In 2023, artificial intelligence was hyped as a mighty force that could revolutionize real estate, but what if its real superpower is being the world’s greatest assistant?

As AI’s incredible stature grew last year, so did the backlash. A November study found that over 50% of tech workers believe AI is overrated. Perhaps you’ve felt the same after asking a chatbot for help and being disappointed with the results. However, AI still offers a lot of promise – as long as it’s framed more realistically. 

We don’t need tools like ChatGPT to do our jobs for us, but they could jumpstart the first 20% of a project or take over the final 10% of a task. Benefiting from AI comes down to knowing what prompts to write – and how to write them. In real estate, clear and specific prompts could help you delegate grunt work and refine how you communicate. Here are quick ways to get started.

1. Summarize key info

Prompt: Summarize this [piece of content] in 5 bullet points.

AI is known for creating new content from scratch, but one of its handiest features may be condensing existing info.

When writing new content, AI sometimes makes mistakes or “hallucinations” – so supplying a link or PDF to an article, report, or survey often leads to more accurate results. Think of it like SparkNotes on steroids. This simple prompt gives you a great way to stay current on market trends and digest research quickly. Adding in specifics for bullet points or word count will help you get exactly what you’re looking for.2. Convert traffic into leads

Blogging helps your website to be more than just a place for people to visit. It gives them the opportunity to interact with your business in a way that isn’t possible through other forms of content on your website. By blogging, you have the ability to help drive traffic back to your website and convert that traffic into leads. For example, if you blog about an important industry event and share it on Facebook and Twitter, you can expect a boost in new signups to your email list or visitors to your website.

2. Write Faster

Prompt: You’re a real estate agent in [city]. Write 3 different outreach emails to homeowners who may be interested in selling their home. Keep the body of each email to one paragraph. Use a tone that’s trustworthy, professional, and empathetic. Avoid using words that are spam triggers. And finish with a compelling call to action that’s one sentence and easy for people to reply to.

AI isn’t a perfect writer. However, it is a fast writer – meaning it’s really useful for pushing past writer’s block and getting you to a first draft quickly. 

OpenAI, which created ChatGPT, recommends asking AI to adopt a persona. Tell it to think like an agent and then present it with a problem to solve. Next, provide guardrails around length, format, tone, etc. This could apply to everything from cold outreach emails to listing descriptions to website copy. Once you get a first draft, you can start tweaking and personalizing the copy to your liking.

Pro tip: Ask for 3-5 options. This way, you can mix and match the best parts of each version as you start piecing together your draft. AI has the power to give you dozens of options at once, but you may see diminishing returns. Three options seems to be a sweet spot for longer content prompts.

3. Eliminate mistakes

Prompt: Correct the spelling, grammar, and punctuation of the following text: [TBD]

Once you have a draft nearly complete, AI is useful for editing. Pasting text into an AI tool will give you the ultimate grammar checker so your writing stays mistake-free before you share it with connections or colleagues. Beyond standard spell check capabilities, I’ve also found this kind of prompt helpful for trimming unnecessary words, swapping in synonyms, and removing passive voice.

4. Coach clients

Prompt: You’re a real estate agent working with a first-time home buyer. Explain the mortgage process to them at a high school level in a way that isn’t condescending and helps them be aware of all the steps along the way.

Real estate is full of complex concepts that AI can help clarify for buyers or sellers. Mortgages, pre-approvals, closing costs – you can tailor the complexity for just about anything based on the client. In this example, the prompt returns a checklist of talking points you could reference before speaking with buyers.

Along these lines, I’ve seen people use AI to create clever analogies that simplify complicated topics. (“Explain it to me like I’m 5.”) Academic studies have repeatedly shown that analogies can help people learn new material. So this is your opportunity to get creative if you ever need to explain the concept of escrow at a high school level using a pop culture analogy.

5. Master objection handling

Prompt: You’re a real estate agent trying to follow up with difficult seller clients who don’t agree with your pricing strategy. What would you say to get them to support your recommendation in a way that’s respectful and professional? Make it a script using bullets.

AI is primed for role playing, which makes it an ideal tool for practicing tricky conversations. Using prompts similar to the one above, you can run through different responses to tough scenarios ahead of time. Some of the responses may be intuitive to experienced agents, but you’d be surprised how often the bullet points open your eyes to a new tactic or talking point.

And remember, you can always ask follow-up prompts based on what AI produces, so you can break up your request into more manageable steps (also known as “chaining”). For instance, you could type “now make it more conversational” or “format this into a professional email.”

5. Plan ahead

Prompt: How should a real estate agent adjust their strategy if mortgage interest rates decrease to X% and inventory increases by X%?

When asked to uncover historical data, AI sometimes makes mistakes. But its predictive powers seem to be more on point, and some interesting use cases – such as forecasting home values – have shown promising results. That type of intel could come in handy for, say, re-engaging potential sellers.

Since the market has been full of uncertainty in recent years, AI prompts can help agents gameplan for what’s coming. This kind of hypothetical prompt could spark ideas without requiring you to spend hours going down a research rabbit hole. Keep that in mind the next time you’re anticipating an update on interest rates or hear an expert make a prediction for the future.