Throughout human history, great technological advancements have simultaneously bred excitement and fear as they fundamentally change the way we work and live. Think of calculators or computers, the internet or email. With the commercialization of each technological advancement, the benefit of saving countless hours of work led people to wonder if humans might be needed less if all in countless areas. At each turn, while transformative and often requiring the learning of new skills, these tools proved to unleash human capability rather than supplant it. 

Today, the watershed advancement is Artificial Intelligence (AI) — specifically, the broadening of the use of large language models (LLMs) through platforms like ChatGPT or Bard, allows us to ask questions and receive answers conversationally, synthesizing the vast amounts of information available on the internet and “thinking” through the question(s) we are asking in formulating its answer. These LLMs and the use of tools like ChatGPT will touch every aspect of our lives and fundamentally change how those of us in the real estate industry interact with our customers, run our businesses, and collaborate. For real estate professionals, we are at the doorway to the ‘10X Team.’ 

Making the Connection Between The ‘10X Team’ and AI

The concept of a ‘10X Team’ comes from a decades-old management theory proposing that one engineer could realize 10-times their productivity level using better management techniques. Putting aside whether the theory was ever proven, the development and commercialization of AI tools are the greatest step forward toward this quantum leap in productivity — not just for engineers but for a wide variety of industries including real estate.

At its core, AI is using computers to do things previously thought to require human intelligence or judgment. The “intelligence” of the computer is derived from the use of neural networks, which is basically a method of teaching computers that mimic the way humans learn. In reality, the system is not so much “thinking” as it is “predicting” through complex algorithms and the review of massive amounts of data. Like humans, over time the computer’s learning builds upon itself and it increasingly “thinks” based upon what it has learned. 

10X Real Estate

More than ever in the real estate industry, size matters. Larger companies having integrated services will allow deeper connectivity. This connectivity will immediately yield benefits for the agent as the use of AI by agents — as well as behind the scenes by brokerage, title and other affiliated services — will allow for faster, effortless and seamless service delivery. 

The Agent

For an agent’s business to thrive they must first and foremost: sell, sell, sell. Unfortunately, much of an agent’s job occupies their time, keeping them from their most important function. This is where AI has the potential to fundamentally change the way agents do business. 

Prospecting

Using AI-powered tools, agents will go from a “spray and pray” approach to marketing to a hyper-focused, custom-marketed approach tailored to sellers or buyers. Buyers and sellers have certain characteristics that AI utilizes to predict where they might be in their homeownership  journey. With predictive analytics, AI can assess the probability that a prospect is on that journey and communicate the information to an agent in real time. The AI tools will also be able to take direction from the agent regarding what to do with a potential prospect based upon where they fall on the predictive sale, and the AI — either using ChatGPT-like bots or otherwise — can take the next steps as directed by the agent. Essentially, the not-so-distant potential for an agent in a truly AI-empowered environment.

While the full measure of AI tools are in the earliest stages of development, there are early platforms that provide valuable tools that an agent can immediately use to increase productivity and visibility. For example, Realty Ninja is a free, AI-powered platform that allows an agent to create fantastic websites with no technical web-design expertise.  

Listing and Transaction Management

Most agents would benefit from having an assistant to handle the repetitive tasks that require accuracy, like keeping track of dates and keeping documents updated. With the help of AI-powered tools, agents will be able to employ a “virtual assistant” in the true sense of the word that will be able to take direction, execute tasks and even work on things on an ongoing basis with the use of Auto-GPTs that will allow something like ChatGPT to interact with other platforms to execute on more complex, multi-step or ongoing tasks. 

Also, in the early stages is listingflow.ai, which is designed to allow an agent to create listings and to help you find prospects for the homes you’ve listed.  

Customer Support

In conjunction with an agent’s email, AI-powered tools could manage that ever-growing inbox and proactively respond to emails. Additionally, rather than the agent having to reach out to the title company or mortgage company, an AI-powered assistant—or back end, AI-powered connectivity—could give real-time updates and provide real-time support in a form that is easy for the customer and the agent. 

Title, Mortgage, and Other Services

AI will not just help agents do their job, it will help title insurance agencies, mortgage providers and everyone else that is needed to make a real estate transaction happen by speed up underwriting with expedited predictive analytics systems or reducing the time it takes to research, examine and produce a commitment to insure title. For those few companies that are already fully integrated, the promise of AI will only help to enhance the experience of their agents and customers while dramatically increasing efficiency each step along the way.

To the extent an agent operates in an environment where all the pieces needed to make a transaction flow work together, the connectivity of the ancillary services behind the scenes using AI will make what was previously time-consuming, almost automatic. 

Beware of the Hype

Like a child with good intentions, AI occasionally makes mistakes. Just as one wouldn’t ask a child to write a letter to a customer, these early days should be measured in productivity gains under closely supervised conditions. In other words, having ChatGPT write a letter’s first draft is a great way to reduce the time it takes to create a letter. However, having it draft a letter and send it without a review may lead to some very embarrassing moments.

There has been a great deal of hype, and it’s important that real estate industry players educate themselves on what AI is and what it isn’t. Change is happening at an extraordinary speed and while it is always nice to be an early adopter, risks must be considered. AI applications have been criticized for their exposure to meaningful bias based on the data that is provided. As real estate professionals, we must make sure that we are using the right tools and monitoring them closely to avoid such problems in our business. 

About Eric Jacobs, Esq.

Eric Jacobs, Esq., is a President at Anywhere Integrated Services, overseeing Clear Title Group, Burnet Title Illinois, and Pro National Title. A lawyer that specializes in the real estate industry and with a particular passion for and interest in the digital transformation of real estate, he is a strong contributor to strategizing ways to improve the end-to-end real estate consumer experience. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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