Artificial intelligence tools have flooded the market in the last two years, helping agents sharpen listing copy, improve listing photos and send automated responses to clients.

Some brokerages use advanced AI to help predict which homeowners are likely to sell based on a variety of data points, including intervals between home sales, age of occupants and location, giving agents an inside track to finding potential clients.

For all its time-saving benefits, AI has its drawbacks, just like any newish technology. If you’re not careful, AI can insert inaccuracies into a listing description or make a bad crop on a photo. Worst of all, though, is that a lack of authenticity can damage your credibility as a real estate professional.

In March, a brokerage in Las Vegas announced it had launched the first AI real estate agent. The “agent,” dubbed Luxora, helps people sort through luxury property listings and can even hold a conversation with clients. Luxora’s avatar, unfortunately, is about as realistic as a 2010 video game character. That might work for some clients, but most will still want human interaction to help guide them through what is often an emotional and complex transaction.

Savvy buyers and sellers will see right through inauthentic AI, so before you invest in one of the AI tools that can make you more efficient, be sure to vet them closely.

Listing copy

ChatGPT is one of the most popular AI tools for listing copy, and it generally does a pretty good job. With a good prompt, ChatGPT can do about 90% of the work on that listing description. Sometimes, though, it will repeat information or fail to emphasize the right details.

The key is giving ChatGPT a good prompt. If a perfectly landscaped backyard, outdoor kitchen, massive stone fireplace or furnished basement help a property really stand out, then make sure ChatGPT knows that with detailed instructions. Otherwise, a huge selling point for the property could be buried in the listing description.

An experienced agent knows how a good listing description should read. Think in your head what two or three key details should be highlighted in the description for your listing and write them down. Then, after your AI tool gives you its listing copy, check to see if it met your initial expectations. If not, you might need a revision.

And always double-check copy for accuracy. AI often tries to fill in gaps with information it thinks it knows, but it’s not perfect. It’s up to you to make sure what’s there is accurate.

Images

AI for images can help smooth out headshots and make listing images pop. A good AI tool will erase clutter from a living room or perfectly stage an empty bedroom photo with options for decor based on agent preferences.

The tech in this space has made huge strides, and the best tools make it difficult to impossible to see the difference between an AI image and a real one. But there are still some platforms that sometimes fall short.

In listing photos, keep an eye out for unnatural colors, decor that seems too perfect, and absent or misplaced shadows. Staging helps buyers imagine the potential for a room or space, but bad tech can be worse than showing an empty room.

As for headshots or business portrait shots, there are some nightmare outcomes where AI adds or deletes a finger or part of an arm or leg. Don’t let that be you.

Who’s using AI?

AI is helping reshape just about every industry in the global economy, and real estate is no different.

Our recent Truth About Agents survey demonstrates how AI is emerging as an industry norm in real estate. The survey taken by hundreds of agents in seven major U.S. markets from coast to coast found that more than half of real estate professionals have experimented with AI in some capacity for their business. And of those, more than 80% were happy with the results.

Roughly one-third of survey respondents said they had yet to use AI but they plan to do so. If you’re in that group, the time is now. It’s free to experiment with some text-based AI platforms, such as ChatGPT. Start there or by asking the platform to create a response to a common client question. Then build up your AI skillset from there.