Artificial Intelligence will transform the capabilities of every industry and is thought to be one of technologists’ most ambitious endeavors. Having already revolutionized successes in robotics, IoT, healthcare, and automotive industries, the technology has been praised for being the driving force in emerging technologies. The opportunity is seemingly endless and the apartment industry leasing space is no different.
It all starts with data. AI for leasing collects prospect data and tracks behavior as they begin to interact with your property website and technology stack (leasing CRM, Google Analytics, property site mapping, virtual touring, virtual assistance…). Actual consumer data takes the guesswork out of decision-making. Software is then programmed to intelligently react to consumer information, then simplifying and steering an online leasing experience to amplify engagement and steer your prospect through the leasing journey.
Let’s look at 3 ways Apartment AI is changing the leasing process.
1. Advertising and Marketing
The first step in leasing is attracting future residents to your property. It is customary today to target advertising to specific demographics, geographies, and even web search histories. But AI will take that to the next level. With the right data and machine learning, multifamily marketers will capture and analyze the actual data behind your most successful targets and desired outcomes. Artificially intelligent marketing engines will identify these prospects and people like them, serving a custom message directly to the devices they use. Basically, it will do the work for you.
Once you find them, the next key is to keep them engaged enough to act.
2. Visitor Engagement
If you have ever watched a HotJar recording of your property website, you have witnessed exactly how prospects engage in your product. And the goal is certainly to create an experience that keeps them in your leasing funnel. The majority of prospects search for their new home several months in advance and will visit your website multiple times if you curate the right experience. They are collecting information on your property and the surrounding community. That journey can take place across a number of different devices and all times of day or night.
I believe the future of AI on leasing engagement will involve a 24/7 digital assistant throughout the entire experience, beginning with search and throughout the resident lifecycle. Curated content will be tailored to the prospect to keep them engaged. It will start by introducing them to the community and its amenities, visualize the lifestyle, and help them select the perfect available apartment home.
Engagement makes all the difference in getting a prospect to the point of sale on your property.
3. The Last Mile: AI and Leasing
Okay, so AI will make it brilliantly simple to identify and engage with prospects, but how will it simplify the rest of the process? We are already seeing highly intelligent virtual leasing agents, like Quext Digital Human, engage with prospects using experiential learning to constantly accumulate data and continuously improve the leasing experience. This ability to learn from customer interactions will allow us to engage on a more personal level with users and provide more individualized interactions. Imagine your AI engine serving your prospects their credit and background approval, all of the digital paperwork necessary to lease on your property, accepting payment, setting up utilities and renter’s insurance, ordering furniture and movers, and issuing their smart lock credentials for a seamless move-in.
These might sound outlandish today, but this is not a pipe dream. The innovators and open platform pioneers are building these solutions. It is harder to comprehend all of the ways Apartment AI will impact leasing, than it is to see it coming.
