Last modified on August 21st, 2024
By Brittany Benz

Artificial intelligence (AI) has quickly become an essential part of our everyday lives. What was once a novel concept is now a common integration that powers everything from digital voice assistants on our smart devices to autonomous driving technology in self-driving cars.

However, when it comes to effectively building AI solutions into business operations, most industries — including real estate management — have struggled to overcome significant integration hurdles and truly harness the potential it holds for transforming the way we work. 

As Vice President of AI Initiatives at AppFolio, Cat Allday knows just how challenging it can be for property management teams to find and implement the right AI solutions. Cat was a guest on a recent episode of the Multifamily Decoded podcast below, where she offered some of her top evaluation tips for real estate management businesses.

AI Evaluation Tip #1: Identify Real Business Problems AI Can Solve

AI holds incredible potential for property management, but simply adding it into the mix isn’t going to magically solve all your problems. Instead, Cat recommends first looking at and identifying your core business challenges before evaluating any specific solutions or platforms.

Some examples of real business problems AI can solve include:

• Freeing teams to focus on top priorities: In 2024, The State of AI in Property Management report found that 69% of leadership and 55% of employees surveyed said they want more time to focus on higher-value tasks. By using AI to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, such as rent collection reminders and data entry, teams can have more time in their day for more important work.
• Preventing burnout: In addition to giving teams time back from repetitive or mundane tasks, automating work that weighs down your teams’ to-do lists can help increase job satisfaction. The 2023 Hiring and Retention Report found that nearly 40% of property management professionals said they’re not satisfied with their work-life balance, yet 92% said work-life balance is important.
• Providing better customer service: Empowering existing property management team members with AI solutions creates a powerful, always-on customer experience combination for prospects, current residents, vendors, owners, and more.
• Increasing the accuracy of data: Trustworthy and accurate data is essential for making more informed business decisions. AI can help ensure human errors are minimized, so teams can spend less time on standard accounting processes and more time analyzing data and unlocking new business insights.

Bottom line: No matter what business problems you’re trying to solve, just make sure you identify them first. That way, you can choose the solution that best meets your specific needs.

AI Evaluation Tip #2: Look for Integrated, Not Additional, AI Solutions

Just like any other piece of software you would consider adding to your existing tech stack, integration and compatibility are essential factors to look for in any AI solution. That means any AI platform you are evaluating should be able to connect directly to — not sit on top or outside of — your property management software and processes. While using external or bolted-on AI solutions can feel helpful in the short term, they’re likely to cause more problems than they solve in the long term. 

Some common issues and warning signs to look for in any AI platform include:

• Information silos: When AI solutions can’t integrate into your property management software, there’s no way to accurately capture or share what’s really happening across team members or tasks, which leads to information silos.
• Inefficient workflows: Working outside of existing systems and technologies can slow down operations and reduce overall productivity. Inefficiencies can range from doing manual or duplicate data entry between disparate systems to an increased risk of things falling through the cracks because your property management software isn’t able to act as your team’s source of truth.

In addition, keep in mind that almost all widely used external AI platforms are general solutions that haven’t been purpose-built for property management. So even if they help speed up simple tasks, such as crafting resident communications, they aren’t guaranteed to have the nuanced and industry-specific context you and your teams need for more complex issues, such as workflow management and optimization.

AI Evaluation Tip #3: Make Ethical AI a Must-Have

Although data privacy is always a concern with technology, it’s easy to understand why buzzworthy headlines about the potential misuse of AI have given some companies cause for concern. In addition, AI adoption rates have significantly outpaced the development of any official rules and regulations, which can make the ever-evolving and rapidly expanding AI landscape feel a bit like navigating uncharted territory without a map.

The good news: Implementing AI solutions in safe and secure ways is absolutely achievable. To do so, Cat recommends embracing responsible AI from the start, by choosing solutions from vendors that develop and deploy AI in ethical and transparent ways. This includes everything from their data security, storage, and usage practices to the principles that guide their efforts and ensure they’re using AI responsibly.

Any vendor you’re evaluating should be able to provide all the information you need to embrace responsible AI from the start, if they don’t already have it displayed publicly on their website or in informational materials.

Find the Right AI Fit with Even More Helpful Resources

Although AI is integrated across every aspect of our personal lives, the right solution for your business is one that is tailored to your specific needs. Because there’s a lot at stake when investing in AI, make sure to thoroughly evaluate and vet all platforms first, by using Cat’s AI evaluation tips as a starting point.

Want even more insights into what you need to know now to become AI-ready and to successfully implement AI solutions, in all the right ways? Download our free guide to becoming AI-ready below.