Guides
What the RICS AI standard asks of a small practice
Checked 9 November 2026 against the pages linked in the text. This is a reading of those public sources for a buyer. It is not legal advice, and it is not your regulator's rule unless the paragraph says so.
The same things it asks of any other practice. The RICS professional standard, Responsible use of artificial intelligence in surveying practice (1st edition, September 2025, effective 9 March 2026), does not set a size threshold. It applies to RICS members and RICS-regulated firms where an AI output has a material impact on the delivery of the surveying service. A small practice that meets that test is in scope. A member who never uses AI for the service is not dragged in by the mere existence of the document.
When does a small job become "material"?
Section 1.2, printed page 5, says you look at whether the output can influence delivery of the service and, if it can, what sort of influence it has on the facts of that job. RICS gives examples of material outputs: a summary of documents that is then relied on when writing a report, an output that composes all or a significant part of an opinion, and an output that recommends which part of a building to investigate. If you decide your use will have a material impact, you must record that decision and the reasoning. The public PDF is on the RICS website.
What must the surveyor know?
Section 2, printed page 6, says members who use AI to deliver surveying services must develop and maintain enough knowledge for responsible use. As a minimum that means a basic understanding of the types of system and how they fail, the risk of erroneous output, the risk of bias, and the data risks. A small practice does not get a shorter list.
What must the firm have on paper?
Section 3 is aimed at RICS-regulated firms. Section 3.1, printed page 7, says private and confidential data must be safeguarded, and must not be uploaded to an AI system unless there is express written consent in advance from the people affected and the firm has taken reasonable steps on the risk. Section 3.2, printed pages 7 to 9, requires a written assessment of whether AI is the right tool, a written register of material systems (what it is, why it is used, when it started, when it will be reviewed), and policies covering roles, training at least once a year, how a human checks the output, and how staff identify risk. Section 3.3, printed page 9, requires a risk register, reviewed and updated at least quarterly, covering bias, erroneous output, gaps in what you know about the system, and what happens to data you put in.
What must happen to the output?
Section 4.2, printed pages 10 to 11, says professional judgement (knowledge, skills, experience and professional scepticism) must be applied to a material output, and a written decision must say whether it can reasonably be used for the purpose. The note is prepared by, or under the supervision of, an appropriately qualified and named surveyor who accepts responsibility. If you decide it cannot be used, you must tell the client in writing, with the reasoning or a summary of it. Where you automate a high volume of outputs, you do not have to write that note for every single one, but you must take randomised dip samples at regular intervals, and you remain accountable for each output. Section 4.3, printed page 12, says clients must be told in writing, before you use the system, when and for what purpose AI will be used. The terms of engagement have to cover the items the section lists, including how a client can opt out if opting out is available at all. Section 4.4 says the firm must be able to explain, on request, the type of system, its limits, the due diligence, the risks and the reliability decision.
What a small practice can do with that list
The list is a practice-management list, which is why a sole practitioner or a five-person firm can work through it without inventing a department. One register, one policy, one named surveyor, a quarterly diary entry, and a sentence in the terms of engagement will map onto the headings above. None of that is optional where the standard says "must", and none of it is waived because the instruction is a house survey rather than a portfolio.
The RICS pack page describes the published offer that helps a practice build the register, the client wording, the tool checklist and a half day of staff training. It starts from £1,950. If you are not an RICS member and not an RICS-regulated firm, this standard is not your rule. The client-data guide is the closer starting point.