Center for REALTOR® Development 106: Center for REALTOR® Development: Tech Meets Property: AI Trends in Real Estate with Dan Weisman: Part 1
Today, we will talk about AI in the real estate industry with Dan Weisman, a director of innovation strategy in the Strategic Business Innovation and Technology Group at the National Association of REALTORS®. In his role, he researches technology, strategizes on what this tech may mean in the future, and builds relationships with tech leaders to understand better and drive innovation in the real estate space. He is in the thick of thought leadership, creating new things for us.
I asked him how I, as an agent, could personally use AI to help me in my business. Sometimes I do not default to it as quickly as I should. I found our conversation to be very interesting. We are releasing it in two episodes.
This episode's Part 1 provides a big-picture overview of where we are now. It's amazing how fast things change! Then, we discuss some good suggestions for better habits. Let's get right into it!
[1:51] Welcome, Dan Weisman, back on the podcast! We're so glad to have you!
[2:07] Dan Weisman is NAR's Director of Innovation Strategy. His team's role is to look at and understand what technology is out there and help the membership figure out how it may fit into their business to make them more successful, productive, and efficient daily.
[3:26] People inaccurately equate AI to ChatGPT. The concept of AI started 70 years ago. We now have the computing power and data to make sense of AI. ChatGPT is generative AI, a subset of AI. AI places the ads and suggestions we see on Facebook.
[4:22] Generative AI is new to the average person because of its ability to use a technology like AI and know that it's AI. You don't need to understand how Gen AI works; you need to understand if it can help support you efficiently in what you're focusing on, whether selling real estate or researching a vacation.
[6:02] Generative AI refers to anything generated by artificial intelligence. OpenAI has ChatGPT and DALL-e, and Google has Gemini. Open AI powers Microsoft Co-Pilot. Midjourney was out before Open AI. The average person can search the internet and use Gen AI to ask questions and get results.
[8:14] Generative AI is in its infancy. It's like the beginning of the internet. People are not using Gen AI like they use Google today, but they will when they get used to it and find the value in it. It's developing itself. The more information we put into it, the better it will get. It's the future of search.
[10:32] Dan is a Mac user who uses the ChatGPT app for Mac. When he hits Option-S, ChatGPT comes up, and he can search within seconds. Training his mind to think differently than going to Google to search is a matter of training him. He gets an efficient answer with ChatGPT instead of pages of links to read.
[11:47] Dan thinks paying a monthly fee to use Gen AI is worth it. It finds the sources and gives you the results of all the searches. It's worth the $20.00 if you use it once a day. It's not that much compared to what we spend on other technology, like our phones.
[13:53] Dan mentions Meta. Meta.AI is a similar product to ChatGPT. It's built on Meta's Llama 3 free so far product, a large language model that many people use behind the scenes. Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI powers Microsoft Copilot.
[14:40] The big tech companies are investing and taking the lead in developing AI products and services. Google, especially, is working on this. Search is core to what Google does. There is healthy, strong, big tech competition. Dan worries that big tech companies will have too much control over AI.
[15:48] Google just lost a suit by the government about having a monopoly on search, based on Google paying hardware companies for Google to be the default search engine. Dan hopes this sets a precedent for giving multiple companies more of a fair opportunity to get in on the Gen AI game.
[17:42] Meta AI is catching up, as Google did with Gemini. Dan believes Meta will probably have a monthly subscription model to align more closely with what other companies are doing. These companies are losing billions of dollars on these products. Twenty dollars a month does not cover the usage.
[18:39] Dan believes the current release of Meta AI is to give the public access to it. Their main goal seems to be to use Meta AI within their current products, Facebook and Instagram. They just needed something to get their name out there as a powerhouse.
[19:25] Dan says it's good to have competition. It's good to have options to fit what you want. All AI products behave differently.
[20:24] These companies aim to keep you in their ecosystem. Meta wants to keep you on Facebook and Instagram.
[21:33] Dan states that some plug-ins are dangerous. It's worse than just downloading an app. They have access to stuff you don't realize. They may be searching your whole computer. Dan stays away from plug-ins for work. He sticks with the core apps.
[23:29] Having AI products looking at your data can feel invasive to people. We take risks in almost everything we do. Some companies use your data to provide better content and information. Dan wants to see ads for things that interest him.
[24:05] You feed the system whenever you enter information into a Gen AI product. It's learning. It becomes more valuable as more people use it. Be careful what information you put into it. Don't upload confidential financial or personal information into AI, even though it's anonymized.
