76% say companies don’t care about helping independent agents develop AI skills, and one in five are very likely to churn within a year.
October 22, 2026 – Dallas, TX – Most independent real estate agents (82%) believe it’s likely they’ll need to switch careers at some point because of AI. Meanwhile, one in five (21%) say they are very likely to stop selling for their current affiliated organization within 12 months, and 76% say companies don’t care about helping independent agents like them develop AI skills.
The findings come from a survey conducted by CYPHER Learning, an enablement and training platform for distributed organizations.
Real estate agents already use AI frequently: 96% use AI tools at least a few times a week. Their most common uses include researching properties or assets (65%), finding answers to client questions (55%), creating marketing and social content (54%), and drafting client communications (53%).
Yet many real estate agents say they lack the practical support needed to use AI effectively and responsibly over the long term. They ranked better AI tools and guidance as the benefit most likely to increase their loyalty to an affiliated organization after better commission or compensation. More than half (53%) said AI skills and workflows would be the most valuable type of training they could receive right now.
“Independent agents represent a brokerage or brand in the field, but for some reason, they are excluded from the AI enablement that corporate employees receive,” said John Mazur, CEO of CYPHER Learning. “They’re already using AI and they’re eager for better tools, skills and workflow training. Real estate organizations have a clear opportunity to make AI enablement a core part of the agent value proposition.”
AI training is broad, not practical
Nearly all respondents (97%) said their affiliated real estate organization has provided AI training. However, 55% said that training has been broad or general rather than tailored to the work agents do each day.
When they have questions about using AI at work, agents are more likely to turn to AI tools such as ChatGPT (79%) or online searches and forums (59%) than to official training support or resources (55%) or colleagues and peers (45%).
Agents want more meaningful support from their affiliated organizations:
- 53% say they need better technology and AI tools to build their business.
53% say AI skills and workflow training would be the most valuable type of training they could receive right now.
51% say better AI tools and guidance would increase loyalty to their current brokerage or brand.
46% say better or faster training would increase their loyalty
AI use raises compliance concerns
The gap between AI adoption and practical training may also create risk for brokerages and national brands, CYPHER Learning’s research found.
Only 31% of agents are very confident that their AI use complies with legal and compliance requirements. Eighty-eight percent admit they have sent AI-generated content to clients without editing it first, including 57% who say they do so “usually” or “always.” Nearly all respondents (97%) say they or someone else have already bent or skipped brand guidelines to close a deal.
To address this, CYPHER Learning announced a partnership with Bright MLS, the nation’s largest MLS, to launch the Bright MLS AI Academy building personalized AI learning directly into the daily platform agents rely on to run their business.
"AI is moving fast in real estate, but tools are only as good as the training behind them," said Brian Donnellan, President and CEO of Bright MLS. "Agents don't need more tech tossed at them. They need simple, reliable guidance on how to use AI responsibly to run a better business. With the Bright MLS AI Academy, we’re bringing CYPHER Learning’s platform together with Bright’s data to give our subscribers the exact skills they need to stay ahead of the curve."
Download the report, The real-deal on AI: seven things real estate leaders need to know.
CYPHER Learning and Bright MLS will also be at NAR NXT, November 6-8 in New Orleans. Visit their booth #1919 to learn more.
Methodology
CYPHER Learning surveyed 400 U.S. independent agents across real estate, finance and insurance, including 150 real estate agents, in September 2026 to learn how agents experience AI adoption, training and brand enablement within the organizations they sell for. Participants operated within networks of at least 50 agents or locations at nationwide firms.
About CYPHER Learning
CYPHER Learning is the AI enablement and training platform built for distributed organizations. Multi-brand enterprises, franchise networks and training companies use CYPHER to train employees, franchisees, sales reps, partners and customers on a single platform. CYPHER Agent turns company knowledge into role-specific, personalized training, so new products and policy changes reach every learner in hours, not weeks. Global brands including Microsoft, McDonald’s, Hyundai, Starbucks and U-Haul rely on CYPHER Learning to onboard faster, keep every location consistent and turn training into performance. Visit www.cypherlearning.com to learn more.
