Wrapping up a jam-packed first day at RISMedia’s 37th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange on Wednesday, Sept. 3, real estate industry leaders reported significant productivity gains from AI adoption, but reminded attendees that it requires careful implementation, ongoing education and a good AI council in place. 

Moderated by Kevin Hawkins, the “Upping the Ante on AI Strategies” session featured executives from major brokerages who shared their experiences with AI implementation, from policies to separating the signal from the noise.

The ROI on AI

Rajeev Sajja—senior vice president of digital marketing and innovation at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach, Realtors®—wanted to know how much time he was really saving when using AI, so he documented one week of time-consuming tasks—with and without the help of AI.

Through this experiment, Sajja noticed a 35% increase in his production during Q1 of this year and estimates a 40%-plus improvement now.

“It’s important for all of us to kind of focus on what’s going to move the needle for our agents, or whoever you service, and really look at those things and collapse time, and give the easy button to your agents,” he told the audience. 

Adding to the conversation, Matt O’Connor—COO of Terrie O’Connor Realtors®—explained that he likes to say that the technology itself isn’t going to replace agents, but rather, agents who can use the technology effectively are going to replace the ones that don’t.

“We’re not really competing against this technology. We’re competing against the other people in our marketplace that have access to the same tools that we have,” he said. “So, really, it’s the same business we’ve always been in, which is being better than all the people you’re competing against.”

If we’re not taking advantage of these AI tools, we’re falling behind, added Seven Gables Real Estate CEO Mike Hickman.

And although Hickman didn’t have an exact percentage to share, he said the most important thing that AI has done is given people their time back so that they can spend more time communicating with people face to face.

Cotality’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of Real Estate Solutions Kevin Greene shared a sneak peek into a new listing editing tool the team is working on, saving agents a significant amount of time.

In beta, the tool is currently live in four markets, providing agents with listing descriptions in multiple languages and floor plans, simply by walking through the property and having 10 minutes to spare. The materials are also uploaded automatically into a matrix for the MLS systems, added Greene. 

Safe and responsible AI

Pointing out how AI is the “new, shiny penny,” Sajja said, “we don’t do enough to train our people how to use AI.”
In order to combat the exponential pace of AI, policies need to be nimble enough to keep up with changes, and companies need to have good AI councils in place.

“Think beyond having a policy,” he told the audience. “But also have an AI council that drives and finds these use cases that you can test, iterate and then deploy.”

Chasing the ‘shiny penny’

With AI solutions proliferating rapidly, Greene stressed the importance of focusing on what fuel is running these products. He also warned that if a product is free, you are likely the product.

While there is a lot of noise with the new products, O’Connor told the audience that while you shouldn’t chase every new product, you don’t want to be jaded and ignore everything.

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