AI has the potential to improve tenant experience in ways that go beyond operational efficiency by freeing up resources, improving responsiveness, and creating new engagement opportunities, writes Michael Zaransky .
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AI is significantly changing the trajectory of the real estate sector, boasting applications that have the potential to redefine long-standing norms and operations for both businesses and tenants.
While the technology remains quite mysterious in the long term, its early applications are already offering glimpses of how it will transform leasing, management, and tenant services. These developments not only reflect broader technological advances, but also highlight how customized solutions can address real estate-specific challenges. In this challenge, personal interaction remains fundamental even amidst automation.
Applying AI to leasing and marketing
One of the areas where AI shows the most immediate promise is leasing and marketing, particularly in turning online interest into actionable engagement. When a prospective tenant views property listings or visits a company’s website, the next step, scheduling a property tour, determines whether the inquiry becomes a rental agreement.
Traditionally, this process has relied on manual follow-up, which can be inconsistent and time-consuming. AI’s ability to identify high-priority inquiries changes the game forever. AI systems can initiate timely, personalized outreach through text, email, or voice communication, analyzing urgency along the way. This allows you to instantly grab the attention of potential customers and increase conversion rates across time zone barriers.
Lessors benefit from the efficiency of a customized response, while businesses realize improved results in the leasing process.
AI for real estate management and operations
The possibilities extend beyond rental and offer new possibilities to streamline your monthly real estate operations. Collecting rent is a routine but important task that often requires consistent oversight to ensure payments arrive on time. The introduction of AI into this field will bring about transformative changes. Instead of relying solely on property managers or assistant managers to identify late payments and contact tenants, AI can accurately automate the process.
These systems instantly detect overdue accounts, send reminders, and provide payment links to eliminate delays and maintain consistent communication with tenants. These efficiencies allow businesses to process collections seamlessly, freeing up staff to focus on broader operational needs and tenant engagement.
While these advances reveal a clear path forward, they also highlight the complementary relationship between AI and human expertise. Automation in this context allows property managers to focus their attention on tasks that require personal attention.
Whether it’s fostering tenant relationships or dealing with complex issues, the human element remains essential. Far from undermining the value of interpersonal relationships, AI supports them by handling mundane and repetitive tasks faster and more accurately. This dynamic allows businesses to enhance their operations while maintaining the human-centered experience their tenants expect.
AI and the future of real estate investment
As AI continues to evolve, the potential for its role in real estate becomes increasingly attractive. Maintenance requests are one area where AI could make great strides. Future systems could analyze tenant-submitted issues and prioritize urgent requests, such as broken plumbing, while queuing less-urgent concerns for later attention.
By automating this process, companies can allocate resources more effectively, respond quickly to critical needs, and improve tenant satisfaction. The result is a more efficient and responsive property management approach that aligns with modern expectations for immediacy and reliability.
While the path forward is promising, the industry must carefully address the challenges. Trust is central to successful AI integration, both for the companies that rely on these systems and for the tenants that interact with them. Ensuring transparency, addressing concerns, and balancing automation and human involvement will continue to be important.
Companies must avoid over-reliance on AI that risks diluting the personal relationships that define good asset management. A careful combination of innovation and human insight allows the industry to embrace change while maintaining its core values.
Looking to the future, real estate-based AI represents just a technological change. That suggests a deeper rethink of how rental businesses interact with tenants. As this technology matures, its most significant impact may extend beyond automating repetitive tasks to enabling industries to rethink their priorities.
AI has the potential to improve the tenant experience in ways that go beyond operational efficiency by freeing up resources, improving responsiveness, and creating new engagement opportunities. This evolving partnership between technology and humanity offers a glimpse into a future where innovation empowers businesses and the people they serve.
Michael H. Zaransky is the founder and managing principal of MZ Capital Partners in Northbrook, Illinois. The company was founded in 2005 and deals in multi-family housing.
