AI spotted everywhere in thousands of property ads

More than a third of rental and sales listings published in Canada are likely being written with AI assistance.

A new study from Originality.ai found that 37% of more than 71,000 real estate listings it analyzed in May 2026 were likely written using AI. Home sale listings were especially likely to be AI-generated, with 41% flagged as such, compared to 21% of rental listings.

The study also found certain language habits and writing styles were more or less common in listings generated by AI. Exclamation marks, for example, were much less common in AI-written listings. The more enthusiastic the punctuation, the less likely the listing was to have been generated by an LLM.

Likewise, words such as "exceptional" and "convenience" were heavily associated with AI-written copy, while more emotive words like "must-see," "super," and "gorgeous" appeared far more often in human-written descriptions.

That said, the study says nothing about how consumers feel about AI-generated listings or whether they are more effective than those written by humans.

For property managers, the takeaway isn't to avoid AI – it's to use AI responsibly, something PayProp has always advocated. AI can create a strong first draft, but every output should still be reviewed, edited and fact-checked by a human.

Even a simple disclosure noting that AI assisted with the listing and that it was reviewed by a human can help significantly build trust with prospective buyers and renters.

The same principle applies to property photos. While Canada currently has no AI-specific regulations governing real estate marketing, disclosing the use of AI-enhanced photos is a sensible best practice.

As AI becomes even more common in the industry, transparency and oversight will remain the best safeguards for both professionals and consumers.