How AI and Automation Will Shape Property Management in 2024

Recent studies show that around 40% of the working day is ripe for automation. With such significant time savings to be had, taking advantage of AI and automation becomes a must if businesses want to stay competitive and retain their market share.
In this blog we will look at the changing role that technology will play within the property industry in 2024. In particular how AI and automation will shape the industry and how you can embrace this change to improve efficiency, cut costs and grow your business.

What Will Technological Change Look Like?

For the last couple of years AI and automation have been the hottest topics in tech. Every day there’s a new article, story or Twitter thread about the growing capabilities of AI and how it spells doomsday for the average working human. So is 2024 the year we all get replaced?
The short answer, is no.
Property is fundamentally a people business and while the capabilities of AI are impressive it’s much more likely that people are going to be working with AI than for it. Efficiency gains will likely be most prevalent where technology is used to reduce time spent on manual tasks, allowing for more time on strategic and value-add activities.
So with the genie out of the bottle and the opportunities for efficiency and productivity gains as large as they’ve ever been, the question becomes not if companies should implement AI and automation technologies, but how.

Implementing New Technology

The digital revolution has brought forth a new era of efficiency and convenience in the property management industry. Embracing digital documents and online reporting not only reduces admin burdens but also and most importantly, improves accessibility for yourself and your customers, be they leaseholders, tenants, buyers or sellers.

Getting Maximum Value Out of Your Existing Tools

Implementing new technology will be just as much about taking advantage of improved features in tools you already use, as well as implementing new ones.
Aware of the need to act fast and stay relevant, many existing tools and services were quick to embed AI and automation tools into their products. It took mere months for customer chat bots to start rolling out shiny new AI driven features such as intelligent auto-responders and conversation summaries.
These new features can be seen popping up everywhere and do a great job of improving existing tools you might use. Use these where you can to save time, improve data quality and increase efficiency.

New Technology and Tools

While it can be difficult to find the time to look into new tools and technology the payoff can be huge. Identifying and implementing tools that help automate manual, repetitive tasks can pay dividends in a very short period of time.
The benefit of implementing AI and automation is two-fold. There’s the immediate benefit as work is taken off the plates of existing employees. Then there’s the long term payoff that comes where business grows, new customers arrive yet the costs of automated tasks don’t scale. Automation can essentially cap the cost of a particular task or process.

Where Can I Make Use of AI and Automation?

Customer Service

Chatbots were some of the first tools to implement tools and features built off AI and automation.
Tools such as Intercom, Yomdel and reHeroes provide immediate responses to enquiries 24/7, can handle multiple conversations at once and can be trained to answer questions, schedule viewings and provide support. Research suggests that up to 90% of queries can be resolved by a chatbot. While this is likely to vary from industry-to-industry, chatbots ensure that human interaction is only used is when it’s absolutely needed (and often, that’s not very often).

Marketing

Marketing is one of the most time consuming parts of running a business. Whether it’s writing blogs, building social media content and campaigns, SEO or creating video content, marketing takes time.
While there’s no substitute for an expert, tools such as ChatGPT (for content creation) and DALL.E (for image creation) can provide a great starting point for content.

Appraisals and Estimates

While nothing can compare to a property visit by an expert, data can be incredibly useful to help you determine fair value. Valuation tools can analyse thousands of data points including historical prices, market trends, economic data and regional specific information such as proximity of schools, hospitals and other amenities. Industry favourites Zoopla and RightMove both provide valuation tools.

Process Automation

Process automation has come a long way from simple integrations that connect one tool to another. Process automation can now replicate an entire sequence of activities, involving multiple tools and platforms. For example:
- Generating, sending and chasing works orders
- Managing and uploading contractor invoices into accounting software or data management platforms
- Credit control such as chasing tenants or leaseholders for rent, ground rent or service charges

Property businesses that effectively introduce and utilise AI and automation tools stand to gain a significant advantage over their competitors. The time saving and efficiency increases that stand to be gained are larger than ever before.