No matter where individuals in the sector fall on this spectrum, it is incumbent on everyone to appreciate how AI will impact them. That is, each of us must understand AI in the broader ecosystem \u2014 how consumers are interacting with it, how it will impact their current marketing and consumer engagement methods, and how it will impact the Realtor value proposition.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t make a habit of eavesdropping, but I was in a hotel lobby recently when an older guest walked up to the reception desk and told a staff member that she hadn\u2019t been able to find the checkout time on their website. She said, \u201cI had to go to ChatGPT.\u201d Take careful note: she didn\u2019t say that she Googled it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Regardless of your individual interest in adopting AI or new tech, this anecdote, to me, is emblematic of a quantifiable evolution in consumer habits. So, what do you need to take away?<\/p>\n
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How consumer behaviour is quietly shifting <\/p>\n
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First, this is a shifting tide that doesn\u2019t seem to have demographic or habitual borders. Second, beyond considering where your advertising dollars are going \u2014 Google AdWords, social media reach and SEO will all be affected by the growing presence of AI \u2014 this trend also suggests that consumers may start interacting with real estate data and information differently, if they\u2019re not already.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re moving beyond the age of typing an address into Google and receiving a list of internet pages and a pin on a map. As consumers interact with AI models and those models become increasingly exposed to real estate data (as I recently wrote about in a separate REM article<\/a>), their expectations of the sector will change.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s an exercise that\u2019ll help illustrate my point. Take a second now, go to ChatGPT, and type in, \u201cI live at [insert address]. What is my home worth?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n (I\u2019ll now assume you came back to finish reading this article and didn\u2019t go down a rabbit hole of testing ChatGPT\u2019s limits in real estate valuation.)<\/p>\n The first thing you notice with this type of experiment is how robust the response is. With a simple adjustment to the prompt, such as \u201cplease provide a full and comprehensive comparative market analysis on the same property,\u201d it becomes even more complete.\u00a0<\/p>\n The accuracy of the content is something people always gravitate to and, of course, need to be careful with, but it isn\u2019t the overriding point of the exercise.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n What this means for the Realtor value proposition\u00a0 <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The point is that as the internet and AI learning models become increasingly populated with what has often been considered proprietary information, the consumer is getting more information, more quickly, than they ever have. The overall consumer experience is going to change, and so the Realtor value proposition must change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Consider this along with the fact that consumers are turning to AI models to answer everyday questions (including what time they need to check out of their hotel rooms), and it suddenly doesn\u2019t matter whether we want to adopt AI or new technology. A significant number of real estate clients are adopting it, and it\u2019s on us to understand the implications of that adoption. Our understanding of how others are impacted will also impact us.<\/p>\n For those who have been early adopters on the AI front, as well as those who have been slower out of the gate, I encourage you to be aware of the impact AI is having on our sector, our stakeholders, and our value propositions. Have conversations with your clients about their experiences, monitor your marketing investment and engagement stats, and be aware of how AI models are changing consumer habits.\u00a0<\/p>\n These shifts are inevitable, but our collective appreciation that change is underway will better prepare us to adapt.<\/p>\n As a former managing broker and realtor, Trevor Koot\u2019s nearly two decades in organized real estate gives him hands-on expertise in understanding the profession\u2019s needs. Before stepping in as CEO at the BC Real Estate Association, he served as CEO of Kamloops and District Real Estate Association for four years and Kootenay Association of Realtors for three before successfully merging the two into the Association of Interior Realtors. Trevor\u2019s leadership in the real estate sector began long before his CEO career when he was Chair of the Saskatchewan Real Estate Commission for five years. He played a key role in redrafting provincial real estate regulations during his tenure. Trevor also served two years as Chair of the Governance Committee at the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.<\/p>\n He holds multiple degrees, from a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and a minor in Mathematics through the University of Saskatchewan to a Master of Business Administration degree through Royal Roads University. Trevor is adding to his extensive education through his current pursuit of completing a Master of Laws degree at York University. His daughter, Abby, attends the University of Victoria while he and his wife, Jill, live in Vancouver\u2019s Chinatown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Technology has always moved and, I believe, will always move faster than organizations and industries can adapt. 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