# AI in surveying, property and construction: the RICS standard in practice

*What the mandatory standard asks of a firm and of a surveyor, register by register and report by report.*

## Production summary

- Modules to record: 2
- Total script: 804 words, about 5 minutes of finished audio
- Voices: Emma (host) and George (practice educator)
- Level: Surveyors, valuers, estate and property managers, construction professionals and practice managers

## Accreditation wording that must appear in the description

- **The CPD Certification Service** (planned): Application scheduled.
- **RICS professional standard: Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice** (aligned): Written against the first edition of the standard, effective 9 March 2026. Our own mapping, with no endorsement from RICS implied.

> Do not upgrade any of these words in a description or a thumbnail. Aligned is not accredited, and planned is not approved.


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## The standard and your firm: knowledge, registers and suppliers

**Runtime** about 3 minutes. **Words** 425. **Starts at** 00:00 in the full course recording.

### Learning outcomes to state on camera

- State when the standard took effect and who it binds
- Decide whether an output has a material impact
- List what the AI register and the risk register must contain
- State the rule on uploading confidential data
- Carry out due diligence on a supplier

### Script


`[CUE 1]` *A standard dated 9 March 2026 stamped mandatory, with a globe behind it*

**EMMA**  [00:00]
George, my firm's started using an AI tool to summarise leases. Someone said RICS now has rules about that.

**GEORGE**  [00:07]
It does. A professional standard called Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice. It's been in effect since 9 March 2026 and it's mandatory, for every member and every regulated firm, in every country.

**EMMA**  [00:21]
Is it against AI?

**GEORGE**  [00:23]
No. It's supportive. But it puts the skill of the surveyor at the centre. AI assists professional practice. It doesn't replace it. And the surveyor remains accountable for every piece of advice.


`[CUE 2]` *Two outputs side by side: a diary tidied, and a lease summary feeding a report marked material*

**EMMA**  [00:36]
Does it apply to everything? I use a tool to sort my diary.

**GEORGE**  [00:41]
It applies to outputs that have a material impact on the delivery of the surveying service. Your diary doesn't. Your lease summary does, if you rely on it when you write the report.

**EMMA**  [00:54]
How do I judge material?

**GEORGE**  [00:56]
Ask whether the output is capable of influencing the service. Could it change what the client is told? If you decide it's material, you must make a record of that decision and your reasoning.


`[CUE 3]` *A client file at a gate with two keys: written consent in advance, and an acceptable risk*

**EMMA**  [01:10]
What do I personally need to know?

**GEORGE**  [01:12]
A basic understanding of four things. The types of AI system and how they fail. The risk of erroneous output. The inherent risk of bias. And data usage and data risks.

**EMMA**  [01:25]
Can I upload the client's lease?

**GEORGE**  [01:27]
Firms must refrain from uploading private and confidential data, except where two things are true. There's express written consent in advance from the people affected. And the firm has satisfied itself that the upload doesn't pose an unacceptable risk.


`[CUE 4]` *Three documents: an AI register, a responsible use policy and a risk register with a quarterly calendar*

**EMMA**  [01:43]
Both.

**GEORGE**  [01:43]
Both. Not one.

**EMMA**  [01:44]
What paperwork does the firm need?

**GEORGE**  [01:47]
Three things. A written register of each AI system. What it is, what it's used for, the date it was first used, and the date it'll next be reviewed.


`[CUE 5]` *A written request to a supplier with six questions, one answered and five blank, the blanks moving into the risk register*

**EMMA**  [01:58]
Second.

**GEORGE**  [01:59]
A responsible use policy. Who's responsible for what, training at least once a year, and how human judgement interacts with the tool.

**EMMA**  [02:08]
And third.

**GEORGE**  [02:08]
A risk register. Bias, erroneous outputs, what you don't know about the system, and what happens to the data you put in. Each risk rated red, amber or green. And it must be reviewed at least quarterly.

