Is AI Safe? Know the Risks.

As you venture into the world of AI, remember that AI generates usable content because of the data collected. This means when you use an AI tool for your marketing or even administration duties like transcribing notes from a web call, your information is now part of the database and can be reused—possibly for nefarious reasons. Since AI-generated content is not currently subject to copyright laws, a document or an image you add to an AI tool can be manipulated and reused in a different context. And by including too many personal details, you make yourself or your business vulnerable to a cyber-attack.

Here are some best practices before getting started:

  • Use well-known AI tools that have been developed with security protocols in place.
  • Read the privacy policy to review how much and how long your data is stored.
  • Check the tool’s settings. Some tools give you the option to turn off storing your information, or you can choose to have it automatically erased after a set period of time.

Educate your clients and team on the types of sensitive, personal, confidential, or private information that shouldn’t be used with AI. Ensure that everyone understands how crucial privacy compliance is in this situation and that it is everyone’s responsibility.

You’ve heard all about how artificial intelligence is a game changer. But how are your fellow REALTORS® actually using it? How could you use it today in your real estate firm?

Texas REALTOR® magazine asked members how they use AI at work. Here’s what they said.

Creating New Content

One of the best-known uses of AI is also one of the most widely adopted by real estate agents and brokers. REALTORS® report using artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT for help drafting all types of communications.

Adrian Dukes, Broker Associate at Realty Austin, uses ChatGPT to generate emails and craft listing descriptions. “The integration of AI has improved my efficiency and empowered me to expand my business, reach more clients, and adapt to the dynamic real estate landscape effectively,” he says.

Nate Rhyne, Agent with Realty ONE Group Rose, says ChatGPT has been an amazing tool during his first year in real estate. When Rhyne needed to write a short bio online, ChatGPT came to the rescue. “It truly helps out, especially when you are having writing blocks,” he says. “I always edit it to sound more like myself.”

Improving Existing Content

Brandy Johnson, a REALTOR® at Lynch Legacy Realty Group, eXp Realty, recently started using AI and now wonders why she didn’t start sooner. “When it comes to listing descriptions, we all tend to get stuck on using the same adjectives and wording,” she notes. “But by using AI, I am able to easily find synonyms and write more attractive and creative descriptions to set my listings apart.”

She was able to create a longer, detailed biography for a listing presentation by providing ChatGPT with a shorter summary and new details. “I only needed to make minor tweaks,” she says. “AI has been a time saver and also allowed me to stand out among the competition.”

Improving Posts and Scripts

Social media has tremendous potential for generating leads and building your brand, but crafting the perfect post can be challenging and time-consuming. Some REALTORS® use AI to generate content for various platforms.

Realtors Property Resource Senior Director Andrea Goodhart says RPR hit a home run with the introduction of its Market Trends ScriptWriter feature. She called the feature a practical, easy-to-use implementation of AI. “These tools will help you create informative content that effectively showcases the latest market trends and insights while saving you time and effort,” she says.

Michica “Mish” Guillory, Broker at The Guillory Group, teaches how to use RPR’s ChatGPT abilities for social media as part of her Graduate, REALTOR® Institute: Business Skills Technology course. “It provides scripts in an agent’s choice of professional, conversational, or engaging tones,” she says. “They can be focused toward buyers, sellers, or both in the same message.” The RPR feature is a complete revelation and a total hit with her students, she adds.

Being able to ask AI to write in a specific tone is particularly useful on social media. Dayna Hennigan, eXp Sales Agent, uses an app called Mysocial to write her posts. “I can choose to have a professional, humorous, bold, etc. tone to get my message across,” she says. “It provides hashtags correlated to my post. The app will create a post based on the platform I am posting to. This has definitely saved me time and allows me to have captivating posts.”

Rhyne adds that ChatGPT can give social media suggestions that you can edit to fit your niche or market.

Johnson asks AI to add blog content to accompany infographics and photos. She’s also used it to promote open houses and improve listings. Johnson can ask ChatGPT to generate social media posts and the AI’s response can include catchy phrases and related emojis, such as a map pin.

Another time, Johnson needed a script for her assistant to use when making lead calls. “We used ChatGPT together to create something professional that flowed comfortably for her,” she says.

AI Can Help Local Associations of REALTORS®, Too

Joshua Guenter, MLS and Communications Director for the Highland Lakes Association of REALTORS®, credits AI with helping to meet deadlines in member communications.

“From ChatGPT to help with inspiration or polishing a draft, to the image generators in our graphics platform, we have begun using AI consistently to take on much of the workload and that time can now be utilized on more crucial tasks,” he says. “I believe AI has enhanced our association by assisting in better quality communications and allowing staff time to focus on additional member benefits.”

Responding to New Clients

Dukes uses AI to promptly respond to client questions. Dukes has connected ChatGPT to his Facebook page and created a chatbot that prompts visitors with generic questions, such as “What are you looking for?” “Visitors answer a series of questions and at certain points, ChatGPT will send a push alert to my phone,” he says. “If I want to jump into the conversation, I’m able to do that. If I don’t have time, I can ask ChatGPT to set up an appointment.”

Remember that The Real Estate License Act and TREC rules require a completed Information About Brokerage Services form to be delivered at the first substantive communication regarding a property.

Dukes can ask the chatbot to send the visitor a Google Forms sheet to get more information or a link to browse the MLS. When he meets with the visitor, he already has answers to some of his introductory questions. “Chatbots have played a pivotal role in improving customer service by providing 24/7 client support and ensuring immediate responses to inquiries and property information access,” he says.

Summaries and Analysis

Dukes also asks AI to analyze data for him. “It helps me make data-driven decisions, offering me accurate price recommendations and personalized interactions based on client preferences,” he says.

Matthew Stigliano, Broker at Kimberly Howell Properties, started using AI platform Jasper and became fascinated with the technology. He has found all sorts of uses for AI in his business, including blog posts, rewriting texts, social media posts, and generating ideas.

“I have even started to experiment with some of the summary aspects of AI: summarizing large documents or articles I want to get the gist of before digging in deeper later when I have some more time,” he says.

He says he was tempted to ask AI to respond to the Texas REALTOR® question about how members use AI but ultimately decided to answer himself.