Beyond the hype:
Where social housing really is on AI
Much of the conversation around artificial intelligence focuses on what the technology could deliver in the future. New products continue to emerge, suppliers are adding AI capabilities to existing systems and housing providers are exploring potential applications. This research looks beyond that wider market conversation to examine how AI is being used across social housing today.
The results show that AI activity is widespread among respondents, but maturity remains uneven. Sixty-five of the 66 respondents described some level of AI adoption within their organisation. However, individual experimentation remains the most common stage, selected by 26 respondents, 39%. A further 19, 29%, reported team-level adoption and 17, 26%, described coordinated organisational initiatives. Only three respondents, 5%, said AI had become a strategic priority reflected in organisation-wide adoption. One organisation was not currently using AI.
This distinction is important as for many respondents, the question is no longer simply whether AI is being used, but how consistently and strategically it is being applied. Practical activity is taking place across much of the respondent base, but relatively few respondents described AI as being embedded across services or aligned with an organisation-wide strategy.
Some level of AI adoption within organisation
Individual experimentation
Team-level adoption
Coordinated organisational initiatives
"Practical activity is taking place across much of the respondent base, but relatively few respondents described AI as embedded across services or aligned with an organisation-wide strategy."
Access and adoption
Access to AI tools is becoming less restricted for many organisations, but availability has not translated into consistent use. Thirty-nine respondents, 59%, said all or most staff have access to AI tools provided by their organisation. However, only nine respondents, 14%, reported that more than half of staff use AI at least once a week. Seventeen respondents were unable to estimate the proportion of regular users, suggesting some organisations may also lack visibility of how widely available tools are being used.
Responses describing the nature of AI use reinforce this picture. Twenty-six respondents, 39%, said use depended on individual teams. Fifteen, 23%, said it happened informally without much guidance, while another 15 described it as encouraged but inconsistent. Only nine respondents, 14%, said AI use was encouraged and actively supported. The findings therefore suggest the sector’s challenge is increasingly less about discovering AI and more about scaling its use consistently.
Beyond technology teams
AI is also reaching beyond specialist technology functions. IT and Data and Insight were the departments most frequently identified as making significant use of AI, selected by 40 and 39 respondents respectively. However, Customer Services was selected by 19 respondents, Executive teams by 18, Housing Management by 15 and HR by 13. This shows AI activity extending into operational, corporate and leadership functions, even if the depth of adoption varies.
The applications reported are similarly varied. Content generation was the most common use, selected by 47 respondents, followed by data analysis at 35, reporting and dashboards at 27 and coding or technical work at 24. Twenty respondents reported process automation, 16 selected customer service and 13 selected predictive modelling. Qualitative responses included examples involving contact centre summaries, complaints analysis, damp and mould, dashboard creation, regulatory reporting and tenancy sustainability.
AI use beyond specialist technology functions
IT teams
Data and Insight
Customer Services
Executive teams
Housing Management
HR teams
Strategy and activity
Formal strategy has not developed at the same pace as practical activity. Only seven respondents, 11%, reported having a formal AI strategy. Twenty-seven, 41%, were developing one and 15, 23%, were planning one. Eleven had no strategy and six did not know whether one existed. Although 30 respondents agreed or strongly agreed that AI was a strategic priority for their organisation, only eight described adoption as actively championed by the executive team.
The overall picture is neither one of inactivity nor widespread maturity. The responses show practical activity across much of the respondent base, but organisation-wide adoption remains limited. AI is being used by different teams, for a growing range of tasks and through platforms already familiar to colleagues. The next challenge is to connect this activity through clearer strategy, organisational support and a more coordinated approach to adoption.