Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taking the mundane and monotonous tasks out of apartment leasing for both renters and property management teams. Conversational AI chatbots, curated apartment matches, automated screening and dynamic pricing are all helping bring about quicker turns for landlords and greater apartment availability for renters. With their time freed from repetitive duties, property management staffs gain more opportunity to handle the high-touch responsibilities that bring resident satisfaction.
Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, a front-office-only AI platform for multifamily, believes AI-enabled leasing couples the expediency and consistency associated with technology with the affinity and rapport only human teams can bring about. Noting AI completes business-critical workflow, synthesizes information and delegates tasks to the correct team member or AI agent, he adds it liberates property management teams from burdensome and repetitive tasks to provide human-to-human connections.
“For renters that means immediate, clear answers and information about pricing, availability policies and fees,” he says. “It means mid-lease changes, move-in processes, payments and renewal are self-serve and easy. All while having access to team members for the more personalized moments in the renter-resident journey... Let AI handle routine and complex operational work so people can focus on the high-value interactions that build trust, improve conversion and strengthen retention.”
Specialization assists
The leasing model long in vogue required each individual in the property management team to be a generalist. That “everything for everyone” approach inflicted high worker burnout, fostered poor customer service and resulted in problems retaining residents. By contrast, specialization enables each step in the renting process to be overseen by an optimal blend of AI, technology and human knowhow.
“Role specialization and centralization optimize teams of experts to take administrative tasks to individuals focused on perfecting that particular step in the renter or resident journey [such as] application screening, renewals, collections, prospect communication, touring and more,” Christiansen says. He adds residents gain a more personalized and improved customer experience characterized by quick responses and more consistent follow-up. For property management, specialization reduces operating expenses and employee burnout and turnover. Resilience to staffing and market change improves.
Every operator needn’t adopt a similar centralized operating format. “The technology should support centralized, decentralized or hybrid teams and allow each company to design workflows around its own SOPS, brand and portfolio goals,” he says.
Multiple challenges
When it comes to implementation, technology doesn’t serve up a challenge, but data does. “Many property management companies still run on systems built in the 2000s, with rents in one place, availability in another and fees in a spreadsheet someone emails round on a Friday,” says James Buckley-Thorp, founder and CEO at Atlian AI.
“Put AI on top of that and it will confidently quote the wrong price to a thousand people at once. Clean the data first.”
Carla Hinson, vice president of global product strategy at proptech firm MRI Software, also emphasizes the need for technology that has access to error-free and connected data and fits organically into the ways property teams perform their work. “An AI assistant is only as useful as the information behind it,” Hinson says. “If pricing, availability or property details are outdated or inconsistent across systems, even the most sophisticated technology can deliver a frustrating experience.”
Coming next
The next evolution of AI-enabled leasing will connect capabilities to perform individual tasks across the entire renting journey, Hinson says. AI will also help teams become more proactive, pinpointing leasing trends, anticipating resident wishes and solving small problems before they become much larger ones. “The most valuable solutions will automate more decisions while operating with clear rules, transparent actions and human oversight where necessary,” she says. “That’s how AI moves from being a productivity tool to becoming a trusted part of property operations.”
Those triumphing won’t be huge operators able to bankroll large leasing teams, Buckley-Thorp says. “It’ll be the small and mid-sized landlords, who suddenly get a 24-7 leasing team for the price of a software subscription,” he adds. “AI is about to level the playing field in property, and the operators still waiting for it to be ‘ready’ will end up selling their buildings to the ones who didn’t wait.”
