AI

Question 1

Are you aware of any documents published by the RICS relating to AI?

Answer 1

The professional standard ‘Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice, 1st Edition’.
Effective from 9th March 2026.

Question 2

Please provide an overview of the professional standard ‘Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice 1st edition’

Answer 2

Sets baseline standards for RICS members and firms using AI systems in their work. Basis of responsible use and development of AI systems.

Question 3

What knowledge must RICS members have before using AI in surveying services?

Answer 3

Basic understanding of the types & subsets of AI, their limitations and failure models.
The risk of errors.
Inherent risk of bias due the data that trained it.
Data usage and the risks relevant to AI systems e.g. if trained using poor data will give inaccurate outputs.

Question 4

What does ‘material impact’ mean in the context of AI?

Answer 4

An output has a material impact if the use of AI is capable of influencing the the delivery of a service. Such as outputs summarising documents that are then relied upon when writing a report.

Question 5

What must a member do if AI has a material impact on service delivery?

Answer 5

They must make a written record of that determination and the reason for it.

Question 6

What are the data governance requirements for a firm using AI?

Answer 6

• Secure storage
• Restricting access
• Annual staff training
• Anonymising data
• Avoiding uploading confidential data unless written consent obtained and risks verified as acceptable

Question 7

What must be recorded before using any AI system with material impact?

Answer 7

• Type of surveying service
• Nature of the task
• Alternative tools
• Environmental impact
• Stakeholder impacts
• Data risks
• Risk of erroneous or bias output and consequences

Question 8

What must a written decision on AI output reliability include?

Answer 8

• Assumptions made
• Key concerns and reasons
• How concerns might be reduced
• Impact on overall reliability
• Whether the output can reasonably be used for its intended purpose
• Prepared under the supervision of a qualified surveyor

Question 9

When must clients be informed that an AI output cannot be relied upon?

Answer 9

If the member determines the output cannot be used for its purpose, they must inform the client in writing, with reasoning or a summary.

Question 10

What must be disclosed to clients before using AI?

Answer 10

• When AI will be used
• Parts of the process AI will be involved in

Question 11

What AI related information must be included in the terms of engagement?

Answer 11

• When and where AI is used
• Professional indemnity cover
• How to contest the use of AI
• Redress process
• How to opt out of AI use, if possible

Question 12

What information must a firm provide to a client who requests explainability?

Answer 12

• Type of AI used
• Basic working principles and limitations
• Due diligence conducted
• Risk identification and management
• Reliability decisions