ChatGPT and other AI tools are reshaping how professionals work across every industry, including real estate. While the AI field is still developing, it has become increasingly clear that its impact is already deep and wide-ranging and will only grow.
According to a 2024 McKinsey study, the percentage of organizations using AI tools surged from 20% in 2017 to 70%. That’s a massive leap and a strong indicator of where things are headed.
So, are you using ChatGPT or any AI tools in your real estate agency yet? If you’re a realtor wondering how to integrate these tools effectively, this article offers five practical ways to get started.
1. Enhance Your Content Marketing
To succeed in real estate today, you must have a consistent and effective digital marketing strategy. A big part of this will require that you lean into tech-based real-estate marketing innovations like interactive listings.
But there’s more you can do at the intersection of marketing and tech in real estate. Real estate marketing today is highly content driven, yet creating engaging content takes time, which is something many agents struggle to find.
In general, you’ll have two choices: hire some marketing help or create the time to do it yourself. If you choose the latter, which might make sense for one-person agencies, you can lean on ChatGPT as your one-stop content creation assistant for pretty much any type of content.
Anna Zhang, Head of Marketing at U7BUY, shares a supporting opinion: “As a business professional, you’re constantly wearing multiple hats in your day-to-day work. ChatGPT and other AI software can be incredibly valuable in helping to free up dozens of hours each week by taking care of the more mundane tasks like creating compelling product descriptions or responding to a flood of client inquiries.”
You can use ChatGPT to generate personalized email sequences for potential buyers, write catchy social media captions for your open house posts, and even draft scripts for property tour videos.
Beyond these fundamental administrative tasks, technology like voice AI can even help you create a consistent and professional brand voice for all of your marketing materials.
For more marketing tips, we strongly recommend reading this guide to the best real estate marketing ideas.
2. Staying on Top of Client Communication
Your inbox can fill up fast, especially during peak seasons. If you’re busy managing the various aspects of running your business, which is likely, you may need to hire an assistant or get help in some other way.
Fortunately, this is another thing ChatGPT can help with- without losing the personal touch. For example, you can set ChatGPT up to do the following tasks:
- Auto-Responses to FAQs: Quickly respond to recurring questions like “What’s the down payment for this property?” or “How do showings work?”
- Follow-Up Emails: Keep leads warm with polite, timely messages.
- Newsletters and Updates: Keep your audience informed with regular market updates, tips, and featured listings.
- Multilingual Messaging: ChatGPT can help you respond in multiple languages, increasing accessibility and professionalism.
3. Financial Planning and Personal Organization
The one thing no one needs to tell you is that real estate income can be unpredictable. Demand for housing fluctuates with so many economic and social factors that even with the best forecasting, you may not necessarily be able to predict future inflows with an extremely sharp degree of accuracy.
In a business with variable income, managing cash flow matters. This makes it critical to keep great records and manage your budget effectively. ChatGPT can lend a hand by generating budget templates, tracking expenses, and even drafting professional emails to lenders or financial advisors. Whether it’s for your personal life or your business, having a grasp on your financial situation is key to success.
In times of uncertainty, it’s good to know there are resources available to help you navigate financial challenges and get back on track. For agents or consumers facing difficult financial situations, exploring options for debt relief can provide a clear path forward and help you regain control.
4. Operational Support for Brokerages & Firms
Solo real estate agents can accomplish a lot using ChatGPT. As we’ve shown, ChatGPT can help relieve the burden of doing tasks like writing listing descriptions, responding to client messages, and creating content for social media, making it an excellent tool for realtors working on their own.
Leigh McKenzie, Community Advocate at Traffic Think Tank, agrees with this view, saying, “Larger agencies and brokerages with growing teams often need more advanced systems. As their operations expand, they must manage larger volumes of listings and clients, coordinate team efforts, ensure consistency across marketing and communication channels, and may require tools that go beyond basic AI support.”
In collaboration with other tools, ChatGPT can assist with things like creating notes and summaries of client conversations or appointments for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools. The range of complex workflows you can set up with ChatGPT is potentially unlimited when you combine it with other apps to set up automated workflows.
With that said, it is important to keep in mind the fact that AI has its limits. When managing dozens of properties, you need a scalable backend. The daily operations of a real estate business can get extremely complex and fluid, especially if the firm is dealing with a portfolio of properties or commercial real estate projects.
Just like the ERP software for the steel industry helps manage inventory, production, and logistics, real estate firms eventually need customized platforms for workflow, compliance, and analytics. While ChatGPT can help with communication and content, it’s not a comprehensive solution for managing everything. Knowing when to use AI tools or when to seek out a custom option can be the most critical aspect of consideration.
5. Legal Use Cases and Considerations
AI can support, but not replace, the expertise of lawyers. ChatGPT in particular is a great legal assistant for early-stage document drafting and internal clarity.
You can use ChatGPT to draft lease or rental agreements that your legal team can review, simplify dense legal language so agents and clients can understand the terms before a formal review, and explain topics like escrow, contingencies, or zoning in plain language.
Still, legal matters should always be referred to the expertise of qualified legal professionals who have expertise in real estate.
Whether you’re navigating commercial lease terms or dealing with safety disputes during a construction project, consulting a legal expert in commercial property ensures you’re covered from every angle.
Conclusion
Whether you’re an independent agent or managing a growing team, now is the time to embrace AI tools and unlock new levels of productivity in your business.
But as you do, remember that real estate still thrives on relationships, market insight, and human judgment. ChatGPT works best when used as a smart assistant, not a replacement or a standalone solution to complex challenges.
