 2nd edition of The Art of the CMA includes a full chapter on bringing AI into your CMA process, plus the complete 2026 survey data. Get your copy.