Ware machine ...
- Dec 17, 2025
- 2 min read
Much is being written about the impact AI might have on office space, but not so much on how this new intelligence might affect the industrial sector.
In 2020, researchers Steve Weikal and James Robert Scott, from MIT's Real Estate Innovation Lab, looked at this question in their report, The Evolution of the Warehouse: Trends in Technology, Design, Development and Delivery", which examined "how emerging building and logistics technologies were reshaping warehouse and distribution center development and operations.
That report, commissioned by the NAIOP Research Foundation, has now been updated given very "rapid advances in AI have since accelerated several of the trends observed in the earlier report." NAIOP commissioned this report to examine how AI is affecting industrial building development and shaping the technological systems within these buildings.
Some of the key findings and emerging trends identified were:
AI applications for commercial real estate aim to lower costs, shorten timelines and improve outcomes at several stages in the development process, from site selection to building design and interior buildouts.
Various AI platforms promise to increase the efficiency and output of warehouse and distribution facilities, helping occupiers optimize operational design, increase the productivity of warehouse management and automated systems, and field more advanced robotics.
Businesses do not need to make large investments in internal databases or specialized talent to use AI effectively. A range of companies now offer off-the-shelf AI products and services for the commercial real estate and logistics industries and to firms of all sizes.
Developers interested in building warehouses and distribution centers that can support AI-enabled automation such as advanced robotics should prepare for the additional infrastructure needed to support these systems. Typical requirements include additional power capacity and networking infrastructure, power redundancy and enhanced temperature control.
The net effect of AI on future demand for industrial space remains unclear. More effective automated marketing to consumers and businesses could boost e-commerce sales, but related demand growth could be offset by more efficient building layouts and supply chains.
