Rentals.ca survey finds AI adoption now mainstream among active renters across the country
Nearly three in 10 Canadians actively searching for a rental are now using artificial intelligence tools to navigate that process, and most of them say it helps.
Rentals.ca's Spring 2026 Renter Preference Survey, conducted between May 5 and June 14, among 1,194 active renters across Canada, found that 28.5% of respondents had turned to AI tools such as ChatGPT or Google Gemini at some point during their apartment search.
Of those 340 users, 72.6% found the experience helpful. The 70.9% majority have yet to try AI-assisted searching, but at close to 30% adoption among active renters, the behaviour has moved well beyond early-adopter territory.
For mortgage brokers, the pattern is worth tracking. A significant share of today's renters are prospective first-time buyers, and the tools shaping how they research housing are likely to carry into how they approach financing decisions.
Brokers keeping pace with housing affordability trends and rental market conditions across Canada may increasingly encounter clients who arrive at the mortgage conversation already armed with AI-generated neighbourhood comparisons and affordability estimates.
What renters are doing with AI
Among the 340 respondents who reported using AI, applications spanned the full arc of the rental search process.
Finding listings or researching neighbourhoods was the most common use at 57.7%, followed by comparing rental prices across markets at 45.5%.
Understanding lease terms and provincial tenancy rules attracted 40.2% of users, an indication that renters are treating AI as an accessible, on-demand guide to legal complexity.
Getting budgeting and affordability advice accounted for 38.1%, while drafting messages to landlords drew 33.3%.
In a competitive market, applicants are using AI to present themselves more professionally. Discussions about how Canadians are navigating digital tools and payment security risks continue to grow, the degree to which AI-assisted content is entering the borrower funnel is a dynamic the industry will need to account for.
Who is and isn't adopting
The 25–34 cohort leads adoption at 35.5%, but the generational divide is narrower than the AI narrative would suggest. Renters aged 65 and over reported AI usage at 22.8%, nearly identical to the 45–54 cohort at 22.5%.
Income predicts uptake more sharply: those earning $125,000 or more adopt at 37.9%, compared to 23.8% among renters earning under $25,000, the group that arguably faces the most acute affordability pressure.
Regionally, Toronto and Ontario lead at 29.9%, while Québec and Montréal trail at 22.7%, a gap Rentals.ca attributes partly to the predominantly English-language nature of major AI platforms.
Across all other markets, adoption is broadly consistent, with fewer than 8 percentage points separating the highest and lowest regional figures.
Meanwhile, Canadians searching for homes in the country's more affordable markets are the most likely to encounter real estate listings written by AI, according to a study by Originality.ai. Human-written ads averaged $3,037 per month versus $2,997 for likely AI-generated ones.
Brokers advising buyers would do well to encourage clients to read listings critically, verify property details in person, and consult directly with realtors on any claims that seem unusually polished or unusually vague.
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