Why Embracing Artificial Intelligence Is No Longer Optional for Agents

It is 2026. Buyers search for homes with AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, and sellers research agents the same way. NBC Miami reported a February 2026 survey finding that 82 percent of real estate professionals use AI in their business (NBC Miami). In my view, an agent who ignores these tools is choosing to work harder than necessary.

Consumers are already using AI

McKinsey’s July 2026 report describes consumers increasingly using AI answer engines, assistants and recommendation-driven discovery in their housing journey, with the front end of that journey shifting from portals to questions asked of AI (McKinsey). It frames housing as a journey — “they discover, compare, qualify, tour, decide, transact, move in, live, renew, or move again” — and warns that “designing one generic AI journey for everyone will feel efficient for the company, but not necessarily trusted by the customer” (McKinsey). Its recommendation is to let customers choose when they want self-service, guided support or a person (McKinsey). I agree. The person part is the job.

Tools agents are using

Lead follow-up

Inman reports that HouseWhisper is positioning itself as a full lead-lifecycle platform that contacts databases, nurtures contacts over time and routes people to a human when they respond, charging a referral fee when a lead closes (Inman, “HouseWhisper”). Inman also reports that Lofty’s Homeowner Agent monitors CRM contacts for selling signals and sends personalised property and market updates (Inman, “Lofty”).

Two cautions. Automated calls and texts require proper prior consent under the TCPA and Florida’s telemarketing law, whatever the software can do. And any platform that charges a referral fee should go past your broker, because how that fee is paid and disclosed matters.

Market data

Wedbush reported in January 2026 that Fundrise launched RealAI, an AI analyst covering rents, property financials, sales histories and other market data, and quoted Silverstein Properties president Tal Kerret: “Analysis that once took days can now be completed in minutes” (Wedbush). NYREJ reported that Rodland Real Estate introduced RoRo, a voice-driven market-intelligence platform for brokers and agents (NYREJ).

Some of these products also surface demographic or household data. An agent should not use that to steer anyone toward or away from an area. Fair housing law applies to what you say and recommend, whichever tool produced the information.

Daily workflow

Generative AI tools can draft listing descriptions, blog posts, emails, video scripts and follow-up messages; design tools with AI features speed up flyers and social graphics; voice tools can produce narration for videos. All of it is a first draft. Everything AI writes for a licensed practice needs a human read for accuracy, the brokerage name, and fair housing language before it goes anywhere — AI drafting tools will happily describe who a neighbourhood suits, or how safe it is, if you let them.

What the experts say

McKinsey argues the biggest value “will come from redesigning full business domains,” not isolated use cases, and advises leaders to “start with the work—focus on operating models, not AI models”: pick one domain and one metric, map the workflow, and separate repeatable steps from the ones that need human judgement (McKinsey). Tim Rodland told NYREJ that “independent brokerages are at risk of being crowded out by large, vertically integrated corporations with access to massive data and technology budgets” (NYREJ).

What this means for you

Many of these tools are inexpensive or free to start. What you need is a willingness to learn, adapt and train the tools on your own voice. NBC Miami described one agent, Joe Vairo, uploading his past videos so AI could learn how he speaks (NBC Miami).

My view: AI will not replace the relationships, judgement and accountability that come with a licence. It can take busywork off your plate so you have more time for those things. Use it for the preparation, keep a human on the final word, and know the rules the software does not.