JLL Projects 86% of Occupiers Will Be Scaling or Optimizing Facilities AI by 2030

A global JLL survey projects that 86% of occupiers will be scaling or optimizing artificial intelligence (AI) in facilities management by 2030, while some strategic operators plan to expand their workforces.

JLL’s Global State of Facilities Management Report 2026, published Oct. 27, surveyed 1,321 organizations in 15 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia-Pacific. At publication, 45% of occupiers were using AI at scale or working to improve its use in facilities management. The 86% projection tracks that same measure.

Scaled robotics adoption stood at 37% and is projected to reach 71% by 2030. The figures describe plans and adoption measures across a global survey, not a U.S.-specific employment outlook.

Contract pricing may also change. By 2030, 87% of occupiers expect facilities management outsourcing contracts to base prices on outcomes instead of labor. Nearly 90% expect spending to shift from labor toward technology and automation.

JLL classifies organizations assigning facilities management an impact score of at least eight on a 10-point scale as “strategic operators.” In that group, 58% plan to expand their workforces and 64% plan to increase facilities management budgets; 45% expect both to rise. These are reported plans, not completed hires, and they do not establish whether employment across the industry will rise or fall.

Nearly 70% of organizations reported operations problems during the prior year tied to skilled-trades shortages and gaps in AI or technical skills. Fewer than 45% considered themselves prepared to address those risks over the next three to five years.

Neil Murray, CEO of JLL Real Estate Management Services, rejected the idea that AI will shrink the workforce serving the industry. “I happen to despise the term ‘headcount’ in the world of AI,” he said. “The notion that AI will somehow reduce the number of people we have serving this industry is just not right.”