We’ve all heard it before, the real estate industry is constantly changing. With technology playing an important role in lead generation and the way REALTORS® interact with their clients, it’s no surprise artificial intelligence (AI) could have huge implications on the industry.
As far as real estate is concerned, generative AI must be a focus of attention. Despite what most see as a threat, generative AI can be a productivity tool that helps enhance lead nurturing and generation. Examples of such platforms include ChatGPT and Google Cloud.
Five practical uses of generative AI in real estate
AI platforms, like ChatGPT and its alternatives, are not going to replace actual humans. We still need someone to provide an accurate prompt and add that human touch. So, how can REALTORS® use generative AI to their advantage?
Here are five useful scenarios:
1. Customer support
We all know customer support can be a labour intensive and time-consuming. Many real estate professionals are a one-person business, but they may find the need to hire someone for these administrative type of tasks. Generative AI in the form of well-trained chatbots can save hundreds of hours, dollars, and of course potential leads.
2. Property descriptions
Property listings are an important part of a real estate professional’s business. Without a clear description and quality images, properties can be hard to present and sell. Writing unique descriptions of properties can now be outsourced to generative AI and save you time. Of course, you should also double check that the AI generated description makes sense, includes keywords, and engages readers before adding it to your local board’s MLS® System.
3. Market data
All real estate is local. For this reason, market activity can fluctuate, property and sales trends can shift, and values are constantly changing. AI can use market analysis and reports to provide valuable insights that help both salespeople and buyers make better decisions.
4. Email marketing
Salespeople and brokers work with multiple leads and contacts. Email marketing can be an effective tool for lead nurturing and conversion for REALTORS®. However, deciding on the content and flow of emails can be an arduous task. You can now easily prompt ChatGPT, or another AI platform, to write a series of emails with follow ups and calls to action (CTAs). You can then simply feed these into your customer relationship management system (CRM) or any other email marketing system you’re using.
5. Virtual tours
Virtual tours are an amazing way for real estate professionals to provide quality service to clients without having to physically be in the property. With a few prompts and inputs, AI-based virtual tour systems can now create a virtual tour and optimize it based on your needs.
Things to consider before using AI
Just like any other tool, generative AI is not free from limitations. It’s helpful to review these before deciding to incorporate AI into your business. Here are some of the most important considerations:
Data quality and bias
AI depends highly on input data. You need to make sure the generated responses align with your business goals and ethics.
Privacy and transparency
Another very important caveat is data privacy. As a real estate salesperson or broker, you often have access to personal information and confidential business intelligence. Your use of AI should be carefully monitored and disclaimed if needed.
Human oversight
Generative AI is primarily used to produce content that helps you save time and manual work. However, it’s a machine, and the responses are often generic and can lack human touch. You’ll always need to review and revise the output to reach a perfect result.
Free vs. Enterprise tools
When you use a free version of tools like ChatGPT it relies on input data to generate output material. Always be cautious of entering sensitive data, such as proprietary or client information, into free versions of AI tools. When you use paid enterprise versions, you have more control over data security.
What to expect next?
In the future, we can expect generative AI to be more focused and better at bridging the gap between generic and human-like output. At the end of the day, these are tools at your disposal. How you use them will define the way they impact your business.
