"The ad said this pool was lagoon-like. That's the sarcastic comment of two clients in an iconic scene from American Beauty right before Carolyn, the movie co-protagonist working as a real estate agent, has a meltdown. Despite the typical cinematic overdramatisation, it's actually true that few industries in the world are driven by the "human factor", including interpersonal interactions between sellers and buyers, as much as real estate, and this seems to result in a certain conservatism and low propensity for change. Just a few years ago, indeed, this sector was ranked as the second least digitised by the Morgan Stanley Digitalisation Index. However, things are evolving faster, as relying on technology to compete in a saturated, unpredictable market like real estate can certainly come in handy.

One of the more permanent changes of the past year relates to technology in the workplace. The pandemic-induced lockdowns accelerated the digital transformation of business that was already underway, and real estate is no exception, especially when it comes to the incorporation of artificial intelligence. To gain a better idea of the perception of AI in property management, AppFolio conducted a study on the crossover of these two disciplines. When asked "I believe I have a basic understanding of artificial intelligence," 85% of the property management executives, decision makers, and generalist property managers surveyed answered in the affirmative. But when asked "Have you ever used or interacted with AI-based technology," only 32% said yes. 49% said no and 19% were unsure.

The multifamily industry is presently experiencing a paradigm shift and a revolution with the entry of technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI) and demographic shifts. This is disrupting the real estate industry as corroborated by an NMHC "Disruption" report from 2018. Even going through any industry blog, you will most likely come across various mentions of AI. It is a popular topic within the industry and is gaining more traction specifically within the multifamily industry. When it comes to AI, do I mean robots?

Artificial intelligence is decidedly among the most prevalent and sought-after technologies in the modern-day and age. This popularity is not without reason though -- after all, this technology stands to empower businesses and countless other entities with myriad benefits. Starting from significantly cutting down the time taken to accomplish a task to offering unparalleled insights about risks, trends, etc. -- there's a lot of artificial intelligence can do for your business. Now, given all that it stands to be able to do for us, it ought to come as no surprise that more and more industries and sectors have taken a shining to it and are now rushing to integrate it within their businesses as well. One such industry is a property management and real estate.

Edge2Learn, an e-learning company specializing in the multifamily industry, today announced the introduction of artificial intelligence to its learning platform. The AI platform provides role-playing opportunities for one-on-one instruction without a need for an in-person trainer. It is one of several cutting-edge, e-learning programs Edge2Learn offers. "The AI platform is a video-based practice training tool. It provides quick, specific feedback and an avenue to tweak sales presentations until they are perfect and ultimately result in better sales performances," said Joanna Ellis, co-founder and chief executive officer of Edge2Learn. "Several property management companies are rushing to adopt this technology, especially in the wake of COVID-19.

Like so many industries it came for over the past few years, the fourth industrial revolution is now heading straight for real estate, making huge waves that are only going to get bigger. Some of these advancements, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), are going to have significant impact on the management of commercial real estate properties. One of the biggest benefits to advancements in AI and other technologies is having the ability to streamline so many of the property management processes, processes that are all critical to the management of a commercial building, especially ones that house a significant number of tenants. Managing these types of properties has never been an easy feat, but technology is reshaping what property management looks like, ultimately giving time back to property management companies to focus on revenue, continue to grow their business and provide more positive tenant experiences. AI in Commercial Property Management When it comes to commercial real estate, just like residential, there is constant change.

"Sales and revenue generation are as a result of human interaction; it is that human interaction that is changing" – when asked to keynote speeches on the subject of technology in sales and marketing this is often a quote that gets a lot of heads nodding- it is very pertinent in this discussion too. This is due to the fact that I believe, ultimately, there will be little human interaction in certain real estate transactions in the future; some and future being the key points. Could there really be a possibility that artificial intelligence and real estate could work together? Which elements and when are pivotal to the debate and I hope to cover a few here. Ultimately it is my belief that in the near future the real estate industry could be automated and run algorithmically. However, it is important, from the outset to distinguish between automation and the more challenging theory of machine learning which is a term often used to describe Artificial Intelligence.

"Sales and revenue generation are as a result of human interaction; it is that human interaction that is changing" – when asked to keynote speeches on the subject of technology in sales and marketing this is often a quote that gets a lot of heads nodding- it is very pertinent in this discussion too. This is due to the fact that I believe, ultimately, there will be little human interaction in certain real estate transactions in the future; some and future being the key points. Could there really be a possibility that artificial intelligence and real estate could work together? Which elements and when are pivotal to the debate and I hope to cover a few here. Ultimately it is my belief that in the near future the real estate industry could be automated and run algorithmically. However, it is important, from the outset to distinguish between automation and the more challenging theory of machine learning which is a term often used to describe Artificial Intelligence.