**EMMA**  [02:23]
Quarterly. That's more often than I expected.

**GEORGE**  [02:26]
It is. And before you buy a tool, there's due diligence. You ask the supplier in writing about training data, known bias, data law, environmental impact and their liability. You record what comes back.

**EMMA**  [02:40]
And if they won't answer?

**GEORGE**  [02:42]
Then the risk of the missing information goes into your risk register. Silence from a supplier is itself a finding.

### Sources for the on screen credit

- Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice, 1st edition (September 2025), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- RICS' first ever standard on responsible AI use now in effect, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- Guidance on AI and data protection, Information Commissioner's Office

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## Relying on an output, and telling the client

**Runtime** about 3 minutes. **Words** 379. **Starts at** 02:50 in the full course recording.

### Learning outcomes to state on camera

- Write a decision on the reliability of an output
- Say who must take responsibility for that decision
- Use dip sampling where outputs are automated or high in volume
- Tell a client in writing, in advance
- Answer a client's request for an explanation

### Script


`[CUE 1]` *A written reliability decision with four headings and a conclusion line at the foot*

**EMMA**  [02:50]
George, the tool's given me a lease summary and it looks right. Can I just use it?

**GEORGE**  [02:56]
Not on looks. The standard says you must apply professional judgement to decide on the reliability of the output, and you must document that decision in writing.

**EMMA**  [03:07]
What counts as professional judgement?

**GEORGE**  [03:09]
Four things. Knowledge, skills, experience and professional scepticism. Scepticism is in the definition. You're expected to doubt it before you rely on it.


`[CUE 2]` *A named surveyor's signature beside the decision, with a team and a machine crossed out*

**EMMA**  [03:18]
What goes in the written decision?

**GEORGE**  [03:21]
Any assumptions you made. Your key concerns about reliability, including the data underneath. The reason for each concern. Whether anything could lessen it. And a conclusion.

**EMMA**  [03:31]
What sort of conclusion?

**GEORGE**  [03:33]
A statement of whether the output can reasonably be used for its intended purpose.


`[CUE 3]` *A stream of automated valuations with a few picked at random for checking*

**EMMA**  [03:38]
Who signs it?

**GEORGE**  [03:40]
It must be prepared by, or under the supervision of, an appropriately qualified and named surveyor who accepts responsibility. A person. Not a team and not a system.

**EMMA**  [03:51]
And if my conclusion is no?

**GEORGE**  [03:53]
Then you tell the client in writing, with your reasoning or a summary of it.


`[CUE 4]` *A letter to a client sent before the work begins, saying when and why AI will be used*

**EMMA**  [03:59]
We run thousands of automated valuations. I can't write a decision for each.

**GEORGE**  [04:04]
You're not asked to. For automated or high volume outputs, the standard says that isn't proportionate. But you remain accountable for each one. So you must undertake randomised dip samples at regular intervals.

**EMMA**  [04:18]
Why randomised?

**GEORGE**  [04:18]
Because checking only the ones that look odd tells you nothing about the ones that look fine.


`[CUE 5]` *A client's request answered from three files already on the shelf: register, due diligence, decisions*

**EMMA**  [04:25]
Does the client need to know any of this?

**GEORGE**  [04:29]
Yes. In writing and in advance. When AI is to be used, and for what purpose.

**EMMA**  [04:35]
And in the terms of engagement?

**GEORGE**  [04:38]
When AI will be involved and in which parts of the process. The extent of your professional indemnity cover for AI use, if available. How to contest its use. How to seek redress. And how to opt out, if at all.

**EMMA**  [04:54]
What if a client asks how the tool works?

**GEORGE**  [04:58]
On request, you must be able to give written information. The type of system. How it works and its limits. Your due diligence. How you manage the risks. And your decisions on reliability.

**EMMA**  [05:11]
That's a lot to produce.

**GEORGE**  [05:13]
It's everything you've already kept. A firm with its register, its due diligence and its decisions can answer in an afternoon.

### Sources for the on screen credit

- Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice, 1st edition (September 2025), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- RICS' first ever standard on responsible AI use now in effect, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

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