This article is based on the Allwork.Space Future of Work Podcast episode How AI Transforms Coworking: From Operations to Experience with Carlos Almansa. Click here to watch or listen to the full episode.
When we spoke with Nexudus co-founder Carlos Almansa on The Allwork.Space Future of Work® Podcast, the conversation cut through the noise around AI and remote work and zeroed in on a practical question: what is actually changing inside coworking spaces as technology becomes more embedded in how they run?Â
Almansa spends his time inside the mechanics of thousands of workspaces, so his perspective comes from observing real behavior across markets rather than predicting trends from distance.
Across the discussion, one idea kept appearing in different forms: technology matters in coworking because it gives operators the time and clarity to stay close to their members.Â
Every example he shared, from analytics to artificial intelligence, pointed back to that operational reality.
Distributed Work Created a Permanent Role for Flex Space
Almansa described work becoming increasingly distributed. Organizations no longer plan around a fixed headcount in a single office; they plan for change. Teams grow, contract, and spread across locations, sometimes across continents.
Coworking became useful because it provides a ready operational layer for that uncertainty. Companies can place employees near where they live while still maintaining structure.Â
Nexudus itself uses coworking this way, with staff across multiple regions working from local spaces rather than one headquarters.
He noted that the core workspace products have barely changed over the years. Private offices, dedicated desks, and hot desks already existed a decade ago. What changed is adoption and scale.Â
Larger companies now occupy significant portions of buildings, and flexible seating accounts for a bigger share of inventory. Both enterprise presence and flexible usage increased together, which reflects how companies manage mixed work patterns rather than choosing one model.
The Value of Data Is Context
But companies can’t manage those work patterns if they can’t see them. Nexudus aggregates information from operators worldwide. Almansa explained that the point of collecting industry data is to help managers understand what their numbers mean.
Operators already have dashboards, but what they often lack is comparison and direction. When they see occupancy, pricing, or retention alongside broader patterns, they can decide whether to adjust marketing, pricing, or layout.
He emphasized that data supports decisions but should not replace judgment. The goal is clarity. For example, predicting meeting room demand becomes useful when tied to dynamic pricing, and engagement metrics matter when connected to retention actions.Â
Where AI Actually Fits Today
Almansa spoke carefully about artificial intelligence. He sees it as effective in clearly defined tasks rather than as a universal solution.
The most immediate impact appears in operations. Automated help desks already respond to large volumes of member questions using each workspace’s knowledge base. With well-structured information, systems can provide continuous support in multiple languages.
The next layer affects the member experience. Website assistants can answer pricing questions, explain services, and handle common requests instantly, reducing waiting time for prospective members.
A third application involves growth. Predictive insights help operators adjust pricing, understand capacity, and identify opportunities to expand.
He stressed that results depend on the quality of the process behind the technology. Automating a messy workflow simply accelerates confusion. Operators benefit most when they define the process first and apply AI afterward. Secure implementation also matters because the tools evolve quickly.
Automation Exists So Staff Can Be Present
Coworking has always depended on relationships between members. Informal conversations often lead to collaboration between people who would never otherwise meet. Community should be a core value of a workspace — rather than a feature that can be packaged separately.
That perspective explains why technology adoption in coworking often aims at background tasks first. As spaces grow, administrative work grows with them. Without software, staff spend most of their day managing bookings, invoices, and messages. Operators want efficiency in the administrative layer so they can remain visible in the human layer.
An Industry That Keeps Evolving
Looking back over more than a decade of data, Almansa sees consolidation rather than reinvention. Early ideas like corporate coworking matured and scaled. Membership tenure increased, and operators expanded into multi-country networks to serve mobile teams.
Despite that maturity, he still considers the industry early in its development because each new technology introduces new operating methods. Artificial intelligence now represents the next phase of experimentation, especially around experience and engagement.
The Practical Lesson
Coworking works because it combines operational structure with personal interaction. Software handles coordination, data provides awareness, and staff focus on relationships.
Almansa described what operators are already doing daily across thousands of locations. The pattern is consistent: the more routine work technology absorbs, the more attention teams can give to the people inside the space.
That balance explains why flexible work environments continue to expand across both small teams and large enterprises. They provide infrastructure for distributed work while preserving the social interaction that makes workplaces productive in the first place.
