By: Ben Mitchel

Artificial intelligence has moved from the periphery of innovation to the center of modern life. Conversations with ChatGPT have replaced late-night Google and YouTube rabbit holes, Microsoft Copilot offers the advice once reserved for family, and Perplexity AI has turned recipe books into relics.

What was once futuristic is now fundamental, and the ways that we think, work and build are changing.

It is hardly a surprise that many industries are racing to figure out the best way to layer AI into their systems and practices, with the end goal of minimizing operational drag and maximizing profitability. The real estate development space is one such industry that has quickly been swept up in the AI craze. By way of just a couple of examples, AI is already changing the way that developers approach the permitting process and analyze prospective sites.

While we are still in the proverbial early innings of the AI boom, savvy developers are already tracking the latest trends and emerging technologies. This article highlights a few areas where the effects of AI are already starting to be seen.

Permitting and Site Analysis

Traditionally, the permitting process has been a time-consuming, paper-heavy endeavor for developers: Applicants submit plans that are then manually reviewed by multiple departments (building, zoning, fire, environmental, utilities), often leading to weeks or months of back-and-forth and resubmissions before critical issues are identified and plans are approved. This expensive, complicated procedure is far overdue for a makeover. Enter, AI.

Blitz Permits Inc. is an early mover in the AI permitting space, and developers and practitioners alike should be tracking the programs designed by companies like Blitz to understand the emerging regulatory landscape within which they will have to practice.

Founded in 2022, Blitz describes its mission as “revolutionizing local government operations through AI technology.” The company offers a software-as-a-service platform tailored for local codes and processes. In June 2025, the city of Naples, Florida, announced that it had partnered with Blitz to automate its residential and commercial building plan reviews.

The new Naples-Blitz permitting process, which is expected to take up to 18 months to officially launch, is designed to dramatically reduce the time and expense associated with the permitting process. The Blitz AI engine possesses a complete and dynamic understanding of the Florida Building Code and applicable ordinances, allowing it to instantly analyze submitted plans, highlight any areas of noncompliance, suggest remedies, and generally cut down on processing times and costs.

Use of the Blitz AI — and other similar AI tools and programs — should also increase public confidence in the fairness of the permitting process, because the system removes many subjective elements and applies the same standards and rules to every permit application, regardless of the applicant.

Many up-and-coming companies also use AI to synthesize zoning data, market information and site-specific development parameters. In much the same way that Blitz is reshaping the permit-review workflow, these companies are giving developers a clearer understanding of what can be built on a given parcel long before plans are drafted. Tools like these will help developers to avoid costly false starts, particularly in jurisdictions where zoning codes are dense or fragmented.

Looking ahead, similar AI-based permitting and site analysis systems are likely to proliferate across Florida and beyond. It will be important for developers that are seeking to leverage these tools to become well versed in these systems to maximize the available gains in speed and efficiency. Developers that do so stand to gain faster access to approvals, fewer surprises during development and more predictable project timelines.

Disclosures

As AI products and services continue to flood the marketplace, there will be a corresponding push for increased disclosure so that consumers and companies know when AI is being used.

For example, there are already legislative efforts in Florida — notably, S.B. 1680 as codified in Chapter 2024-118 of the Laws of Florida — that would require disclosures when AI-generated content is used, introduce transparency standards and obligations for state agencies, and align AI notice laws with existing consumer protection frameworks.

The intersection between transparency laws and state agencies will be particularly interesting in Florida, given the robust public disclosure requirements of the state’s Government in the Sunshine Law.

When AI tools assist in drafting staff reports or recommendations, there will likely be a question about whether that output constitutes a “public record” under Chapter 119 of the Florida Statutes. There would also be questions regarding what the retention and disclosure obligations would be in such a situation.

More broadly, disclosure issues can and will extend beyond public records.

Litigation brought pursuant to consumer protection frameworks, such as the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, may come into play if AI-driven output misleads clients, tenants or investors. Moreover, vendors offering AI tools will need to ensure that their training data is documented and that they can support requests for transparency.

For developers working with municipalities or third-party vendors, best practices include building standard contractual language that mandates disclosure of the use of any AI tools, establishes audit rights and addresses liability for erroneous AI-generated results.

Lessons from Parallel Industries

It will also be important for developers seeking to stay on the cutting edge to monitor the nature and extent to which AI infiltrates other industries.

By way of one (admittedly author-centric) example, it seems every other week there is a news story about a less-than-scrupulous attorney using some kind of AI search engine to conduct research and draft briefs at light speed — only to be sanctioned for using hallucinated, nonexistent cases and otherwise failing to uphold the ethical standards of the bar.

In light of the notoriety gained by these stories, individual courts are beginning to promulgate their own local AI rules to govern. In the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, a December 2024 uniform case management order requires attorneys to disclose on the face of any filing if AI was used to produce it, and to certify that they have personally reviewed and verified the accuracy of all contents in the document.

Other issues include the safeguarding of confidential client information in the age of AI, which was addressed in a January 2024 advisory opinion from the Florida Bar on the use of generative AI in the legal practice.

Developers would be wise to pay attention to these developments outside their own lane, because the guardrails emerging in the legal profession are usually a preview of what’s coming for other regulated industries. If courts are already building frameworks to police how lawyers use AI, it is not hard to imagine building departments, planning boards and state agencies doing the same.

The lessons from the legal field are instructive: Transparency requirements, accuracy certifications and data-handling safeguards are not theoretical talking points, but rather are quickly becoming baseline expectations.

Conclusion

New frontiers always bring a mix of opportunity and uncertainty, and AI is no different. Forward-thinking firms will look inward and identify where these tools can streamline their own operations, from feasibility analysis to compliance tracking.

AI is not replacing the fundamentals of the development process, but it is reshaping the pace at which that process moves, and those who adapt early are the ones most likely to benefit the most from the shift.

Originally published by Law360.