While artificial intelligence has been around for many years, this powerful technology has more recently become accessible, gaining mass popularity and exposure in the last two years. Now, 2023 has been named ‘the year of AI adoption’.
AI is now accessible to everyone and it looks like it’s here to stay. Any business that fails to embrace technological change will likely become at the mercy of their competitors. We only have to look back on recent history to be reminded of what happens when companies refuse to adapt.
One word: Blockbuster. Then there was also Kodak; maybe a lesser-known story but still another perfect example.
Once the biggest name in the photography industry, Kodak was actually the very first company to invent the digital camera in 1975. However, they buried the prototype out of fear it would cannibalise their existing film camera lines. Years later, the digital camera was developed and released by a competitor, with many others following suit. Subsequently, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012.
The potential to utilise AI with estate agency is vast. It can give you the ability to be laser-focused when targeting potential vendors by instantly identifying properties that are most likely to instruct.
One of the other major use cases of AI is within marketing. AI is helping to generate mind-blowingly good content for all sorts of media, from direct mail and blogs to emails and social posts.
Detractors may feel like AI is the death knell for copywriters or in-house marketing teams; however, there are countless agents who don't have the skills or time to write prospecting letters, and don’t always have the spare cash to pay for professional copywriting either, meaning AI is a quick and easy solution.
In reality, AI will help smaller, independent estate agents with limited resources to write great content almost instantly. While the bigger brands with marketing teams in place have the luxury of being able to spend more time on creative, strategic and critical thinking.
Take Spectre’s AI Content Generator for example: with the ability to input tone of voice preferences and unique selling points, agents can create personalised and tailored content for each of their own time triggers, all at the click of a button.
Not only is AI alleviating the heavy lifting when it comes to writing prospecting letters, but it is more importantly giving agents a unique voice without needing to invest in a strong marketing team, ultimately helping them become more effective at winning instructions from direct mail.
Touching on the flip side, it’s important to remember that AI is still in its infancy. While this technology is an incredible leap forward for all industries, including estate agency, it can come with some pitfalls.
Computer-generated content is an incredible base for your letters (so you’re not sitting staring at a blank screen for hours!), but tweaks are still recommended to ensure they’re completely in line with your brand and appropriate for your audience.
AI is only going to get smarter and better with time… and early adopters will reap rewards both now and in the future. It’s time to embrace change and leverage the vast capabilities of AI.
