AI: Designing Workspaces for the Future

Learn how AI is revolutionizing workplace design. Discover how organizations use AI to analyze space usage, optimize resources, and create employee-centric workspaces.

How does your workspace work for you? According to KPMG’s Global CEO survey, 83% of CEOs are planning a full return to the office within the next three years, so where we work matters. Many organizations are taking a fresh look at office space in light of a renewed focus on employee productivity and cost-conscious operations, using AI to play a leading role in office redesign. 

Organizations looking for cost-conscious ways to fuel innovation and growth could consider any new programs, policies, or technologies. However, AI is at the top of that list because it can accelerate workspace analysis and design, which has historically been an extremely time-consuming element of workplace management. 

What does that look like in practice? One of our customers knew that their office was stuck in a pre-pandemic layout that wasn’t supporting increased employee collaboration. Assuming there weren’t enough conference rooms, the company seriously considered leasing another floor. AI-powered analysis of their conference room booking data revealed that recurring meeting blocks were the issue; 40% of reserved spots went unused. The client implemented space booking automation that released rooms when attendees didn’t show, allowing others to use the space and avoiding new unnecessary leasing costs altogether.

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Making sense of workplace data

Real estate and workplace leaders are inundated with data on space usage from various sources. Badge swipes, Wi-Fi logs, and sensors reveal how employees interact with office space. Though every workforce is unique, capturing space utilization data and finding patterns within the data can help predict and better support employee usage patterns. For example, recognizing that meeting space is at capacity while a sea of desks is left vacant can be a powerful insight to guide decisions.

Examining all occupancy data sources is crucial to understanding how your office spaces are being used. This is also where analysis gets complex, but AI can expand facilities and workplace teams’ capabilities. Large language models (LLMs) can help non-technical domain experts gain some technical firepower so they don’t have to rely on their analyst team for every request. 

AI is empowering real estate and workplace leaders with actionable, data-driven insights to make smarter, faster decisions around:

• Attendance: understanding peak occupancy to optimize resources accordingly
• Shortages: identifying high-demand spaces to make adjustments to meet needs
• Bookings: reconciling booking data with actual space usage 
• Efficiency: examining space usage relative to capacity, revealing opportunities for redesign

One of the biggest opportunities AI presents for real estate and workplace leaders is the ability to anticipate changes to support employee needs or the shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. 

By identifying opportunities for improvement, AI can help leaders remain ahead of the curve by quickly capitalizing on optimization opportunities rather than responding once it’s reached the threshold of employee complaints. AI’s ability to quickly analyze large amounts of data gives leaders the advantage of time, allowing them to experiment with changes, measure the impact, and then reassess as appropriate. 

That was the case with a biotechnology customer examining and optimizing their workspace efficiency. Leveraging sensor data, the team systematically examined their conference room usage, enabling them to analyze usage patterns and refine the space design accordingly. The AI-driven analysis provided visibility into booking data at the building and floor levels mapped spaces. This yielded ROI in the form of reclaimed hours, helping the company streamline decision-making and adapt their workspaces dynamically.

Using AI to reach a decision faster means being able to experiment and iterate more with possible solutions.  From there, AI can also predict the outcomes and savings associated with each option. 

AI design: who can benefit 

What types of organizations benefit most from integrating AI into their real estate and workplace decision-making processes? The ROI is compelling for those already spending time, money, and effort collecting and analyzing occupancy data to make portfolio and space optimization decisions because the stakes are so high. The costs of wasted or inefficiently used space can be astronomical. 

AI can help organizations examine their workspace design to better align with employee needs and preferences and provide ideas to support the unique needs of employees returning to the office because of policy changes. Others leverage AI to identify efficiency gains or reduce operating expenses from cleaning, utilities, or maintenance to meet sustainability goals. And there are dozens of other use cases.

Large organizations comprise the majority of early adopters, but collectively, the data used for analysis benefits all organizations. We’ve published quarterly insights and noted important workspace trends based on data from over 200 global enterprises covering over 140M square feet of commercial real estate—offering a benchmark and guidance for others wanting to optimize their space usage.

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Finding the stories hidden within the data

Storytelling is integral to the space utilization conversation. Making a case for adding, removing, or renovating space requires data supporting the argument and spending. While analysts can supply data and charts, AI is helping them write crisp stories quickly, backed by actionable data that supports confident decision-making.

We advise workplace leaders just starting to dabble with AI to embrace it all. Use large language models (LLMs) to get familiar with the technology. Play around with ChatGPT or other readily available applications to figure out how to ask questions to get the desired results. Understanding the mindset of using AI and seeing its limitations is essential to increasing adoption and finding the right use cases for your team. 

AI presents a game-changer for workplace teams, transforming occupancy and space usage data into a clear, actionable story. With a source for proactive insights, workspace leaders are aligning space design and availability with employee needs, optimizing resources, enhancing the employee experience, and making their workspaces more future-proof.