Real Estate Leaders Are Using AI to Help Streamline their Inboxes

As a REALTOR®, finding enough hours in the day is a constant challenge. Of many possible solutions to regain some of that time, one way gaining traction is artificial intelligence (AI) inbox automation. 

AI inbox automation is using artificial intelligence tools to automatically sort, prioritize, draft, and manage email communication—helping REALTORS® save time and respond to clients more effectively.

Here are some of the potential benefits of automating your inbox.

• Manage leads: It can offer more effective and strategic lead management by prioritizing leads with higher potential, choosing leads by analyzing incoming emails and client behaviour (such as website and listing views). 
• Organizing communication workflow: It can help organize and sort emails by client and property, reducing inbox clutter and help streamline your priorities when replying on the go. 
• Content generation: It can automate the many forms of content, such as subject lines, listing descriptions and standard emails. Always be sure to read thoroughly and edit as needed!  
• Keeps your tasks on track: It can detect action items within an email and convert those into trackable tasks to help you keep on top of your already hectic to-do list.

OK, that’s great—but what does this mean in practice? We spoke to some people in the industry to get an idea of how people are using these tools. 

What real estate industry leaders are saying

Leaders in real estate, like Leigh Kjekstad, vice-president of marketing at Century 21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, says she has been sitting through a lot of demos lately on available AI tools and best practices. She’s thinking about AI usage as Century 21 evolves its tech offerings for REALTORS®. 

“AI can help an agent draft responses for common topics,” Kjekstad says. “It’s important to note that if an agent learns how to write prompts that speak in their tone, they’ll be happier with the drafts that are created for them and likely will require fewer revisions.

It can be difficult to decide upon which AI assistant to use, since AI technology is evolving so rapidly, she says. “You have to jump around a bit to find the best one.” 

Choosing the right tool 

There are many REALTORS® who love Copilot, Kjekstad says, and how it integrates with Microsoft Outlook. And OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was launched in late 2022, was the first AI chatbot to reach mainstream popularity around the world and continues to be widely used. 

“If using AI to optimize your business is interesting to you, pick one that fits your needs and the time you’re willing to spend learning how to use it. Gemini and Copilot are both good places to start because they’re already integrated with tools you are already likely using,” she says. “Then, as you become more familiar with it, you may be open to trying something new because then at least you’ll have a benchmark to compare features.”

If using AI to optimize your business is interesting to you, pick one that fits your needs and the time you’re willing to spend learning how to use it.” 

Leigh Kjekstad, Vice-President of Marketing, Century 21

Century 21, as an example, offers email campaigns through an automated email marketing platform called ActivePipe. It can monitor clients’ interactions, such as whether they open an email, click on links or visit websites. And over time, its AI tools can build profiles for each client, showing their preferences. 

“Not only have you automated the process, but you can also understand what kind of content is valuable and get insights into what else you should be creating,” says Kjekstad.

Best practices for AI email inbox usage 

When using or planning to use AI, it’s important to remember that any technology should never replace human input.

“Our team operates on a "70/30" rule: the AI handles up to 70% of the work for efficiency gains, but we ensure a minimum of 30% human effort is dedicated to both the initial prompt and the final review before any information is sent, ensuring accuracy and validity,” says Cailey Heaps, president and chief executive officer, broker of record with Heaps Estrin in Toronto.

Her brokerage hired an AI firm to review potential efficiencies for internal processes and communication. They are using Fyxer AI for priority inbox sorting, the integrated Gemini feature with Google Workspace emails, and custom ChatGPTs they have developed for various aspects of their business, including drafting emails.

“While we are careful about the sensitive information in our inboxes, we leverage AI whenever appropriate to significantly increase efficiency,” says Heaps. “This has resulted in quicker responses, more thoughtful replies to frequently asked questions, and better integration with our CRM. For example, the AI can quickly retrieve our top vendor recommendations (like our three best painters) when a client asks.”

Our team operates on a "70/30" rule: the AI handles up to 70% of the work for efficiency gains, but we ensure a minimum of 30% human effort is dedicated to both the initial prompt and the final review before any information is sent.”

Cailey Heaps, REALTOR®

AI usage is growing 

While not every REALTOR® or brokerage in the country is using AI, the use of AI tools and assistants is rapidly growing. According to a Statistics Canada survey in the third quarter of 2024, 24.4% of real estate businesses planned to use AI over the next 12 months, almost double what they planned the previous year. 

For some people, using AI automation may be more hassle than its worth. If you’re struggling to keep up with an overflowing inbox, however, it’s certainly a tool to consider taking a closer look at. 

If you want help on integrating AI into your real estate business, CREA has a series of webinars that can get you started.