What Are the Legal Risks of Using AI in Florida Real Estate? Florida Realtors' Webinar, in Brief

ORLANDO · November 4, 2026

You are responsible for everything your AI tool produces. That was the core message of a Florida Realtors webinar on AI and legal risk, presented by attorney Timothy Shields, one of the association's outside counsel. Florida has no AI-specific statute yet, he said. Existing laws on advertising, fair housing, data privacy and deceptive practices already apply to AI output.

AI Fills Gaps With Confident Guesses

Shields called "hallucination" a misleading word. An AI tool generates text, so when facts are missing, it fills the gap with something that sounds right. His example: a listing description that turned a two-bedroom home into a three-bedroom.

He compared AI to a 16-year-old driver: very confident, short on skill. His advice is to treat every output as a first draft. He said no AI tool has given him a fully accurate document on the first, second or third try.

He also flagged contract summaries as the highest-risk use. A summary can drop a material term, and an agent who is not an attorney may not notice.

Your Brokerage Needs a Written AI Policy

Without a written policy, Shields said, "your governance policy is we can use whatever we want." His one-page policy covers:

• Who the policy applies to
• Approved tools and prohibited tools
• How a new tool gets reviewed
• What each tool may be used for
• How to report an incident
• Human review before anything is published

The question is rarely which tool. It is what you use it for. A photo editor is fine for lighting. It is not fine for removing water stains from a ceiling.

Photos, Descriptions and Fair Housing

AI-edited listing photos are among the biggest risks, Shields said. He described an AI redesign of his own room that added a window that does not exist.

His test: if a buyer compared the photo to the property, would they recognize the same place? He recommends keeping both the original and the edited photo. The most cautious approach is to label edited images "AI-edited."

AI-written descriptions can also slip in coded language that violates the Fair Housing Act. The fair housing rules did not change because a tool wrote the words.

Keep Sensitive Client Data Out

Free AI tools are probably not right for business use, Shields said, because "your data is probably the product." An enterprise tool is the better choice.

In any tool, he said, never enter information that would trigger a breach notice under Florida law. That includes Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, health information and bank account numbers.

He is also cautious about AI meeting note-takers. They can create an inaccurate record, or capture a comment about someone who later reads the transcript.

Wire Fraud Now Runs on AI Too

Criminals use the same AI tools to build fake profiles and target victims. Real estate is a prime target, Shields said, because buyers wire large sums to people they have never met.

In one closing he described, a hacker opened the closing instructions on an assistant's computer and changed the wire instructions. When the buyer called to confirm, the coordinator read the numbers from that same altered document. The firm recovered part of nearly $1 million and lost $250,000.

Insurance Has Not Caught Up

True AI liability policies barely exist yet, Shields said. For now, AI mistakes flow through general liability, cyber and errors and omissions (E&O) coverage. He expects insurers to start excluding AI from E&O first. Ask about AI at your next renewal and check your cyber limits.

Related: Can You Upload Your Florida Contract Forms to AI?

What This Means for Your File

We work the same way Shields described: tech-enabled, human-reviewed. AI gives us a first draft, and a TC reviews every flag before anything reaches you. We never send wire instructions, and we never confirm a wire from a document. This week, write your one-page AI policy with the six points above. Then add one line for your team: confirm wire instructions only by calling the title company at a number you looked up yourself.

🛡 SAFEGUARD YOUR LICENSE · This is how HTC operates. Your broker's license, your reputation, and your client's transaction depend on the TC honoring these boundaries. That's why we do this the way we do — every file, every time.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Florida have a law about using AI in real estate?

Not a specific one yet, according to Shields. Existing Florida and federal laws on advertising, deceptive practices, fair housing and data privacy already apply to AI output.

Can I use AI to edit listing photos?

Yes, for things like lighting. Shields warned against edits that hide defects or change what the property looks like. Keep the original photo, and consider labeling edited images.

Is a paid AI account safe for client documents?

Shields said settings that stop the tool from training on your data are the right start. What matters next is what you use the data for. Never enter Social Security, ID, health or bank information.