Using AI to enhance your client relationships 

Artificial Intelligence has become a buzzword over the last couple of years, but what is the best way for real estate professionals to drive value from the technology?

In a discussion with T3 Sixty's technology consultants, LocalizeOS CEO Omer Granot shared ideas for agents and brokers who are looking for ways to improve efficiency and better serve their clients — but are inundated with potential solutions. (Note: T3 Sixty and Real Estate News share a founder, Stefan Swanepoel.)

Granot, whose company offers an AI-powered real estate operating system, said agents and brokers often rely on technology to overcome challenges in the real estate world, but trying to piece together multiple tech solutions to address each issue isn't very effective.

Instead, he said, professionals who learn how to leverage AI could quickly find themselves ahead of the competition, no matter how the industry landscape changes.

Granot noted that AI should simply be seen as another tool, not a bogeyman: "The goal is not to replace humans, but to automate the repetitive tasks brokers have to do before selling a home."

Moving beyond the analog era

AI can be especially valuable with "middle of the funnel" opportunities, where a buyer or seller is engaging with an agent or brokerage brand to see if they are the right fit.

This part of the customer's journey can take anywhere from 3 to 12 months and is primarily driven through old-school technology like phones and emails, said Travis Saxton, T3 Sixty's EVP of enterprise solutions. The labor-intensive nature of the process is one reason why so many brokerages have large tech stacks, he continued.

"Frankly, we're still really analog in this area," Saxton said.

AI could smooth out this process by using data to create a single solution for multiple mid-funnel processes. For instance, Saxton said AI can be used to create a personalized customer response, like an email with listings that fit a client's criteria.

The key to leveraging AI in real estate is to clearly identify the end-goal the technology can help you achieve, Saxton said. Without that goal, AI will just become another piece of tech in your company's stack.

Efficiency through marketing automation

Outside of the customer journey, AI can also help brokerages improve their top-of-funnel efforts, especially around marketing.

For instance, Saxton noted that AI can help improve a brokerage's brand and responsiveness by automating customer replies or creating branded content. That, in turn, can dramatically improve a brokerage's customer conversion rate as well as its operation efficiency, he said.

Why brokers should be leveraging AI tools — now

And for brokerages that don't think AI has a place in their operations? They risk falling behind. While all industries, including real estate, need to be thoughtful and cautious in their use of AI, the train is leaving the station — and it's time to jump on, Delta Media Group Michael Minard told Real Estate News earlier this year.

When asked about the future of AI, Minard said, "If I were a Realtor, if I were a team leader or owned a brokerage, I'd be embracing it and I would be leveraging it."

"The industry is going down this path and you're either going to be part of it or not part of it, and if you're not part of it, you're going to be left out," Minard added.