CPE Executive Council: AI Challenges for CRE

The use of artificial intelligence has exploded, particularly in the real estate industry. However, there are still some issues with the new technology. This month the CPE Executive Council shares some of the challenges they’ve experienced with AI.

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Model Behavior

We are such advanced users of data science that our biggest challenge can be demystifying it and explaining it in a way that everyone can understand. Because it doesn’t matter how good our models are—if people don’t trust them and don’t buy into them, they aren’t as useful as they could be. We have done a great job overcoming this obstacle, but every time we present out methodology to a new audience, we have to be diligent in explaining it. —Ryan Severino, Chief Economist & Head of U.S. Research, BGO

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Human Interaction

Many of us in the industry are genuinely excited about any and all applications of AI. There are some real challenges, though.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered comes from a tendency to set and forget it. Say you’ve set up a chatbot on your property website, or to interface with your leads, tenants, or customers. Wherever it is, once your bot is live, don’t think that’s the end of human involvement. Someone on your team needs to regularly check in on its performance, reading message logs, and identifying areas where the bot fails to deliver a solid experience to your customers.

This isn’t always easy, and it’s nearly always tedious, but it’s essential. The same thing goes for once you adjust your AI chatbot after that review. Large language models may feel predictable to many users, but over any length of time they can get derailed, which can be harmful or damaging to your ability to capture leads, handle tenant requests and collect information. —Jeff Hamann, Editorial Director, Janover

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Interested in joining the CPE Executive Council and being featured in future articles? Email Jessica Fiur.