Ever since ChatGPT won the Internet spotlight in November last year, it’s become an indispensable tool for many real estate agents. Many report using it to generate property listing descriptions in a mere minutes, a task that would otherwise take a up to an hour. Some also use it for more complex computations. True enough, ChatGPT’s promise lies in its ability to help real estate professionals save time, which is a valuable commodity in the industry.
Our marketing team also uses ChatGPT. It helps us create article outlines and some content itself. However, while I can personally attest to ChatGPT’s benefits, the fact remains that it can’t replace everything our content staff is doing. And even though it continues to benefit real estate pros, it still offers some challenges.
Here are some of the issues with artificial intelligence.
It can’t always be there for you
When fed smart and effective prompts, ChatGPT can churn out convincing and almost human-like content, such as listing descriptions and query responses. It could be your best friend when answering inquiries through chat or email. However, real estate deals are not completed through written communication alone. You’ll eventually need to converse face-to-face with clients, and you won’t have ChatGPT to coach you on what to say.
When you use ChatGPT for your written materials, your clients will expect the same level of eloquence. So, it’s necessary to personalize whatever content ChatGPT creates for you by adding your own words to show your personality and style.
It can’t give you the latest data
According to ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, it was trained to gather information from an offline database that contains data only until 2021. Currently, it’s not collecting information from the internet as well. So, it lacks recent and real-time data. You can’t count on it for content that requires specific, time-sensitive information. For instance, if a client asks for current mortgage rates, you’ll have to look for that information on your own.
In addition, avoid housing market data and legal and contract queries.
It can’t guarantee clients’ trust
The real estate industry has some bad rap because of some agents practicing unscrupulous practices. ChatGPT now makes it easier to write enticing listing descriptions, which some agents can use to mislead potential buyers. When it’s your time to cater to buyers who had bad experiences, you might find it a challenge to earn their full trust.
Furthermore, many people have heard about ChatGPT now and how they’re being used in the real estate space. As such, buyers might question whether the property description attached to the listing is real.
It can’t make appropriate decisions and judgment
ChatGPT offers tremendous help for tasks like improving a sales pitch or writing an article. However, if we use it for active communication, such as when talking to a client via email or chat, people are bound to notice and wonder whether they’re talking to a real person or AI. Communication and customer service are among the business aspects where I believe tech can’t fully replace human interaction. Conflict resolution and in-depth and meaningful client support are best controlled by humans, as we have the ability to decide the best course of action for certain situations.
In addition, it has been known to provide answers that discriminate against race, gender and minority groups, so always review your documents carefully.
It can’t follow local and state regulations when writing property listings
ChatGPT can give you catchy and convincing listing descriptions, but you can never be sure if the content abides by local and state regulations regarding the wording and marketing of listings. Furthermore, it is not connected to MLS feeds. As such, you must not use ChatGPT-generated content as is. You need to make necessary tweaks to meet guidelines and ensure correct information.
The bottom line
ChatGPT is a great tool, but don’t be too dependent on it.
In all, we need high-quality content to get clients interested and excited. However, we also need to make sure the great content they see online translates into real life.
Relying completely on artificial intelligence, no matter how good they are at what they do, is a dangerous practice. AI tools like ChatGPT should only be seen as a helper. It’s a must to inject your own words and voice into AI-generated content to help your audience set appropriate expectations.
David Bitton is the CMO and co-founder of DoorLoop, a property management software for the real estate PropTech industry that has raised $30M.
