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It wasn’t so long ago that the concept of an AI chatbot sounded like something belonging solely to science fiction. But with the unprecedented rise of ChatGPT, interest in AI chatbots has skyrocketed, and their use has become commonplace across various industries. But perhaps one of the last things that you might imagine would be influenced by AI chatbots is property.
After all, when we think of the property industry, its major characteristics are the need for skilled human salespeople and complex legal transactions. And on the surface, these aren’t things that an AI chatbot can help with. But it is actually the case that there are many areas of property sales where chatbots could be extremely useful.
While we are never likely to see AI taking over the role of a skilled estate agent, they can provide assistance at various stages of the customer journey to make transactions run far more smoothly. In this guest article, we’ll take a closer look at the rise of AI chatbots, and what this could mean for the property industry
Increasing Property Buyer/Renter Engagement with AI
It is often the case that the mental image of a property sale is about price negotiations, and an estate agent attempting to match the interests of the seller and buyer. But a lot more goes into the process. AI chatbots can play a crucial role earlier in the buying process. Any larger landlord or estate agent’s website is vital in getting buyers and renters interested in a property.
“Many still see the website as a mere digital shop front or a facility exclusively for searches, yet a website has the potential to deliver more business than a physical branch – and it deserves just as much investment,” says Lisa Isaacs, writing for The Negotiator. “Some may need a new mindset to harness a site’s true potential. It is, these days, an agent’s shopfront, the aim is to stop people window shopping and walking away.”
Chatbots can be a great way to increase engagement with your website. When you consider that nearly two-thirds of customers would switch to a website that offers a chat function, it is easy to understand that for simple queries, customers would often rather use an AI chatbot.
AI Gives Answers to Property Questions Instantly
Websites can do a great job of providing insight and information on subjects related to property – but even with high-quality in-depth content, there will be elements that a website can’t cover. Take a subject like a party wall survey, which can come with a huge range of complexities. There are many examples of websites with excellent content relating to party wall issues – but if the customer has a complicated follow-up question, the website can’t answer it simply due to the broad range of subjects.
However, an AI chatbot can deal with complex queries and provide answers to questions for which there simply isn’t space on the website itself. When the customer can get this information they need instantly, it can make them feel a lot more confident about using your business. Better yet, chatbots can provide this service in real-time, making the process feel highly organic and natural to the customer.
AI is Great at Converting Visitors into Leads
One of the key benefits of AI chatbots is that they are available 24/7. Unlike human workers, they can handle multiple conversations simultaneously, without needing breaks or rest. This means that they can engage with visitors at any time, increasing the chances of converting them into leads. Another advantage of AI chatbots is their ability to personalise interactions. By collecting data about the visitor, such as their browsing history and preferences, chatbots can tailor their responses to provide relevant and personalised information.
Having a relevant and realistic stream of positive reviews will do wonders for your marketing efforts as an estate agent or larger landlord business. Building a good reputation in the market and developing trust creates a more engaging and satisfying user experience. This, in turn, can boost your success and ultimately lead to higher conversion rates
Streamlining Work with AI in the Property Industry
AI chatbots can also help businesses streamline their sales process. By automating routine tasks, such as answering FAQs or scheduling appointments, chatbots can free up human agents to focus on more complex and high-value tasks. This can lead to increased efficiency and productivity when it comes to property management.
There is no need to assume that chatbots will take jobs away from human staff – rather it will make people able to do their jobs more effectively.
“At a much faster pace, AI chatbots can offer huge volumes of information and solutions,” says Shambhavi Sinha, writing for Ameyo. “In today’s scenarios, customers wish to get results fast and conveniently. AI chatbots are efficient enough to quickly provide precise and expected solutions to clients.”
Collecting Customer Reviews with AI
Customer reviews are essential for businesses in today’s online marketplace, especially for tenants looking for new homes. They provide social proof of a company’s services, and they can influence a customer’s decision on whether to work with you or not. However, collecting reviews can be time-consuming and challenging, especially for property businesses with a large customer base. This is where chatbots can help.
Chatbots can be used to collect customer reviews in several ways. For example, your business can set up a chatbot to automatically send a review request to customers after they make a purchase or use a service. The chatbot can ask customers to rate their experience and leave feedback, and it can provide them with a simple and user-friendly interface to do so.
Chatbots can also be programmed to follow up with customers who have left a review and ask them to share their reviews on social media or review sites. This can help to amplify the reach of the review and increase its impact on potential customers.
We can certainly expect to see AI chatbots having a far larger influence on all elements of the property industry for years to come. Whether it is for landlords, estate agents, surveyors, solicitors, or conveyancers, there can be no doubt that the software has applications across the industry.
As AI gets more advanced, there will be more that it is able to do. However, it will always be the case that the software works in unison with human staff. There is far too much relating to property that requires human thought and creativity.
