SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., October 28, 2026 – Artificial intelligence, hybrid work and changing employee expectations are beginning to reshape how businesses use physical office space. For organizations preparing for lease expirations, consolidations, expansions or relocations, those shifts could affect everything from furniture and floor plans to technology infrastructure and storage.
According to CBRE’s 2026 Americas Office Occupier Sentiment Survey, 23% of organizations say AI already influences their space-planning decisions, while another 30% expect a meaningful impact within the next two years.

The findings are reinforced by JLL’s latest global Future of Work research. Among more than 2,200 C-suite executives and corporate real estate leaders across 21 countries, 78% expect significant changes to real estate portfolio strategies and corporate real estate functions over the next three to five years.

Based on these trends, Capitol Relocation & Logistics has identified five considerations for businesses planning office moves in 2027.

Five AI-Driven Changes That Could Shape Office Relocations

1. Offices Could Become Easier to Reconfigure

Flexibility is emerging as one of the strongest workplace trends. CBRE found that 50% of organizations expect AI adoption to increase demand for multipurpose, reconfigurable space.
Rather than recreating fixed departmental layouts in a new building, companies may increasingly favor furniture and work areas that can adapt as teams, technologies, and workflows change.
Rather than recreating fixed departmental layouts in a new building, companies may increasingly favor furniture and work areas that can adapt as teams, technologies and workflows change.

2. Specialized Technology Spaces Could Become More Common

AI may also create demand for new types of workplace environments. CBRE reports that 30% of surveyed organizations anticipate greater demand for specialized AI-related spaces, including laboratories, innovation studios and training rooms.
These environments may incorporate specialized furniture, computing equipment, audiovisual systems and other infrastructure that require additional relocation planning.
“The practical focus should be on what the next workplace needs to support, not simply on recreating the previous office,” according to Capitol Relocation & Logistics.

3. Technology Could Become the Critical Path

Modern offices already depend heavily on technology, and increased AI adoption could deepen that reliance.
Servers, networking hardware, computers, displays, conference systems and specialized equipment can affect relocation sequencing, making coordination between physical workplace assets and technology infrastructure increasingly important.
Capitol’s commercial workplace and data center moving services support organizations coordinating office assets with sensitive technology equipment during a business relocation.

4. Storage Could Support Greater Workplace Flexibility

AI’s long-term impact on workforce size remains uncertain. CBRE found that 37% of organizations anticipate reduced headcount and space because of AI, even as larger percentages expect increased demand for reconfigurable environments.
That uncertainty raises a practical question for businesses with furniture and equipment they may not need immediately but could use again.
Warehousing can provide additional flexibility without requiring companies to keep unused assets inside costly office space. Capitol’s warehousing capabilities include short- and long-term storage options and inventory management for commercial assets.

5. Businesses May Move for Better Space, Not More Space

AI may also reinforce the commercial real estate trend toward higher-quality workplaces.
More than one-third of CBRE respondents, 36%, expect AI to increase the importance of higher-quality amenities and workplace experiences. CBRE also reports that nearly half of occupiers surveyed are actively pursuing relocation.
That suggests future moves may increasingly be driven by what an office can do rather than how many square feet it contains. Businesses could choose similarly sized or smaller properties that offer better technology, flexible layouts, collaboration areas, amenities or access to talent.

The Office Is Evolving Rather Than Disappearing

Current research does not point to a simple story of shrinking offices.
CBRE reports that 66% of organizations plan to maintain or expand their office space during the next three years. In the technology sector, 64% expect expansion, up from 41% in 2025.

Meanwhile, Cushman & Wakefield’s AI commercial real estate analysis estimates that, under its baseline scenario, AI could contribute approximately 330 million square feet of demand of additional U.S. commercial real estate demand over the next decade across office, industrial, retail and multifamily properties. The report notes that effects will vary significantly by property type and scenario.

For businesses considering a relocation in 2027, the central planning question may no longer be simply, “How much office space is needed?”

Increasingly, it may become, “What does the office need to do that it could not do before?”