How AI Is Helping REALTORS® Work Smarter and Reinvest Their Time in What Matters Most

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how REALTORS® work; but according to REALTORS® across Canada, AI isn’t replacing the personal side of real estate at all – it’s giving them more time for it. 

AI is automating the tasks that would normally take hours for a REALTOR® to do. Things like managing emails, transcribing notes, scheduling appointments, organizing documents, following up with clients, and analyzing large volumes of data, can all now be aided with AI systems to save time. 

It’s fast becoming a standard strategic tool that complements human work. 

That said, AI never has the final say. According to Cailey Heaps, president, chief executive officer and broker of record at Heaps Estrin in Toronto, Ontario, every communication is reviewed, refined and personalized by a member of the team. 

“Whether we’re communicating with a long-time client or a first-time vendor, authenticity and genuine human connection guide every interaction,” she says.

The time saved by utilizing AI can be reinvested in more face-to-face client contact, education and training, business development, community involvement or just better work-life balance that allows for spending more time with family and friends, which in turn gives REALTORS® more energy to put their best foot forward for their clients and generate better results. 

Time saved on administrative tasks is redirected toward collaborating on listing strategies, strengthening relationships with clients, developing creative marketing campaigns, and having more thoughtful conversations with buyers and sellers, Heaps says. 

Whether we’re communicating with a long-time client or a first-time vendor, authenticity and genuine human connection guide every interaction.”

Cailey Heaps, REALTOR® 

The technology shift isn’t just making REALTORS® more efficient in how they do their job; it’s making them more available where it matters most. When it comes to adding a personal touch, that’s simply not something AI can replace.

The examples of the benefits of AI are widespread. Rhiannon Foster, a salesperson and REALTOR® with Century 21 In Town Realty in Vancouver, British Columbia, says using AI to sort through incoming leads, initial contacts and appointment bookings has freed up at least six hours per week for other tasks. 

“Piggybacking on that, there is also the ‘dead lead list’, those zombie leads that may or may not open an email every couple of months,” she says. “Automations in contacting them more regularly has turned into two closed deals in four months, another two that are booked in for upcoming listings, four buyers getting pre-approved and I did not have to lift a finger,” she says.

That freed-up time is spent using Claude AI to do higher-level automations, including taking over business planning and implementation, and perfecting a system that updates sellers about the current activity on their home from potential buyers, helping them feel more engaged in the process.

Patricia Houlihan, a salesperson and REALTOR® at Century 21 In Town Realty in Vancouver, British Columbia, says she uses AI every day. 

“I automate a bunch of things using AI,” she says. “My staff also use it. The one thing I don’t use it for is to write or improve my writing because I write well, generally speaking, but it does help with organizing data and research.”

Cameron Forbes, a broker and REALTOR® with RE/MAX Realtron Realty Inc. in Toronto, Ontario, says a significant impact AI has had on their operation has come from using it to help review and analyze calls received and made by their appointment centre. AI gives them more precision to evaluate these interactions, zero in on sales opportunities, identify coaching opportunities more quickly and help facilitate the growth of their team.

Heaps points to a specific example in which client interaction has been improved by AI: meeting transcription. Rather than dividing one’s attention between taking notes and listening, the REALTOR® can remain fully present during conversations with clients knowing that key discussion points will be accurately captured for later review. That allows the REALTOR® to ask better questions, listen more carefully, and focus entirely on understanding a client’s needs.

How AI is utilized also depends on the market that the REALTOR® is operating in. For example, Heidi Kuhrt, a salesperson and REALTOR® with Macdonald Realty Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, finds her market isn’t large enough and includes a number of complicating factors to use AI effectively for market research (such as strict municipal zoning and variable access to utilities). She finds that using AI for this type of task requires significant manual review and lacks her personal experience. Being able to suggest properties she is confident clients will like, “is only possible because of our personal interactions and how I know where the reality of a property doesn't match what is written on paper,” says Kuhrt. “AI only has access to one dimension.”

She finds it is, however, useful for other types of tasks. 

“I do use AI almost daily for marketing and communication,” says Kuhrt. “AI helps me get my thoughts in order while writing text and is excellent at taking the data sources that I provide and collating them into a PDF or JPEG for a mailout or a Facebook post. I also use it as a second opinion when looking at market trends or creating a current market analysis.”

AI is excellent at generating something that sounds plausible, but it misses critical nuance that only a skilled REALTOR® can provide.”

Heidi Kuhrt, REALTOR® 

“AI is excellent at generating something that sounds plausible, but it misses critical nuance that only a REALTOR® can provide,” Kuhrt continues. “If AI misses even one thing, which it often does, it could cause a huge headache and even have financial implications.”

AI is unlikely to ever replace the wealth of knowledge and experience that comes from an experienced REALTOR®; but its power can be harnessed to be a trusted sidekick helping to automate or expedite parts of a business that are time consuming for any specific REALTOR®.

“Real estate is fundamentally a relationship business,” says Heaps. “Clients aren’t hiring us simply to summarize market data or list their home on a [board/association’s MLS® System]– they're looking for experience, judgment, negotiation skills, empathy, creativity and trusted advice.

Clients aren’t hiring us simply to summarize market data or list their home on a [board/association’s MLS® System] – they're looking for experience, judgment, negotiation skills, empathy, creativity and trusted advice.”

Cailey Heaps, REALTOR® 

“We've embraced AI because it allows our team to operate more efficiently, but not because we believe it replaces human expertise. In fact, our team continues to grow, not shrink as some organizations have, replacing human roles with automated ones,” she says. “We see these tools as a way to scale our service, not reduce it. Ultimately, we believe AI makes the human side of our business even more important, not less.”

For additional information about AI usage, please review CREA’s AI policy. 

Any product or service referenced in this article are included for informational purposes only and do not imply endorsement by CREA.