[26:20] Dan clarifies one difference between the internet and Gen AI. If Monica uploaded her upcoming book into Chat GPT before she published it, it would not have generated more book sales. That may work in the future.
[27:45] Copyright is a massive topic regarding content, in general, and how these large language models are trained. There are lawsuits out there now related to images. Anything you input into AI is your work. Anything AI creates from your input is not necessarily yours.
[28:50] We're just scratching the surface with those conversations. Over the coming years, there's a lot to learn about what copyright and ownership of intellectual property means. Monica's info from her book could give a better answer to someone who asks Chat GPT a related question.
[29:48] Analyze the risks before you add anything to Chat GPT. Do you want to share information or just maximize book sales? Chat GPT can do the former; the internet can do the latter.
[30:27] Manica says that even though we're all creating our individual business models, we can use AI to help ourselves and make it more interesting. In real estate, there is a lot of mutual sharing. Most agents are not creating completely new content; they portray it differently.
[30:59] For the average user, AI products are a way to do things you aren't great at or may not even like doing in a more productive, efficient manner, whether it be a blog post or writing a listing. To some degree, it's an assistant that supports whatever you are doing. There are huge opportunities to use it.
[31:54] Monica always teaches agents to take what they've read and put it into their words in a video. Their expression of the idea is theirs and is part of their influence, engaging with the world.
[32:14] Dan shares three points: (1) Use these products once a day. Get used to them. (2) Remember, this is a tool. You want whatever you provide to be yours. Verify that what comes out is what you want to say and that it's factually correct. (3) Make sure it's in your voice how you would articulate something.
[33:07] Think of AI as a tool to help you improve at what you do and get from Point A to Point B twice or thrice as fast. Go out there and try some of these tools. You can ask any of them the same question 10 times and get 10 slightly different answers.
[33:28] Dan suggests that you should get used to using AI just as you got used to using the internet for everything you do. AI is the next version of the internet.
[33:37] Very encouraging stuff there, Dan! We'll have another episode, which will be more on application items, so look for that. Thank you so much, Dan! I appreciate you!
[33:51] Thanks so much to Dan Weisman for joining us! I love to be able to introduce you, our listeners, to some of the amazing staff in Chicago and D.C., working for you as members of NAR. Dan is always learning and networking. Getting some time with him was fun, and I'm glad you could also join us.
[34:09] Stay with us for Part 2, where Dan and I learn some of the best ways to increase your productivity.
[34:15] I hope you're taking advantage of the great education offerings at Learning.REALTOR, notably, the ABR® Class. AI is relevant to all parts of our business. If you take classes on Zoom or in person, you will be getting the most up-to-date information from the instructor and other learners in the classroom.
[34:34] What classes are you taking this fall to keep you sharp in this changing environment? I look forward to seeing some of you out on the road. If you are a listener, let me know! If you see me, come up to me and let me know what you're enjoying about the podcast.
[34:48] We'd also appreciate feedback on this two-episode-per-month format, as opposed to the one longer episode we've done in the past.
[34:56] Keep up the good work, helping clients escape their various living situations. In shifting markets, they need your expertise more than ever. I'm Monica Neubauer from the Center for REALTOR® Development. Go out there and sell some houses!
Tweetables:
"Nobody cares how the backend of Facebook works. We know it's providing a service we want: connections, people, ads, etc. You don't need to understand how Gen AI works; you need to understand if it can help support you efficiently." — Dan Weisman
"I feel like we're at this point with generative AI products where it's like the beginning of the internet again." — Dan Weisman
"Just get used to using AI, just like we got used to using the internet for everything we do, because this is the next version of the internet in the near future." — Dan Weisman
Guest Links:
Dan Weisman, Director of Innovation Strategy at NAR
NAR Resource Links
ABR® Accredited Buyer's Representative
Additional Links:
Crdpodcast@nar.realtor
Learning.REALTOR — for NAR Online Education
CRD.REALTOR — List of all courses offered
Host Information:
Monica Neubauer
Speaker/Podcaster/REALTOR®
Monica@MonicaNeubauer.com
MonicaNeubauer.com
FranklinTNBlog.com
Monica's Facebook Page: Facebook.com/Monica.Neubauer
Instagram: Instagram.com/MonicaNeubauerSpeaks
Guest Bio
Dan Weisman is a Director of Innovation Strategy within the Strategic Business, Innovation, & Technology group at the National Association of REALTORS®. In his role, he researches technology, strategizes on what this tech may mean in the future, and builds relationships with tech leaders to understand better and drive innovation in the real estate space. He is in the thick of thought leadership.