Why the Top 1% of Real Estate Agents are Quietly Using AI

There have always been agents who stay a step or two ahead of the group. These agents dominate the top of the market, yet they’re not necessarily the loudest on social media or the most eager to follow short-lived trends. Instead, they position themselves at the crest of meaningful, lasting growth. They are aware of what tools deserve their time, and currently, they are using a tool that is changing the landscape entirely. 

Top real estate agents are using AI

Not in a way that is very visible to a client or other peers, even. They are using it with precision to streamline the backend, elevate the client experience, and ultimately reserve their energy for what matters most: human connection.  

Real Estate is an Industry Driven by Human Connection

For that reason, in this new AI landscape, many might see it as an industry that will be untouched by AI. However, real estate is also deeply and increasingly data-driven and requires many processes that are improved by AI. 

The best agents understand that to have an edge in this industry, it isn’t about working more, but working smarter and more efficiently. 

Although AI won’t replace a real estate agent, it can do the heavy lifting behind the scenes and assist real estate agents by:

• Drafting Listings 
• Replying to Questions
• Organizing Notes
• Scraping Lead Data
• Improving Marketing
• And more

When you remove what is repetitive in your work, it allows you to free up your time for the things that only you can do, such as building client trust and connections, strategizing, negotiating, and networking. 

Generative AI’s 4C

In technology circles, you might hear discussions about the 4Cs of Generative AI. The reason why AI works so well with Real Estate is that the needs of the agents and what AI can provide are ideally parallel. The 4Cs are Communication, Creation, Concision, and Coding. Below, we’ll show you how this can assist agents: 

1. Communication: Agents know communication is critical to any transaction. Maintaining responsiveness, consistency, and availability is key, and AI can assist in filling in the gaps. 
2. Creation: Endless opportunities exist in this realm from reviewing Instagram layouts, captions, marketing photos, descriptions of properties, and even your newsletters. AI creates the first draft, and then you review with your human touch. 
3. Concision: From farming leads, scraping data to find buyers and sellers in their market, to keeping databases organized and optimizing online profiles, there are endless opportunities that will enable you to improve these processes that we will discuss in further articles. 
4. Coding: You won’t be writing code, but automated systems will run smoother with AI logic and coding helping you in the background. Systems such as scheduling, data syncing, and CRMs. 

The key to starting on this is not attempting to master all 4, but starting with a review of your process and seeing which C stands out as the biggest pain point that could be helped. Start there, and once you feel comfortable with that, then you can move on to another. 

What Tools are the easiest to get started with?

Here are a few of the tools high-performing agents have already been using and why they will work for you:

• ChatGPT: If you’re not already familiar with ChatGPT, this is the first one you should start with. It can help you with listing descriptions, email drafts, text responses, and open house follow-ups. It's a fast program that is easy to use and customize. 
• Otter.ai: This program can record and summarize your meetings. By using this tool, you can focus on the conversation with the person in front of you rather than worrying about taking notes. 
• Canva Magic Write: This program can help you quickly create templates and content with your brand without needing to outsource design. 
• Restb.ai: Utilize this program to automatically tag photos for listing, see what to improve on, and even create virtual staging. 
• Fireflies.ai: This is perfect to use for team calls or listing consults. Automatically summarize and create action items to share with your team. 

These tools will be the lowest-hanging fruit that you can immediately start with. You don’t need to make any major changes to your already built-in systems when using these. Just test where you’re spending too much time on something that AI can handle for you. 

Using AI is all about Efficiency

What the Top 1% already know is that when their business is running smoothly in the background, they can show up as the face of their company in a more prepared, clearer, and more present way. Allowing them to create those connections with clients. 

That’s what clients will remember at the end of the day. 

An agent who can reply quickly (whose time was freed by AI), a thoughtful message (guided by ChatGPT), and a clear explanation of next steps (improved on by AI reviewing past methods and selecting the most appropriate). 

This isn’t happening because you were working late; it happens because your enhanced AI systems never stopped working. 

Where to Start Without Getting Overwhelmed 

If using AI still feels overwhelming, just choose one method and take a small step forward

Here are some first action steps we recommend: 

• Use ChatGPT to write a listing description for you. You can upload prior listing descriptions and ask it to use your voice. 
• Use Otter.ai on your next client call this week and see how you feel with the results. 
• Try to automate your calendar with Calendly or Motion
• Apply to join a referral platform that already uses AI to generate new clients and see why your next referral will come from AI.

With even one of these steps, you’ll immediately notice a difference. It won’t just be in time savings, but also your mental clarity. Once you do, you’ll see it's easy to take another step forward in including AI in your business. 

Final Thoughts 

The 1% of agents aren’t simply succeeding because they’re using AI. They’re seeing success because they’re focused on where their time is best spent, in connections between them and the clients. They’re simply using AI to enhance that and protect their time. 

It's a tool that has entered the landscape so quickly and quietly. It's created a shift in how people operate, one tool at a time, and it's available to everyone willing to try it. This is why Real Estate will be completely changed in the next 5 years due to AI.