Avison Young picks CGI for AI managed services boost
Avison Young has selected CGI to provide AI-enabled managed services, expanding an existing strategic partnership between the two companies.
Under the agreement, CGI will support the commercial real estate adviser's digital platforms as Avison Young modernises its technology base. The work is intended to improve operational performance and give the company greater insight and scale across its digital environment.
The partnership is reciprocal. Alongside CGI's technology role, Avison Young will continue to provide integrated real estate advisory and workplace services for CGI's global workplace portfolio in more than 30 countries, aligned with the company's operational and workplace requirements.
The deal brings together a large IT and consulting group and a private real estate adviser at a time when both sectors are placing greater emphasis on digital operations and workplace strategy. For Avison Young, it links technology management more closely to its wider business model. CGI, meanwhile, will rely on Avison Young's external expertise for property and workplace services.
CGI, which reported fiscal 2025 revenue of CAD $15.91 billion, said the engagement will use AI within its managed services work for Avison Young. The companies positioned the agreement as part of a broader effort to make Avison Young's digital systems more reliable and responsive to client and market demands.
That emphasis reflects a wider shift among service businesses seeking to apply AI in day-to-day operations rather than limiting it to pilot projects. Managed services providers increasingly present AI tools as a way to improve system visibility, automate routine support tasks and help clients adapt more quickly to changing market conditions.
For real estate groups, this comes as clients demand closer links between advisory work, workplace planning and the digital systems that support tenant, investor and occupier services. Companies in the sector are also adjusting to changing office use patterns, rising expectations around data and the need to run international operations more consistently.
Michael Godin, President of CGI Canada, said the engagement reflects those changes.
"As organizations navigate rapid change in both digital platforms and workplace models, AI-enabled managed services are becoming essential to driving resilience and performance," he said. "Through this engagement, CGI is helping Avison Young enhance its digital foundation with secure, scalable capabilities that deliver operational insight, adaptability and long-term business value."
Avison Young described the selection of CGI as the next step in a relationship that already included workplace and property services. It said the agreement will support the next phase of its digital transformation while formalising service delivery between the two organisations.
Martin Jepil, Chief Information Officer at Avison Young, said the company views the agreement as an extension of an established relationship.
"Our selection of CGI builds on a strong existing relationship and supports the next phase of our digital transformation," he said. "CGI's experience in delivering AI-enabled managed services helps us strengthen our technology foundation while continuing to innovate how we deliver real estate and workplace solutions to our clients. We also could not be more thrilled to support CGI in furthering its workplace strategy."
The broader partnership is intended to help Avison Young deliver more consistent and secure digital services to clients, while supporting CGI's workplace strategy and day-to-day operational needs across its international estate.
CGI employs 94,000 consultants and professionals globally, while Avison Young is a private company focused on real estate advisory and workplace services. The expanded relationship now connects those areas more directly, with CGI handling managed technology services for Avison Young and Avison Young continuing to manage workplace and property support for CGI in more than 30 countries.