Artificial Intelligence: What It Is, What It Isn't, and How It Benefits Your Business

If you've paid even a little bit of attention to technology or real estate industry news, you've heard this term a lot lately: Artificial Intelligence, or AI.

So why the sudden interest in this topic, and what exactly do people mean when they say artificial intelligence? Machines that think? Cars that drive themselves? And what does all of this mean for my real estate business?

Those are just some of the AI-related questions that we'll be answering next Tuesday. Join us on April 10 for a FREE, live webinar that explores what AI is, where it's going, and how it can benefit your real estate team.

Here's a peek at the agenda:

• The Basics: What AI is, and what it is NOT
• The varying degrees of AI, from simple to advanced
• Real examples inside real estate
• How to get started with AI
• LIVE demo of AI used for real estate
• Will your business suffer if your competition is using it and you aren't?

Artificial Intelligence 101

If you've ever wondered about artificial intelligence, Tuesday's webinar is like a freshman survey course on the topic. Here's a quick summary of the more in-depth information we'll be covering:

What is AI?

There are about as many definitions of AI as researchers developing the technology, according to Inside Real Estate, our webinar co-hosts. It's part of now-familiar digital assistants like Siri and Google Home. It includes Spotify's ability to learn your music preferences, and Amazon's uncanny ability to suggest just the product you need. At its heart, AI is a machine-based intelligence that learns patterns from data inputs and actions.

Like all intelligence, artificial intelligence exists on a spectrum. There are simple AIs, like smart thermostats, and advanced AIs like Alexa, Siri, and the broader Internet of Things (IoT).

AI is not a type of software, nor feature of software (like automate marketing). It is not something like automated marketing or drip campaigns, which is based on scheduled or triggered events. It's not here to take over the world. (It's true. Just ask "Okay Google, are you Skynet?" and see what happens.) And it's not going to go away.

"...strategic use of data and artificial intelligence are not fads," according Steve Murray, President of REAL Trends. "That would be like saying that Billy Beane and Paul DePodesta of Moneyball fame were just data geeks. Except, they showed how using data could change an entire industry forever."

AI and Real Estate

Now that we understand AI in a broad sense, let's focus in on how artificial intelligence is used in real estate. Here are a few examples:

• Chatbots helping buyers search for homes on your website
• A CRM that rates and scores leads, then suggests which to follow up with
• Predicting which leads that are most likely to transact soon
• Intelligent lead follow-up that takes action on your behalf

In addition, artificial intelligence can help you map out sales goals and evaluate the effectiveness of your lead generation and nurturing strategy.

Want to learn more? Register for Out-closing the Competition with Artificial Intelligence, a FREE, live webinar coming next Tuesday, April 10 at 1pm ET/10am PT.