How to Unlock Leasing Success with GenAI

The multifamily industry is on the cusp of a technological revolution, and generative AI (GenAI) is leading the charge. At Apartmentalize 2024, Roy Baum, the Product Lead for Lea at Apartment List, delivered a session on "Unlocking Leasing Success with GenAI." As generative AI continues to revolutionize various industries, his insights into its impact on the multifamily sector highlighted the transformative potential of this technology.

To watch the full session, see below.

This blog post explores how Generative AI (GenAI) is revolutionizing the leasing industry. TL;DR below:

• Generative AI (GenAI) is revolutionizing various industries, including the multifamily sector. It offers human-like interactions, enhances productivity, and is rapidly gaining public acceptance. For example, ChatGPT reached 1 million users in less than five days, showcasing unprecedented adoption rates.
• GenAI has a number of broad applications, from writing emails and planning trips to generating code and creating art. In customer service, 80% of people are now comfortable with AI performing tasks. This technology is changing user expectations for more intelligent and helpful interactions.
• Lea Pro, a new GenAI sales agent from Apartment List, is designed specifically for the multifamily industry. It combines accurate information with engaging conversations, offering features like omni-channel presence and proactive engagement to transform the renter experience and help multifamily professionals unlock leasing success.

For a full synopsis of Roy's session, continue reading below.

ChatGPT Revolution: Rapid Adoption and Versatility

Roy began his session by describing what we're living in as "the ChatGPT era," a time of unprecedented technological adoption and integration. To illustrate this point, he shared a striking statistic about ChatGPT's growth:

"You can see some of the fastest-growing products in history and how much time it took them to reach one million users. So Netflix, three and a half years, Airbnb a couple of years, Facebook, Spotify, Instagram, a matter of months. Any guesses on ChatGPT, how much time it took them to get to one million users? Less than five days."

Roy highlighted the broad applications of ChatGPT, from writing emails and planning trips to generating code and creating art. He showcased an example where ChatGPT was asked to create an app that reminds renters about their lease renewal. "You can get code of a functional app in a matter of seconds," he explained, underscoring the tool's versatility and efficiency. This ability to handle a wide spectrum of tasks demonstrates the immense potential of GenAI in enhancing productivity and creativity.

Shifting Expectations: GenAI's Impact on User Interactions

The introduction of ChatGPT in November 2022 has significantly altered our interaction with technology. Roy highlighted two key shifts:

1. Human-Like Interactions

He first pointed out that traditional chatbots, which provided limited and scripted responses, now seem obsolete. "You can interact with ChatGPT and other generative AI models like you can interact with other humans," he noted. This human-like interaction capability has revolutionized user experiences, making conversations with AI more natural and engaging.

2. Changing Sentiment Towards AI

Public sentiment towards AI has shifted dramatically – 65% of people now find AI-generated content equal to or better than human writing, and 80% are comfortable with AI performing customer service tasks. "In the past, you would call your bank, AI would answer, and you would think, 'Oh, this is so annoying.' But these days, you kind of expect this AI and you expect it to be smart, to be helpful," he remarked. This acceptance and expectation of AI's role in customer service signifies a pivotal change in how we perceive and utilize AI in our daily lives.

Industry Challenges: Implementing GenAI in Multifamily

Despite the rapid adoption of GenAI in many sectors, the multifamily industry has been slower to embrace this technology. Roy attributed this hesitation to several factors, including the need for vast amounts of data, specific industry regulations, and the alignment of multiple stakeholder

He also identified AI hallucinations – where AI generates plausible but incorrect responses – as a significant barrier to adoption. "Imagine the conversation between this renter and the leasing agent when they come to the property and they realize that it's not true, it's just a hallucination," he warned. Such inaccuracies can damage trust and lead to negative customer experiences. Hallucinations are currently unavoidable with GenAI and every solution deals with them to varying degrees.

This is particularly problematic in the multifamily industry where accuracy is crucial. Roy emphasized the importance of accurate information particularly concerning pricing and fair housing regulations: "We need to be consistent about pricing. Pricing is a big thing. When people are looking for their new home, we can't just give them false information."

Introducing Lea Pro: The Multifamily GenAI Solution

To address these challenges and harness the power of GenAI for the multifamily industry, Apartment List has developed Lea Pro. He described it as a solution that combines "the creativity, and power of ChatGPT and our own proprietary AI to ensure accurate information." In regard to the hallucinations mentioned earlier, it should be noted that Lea Pro has a hallucination rate below the industry average in all channels because Apartment List takes this industry-wide challenge seriously. We help combat hallucinations by training Lea Pro on millions of conversations and by continually monitoring and addressing any hallucinations flagged by our partners.

Key Features of Lea Pro Include:

• Proprietary AI Technology: Trained on the largest set renter conversations in the industry, Lea Pro is specifically designed for the multifamily industry.
• Accuracy and Creativity: By combining proprietary AI with generative AI capabilities, Lea Pro ensures both accurate information and engaging, personalized conversations.
• Omnichannel Presence: Lea Pro can interact with renters via email, text, chatbot, and voice.
• Proactive Engagement: Unlike traditional chatbots, Lea Pro can initiate conversations and ask pertinent questions to understand renters' needs better.

Below are some impressive results from early testing of Lea Pro.

"We see an increase in renters responding to the first message. We see less and less renters that stop responding mid-conversation. We see conversations are longer and deeper. We see a lot of more tools, but tools and conversion are not the whole story, right? We really care about the renter experience." Most importantly, Roy emphasized the positive impact on renter satisfaction: "We ask renters after they interact with AI, how the conversation was for them. And we see a steep increase in renter satisfaction and steep decrease in negative interactions."

To demonstrate Lea Pro's capabilities, he played a recorded conversation between the AI and a potential renter. The interaction showcased Lea Pro's ability to:

• Engage in natural, flowing conversation
• Provide specific property information
• Offer relevant details based on the renter's needs (e.g., mentioning the dog park when the renter mentioned having a dog)
• Handle pricing objections by mentioning special offers
• Schedule property tours

The demonstration highlighted how Lea Pro goes beyond simply answering questions to become a proactive GenAI sales agent, capable of understanding renter needs and tailoring the conversation accordingly.

Embrace Lea Pro & Transform Your Renter Experience

As we navigate the ChatGPT era, it's clear that GenAI has the potential to revolutionize the multifamily industry. By addressing the unique challenges of the sector, solutions like Lea Pro are paving the way for more efficient, engaging, and satisfying renter experiences.

For multifamily professionals looking to stay ahead of the curve, exploring GenAI-powered solutions like Lea Pro could be the key to unlocking leasing success in this new era. Ready to revolutionize your leasing process? Contact Apartment List today to learn how Lea Pro and our smart leasing platform can streamline your operations, boost conversions, and enhance renter satisfaction. Experience the future of leasing success with Apartment List.