The AI Reality Check How Real Estate Professionals Are Actually Using Artificial Intelligence

Written by:

Steve Marcinuk

Date:

19 Aug 2025

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The real estate industry stands at a familiar crossroads. Once again, a new technology promises to change how agents work, with the usual chorus of predictions about who will survive and who will be left behind. This time, it’s artificial intelligence, and the conversation has evolved beyond simple adoption to questions of fundamental industry change.

Craig Grant, CEO of The Real Estate Technology Institute and a veteran speaker who addresses over 150 industry events annually, brings a measured perspective to the AI discussion. With two decades of experience guiding real estate professionals through technological shifts, from the early internet days at the New York Times Media Group to mobile, social media, and now AI, Grant has witnessed the pattern of disruption predictions that accompany each new wave.

“That same saying I’ve been hearing for the last 20-plus years: ‘A realtor without social media is getting replaced by one who has it.’ It’s going to be mobile, Google is going to do it,” Grant observes. “This whole ‘you’re going to get replaced by a certain tech’ saying just keeps evolving. It’s just one thing after another.”

However, Grant acknowledges that AI represents something different. “There’s no doubt the amount of automation that could be done with AI has the ability to replace more than anything that’s come before it,” he says.

The Current State of AI Adoption

Despite the headlines and conference buzz, actual AI implementation among real estate professionals reveals a familiar adoption pattern. Grant estimates that while roughly half of the agents attending his events have experimented with AI tools, true integration remains limited.

“There’s a difference between using it and actually leveraging it,” Grant explains. “They might have used it once or twice to do a property description, but until you peel back the onion, they don’t see that they can do just about everything with this thing, build out their business plan, marketing, daily social media activity.”

The deeper adoption rate mirrors historical technology patterns: approximately 10% of professionals are truly leveraging AI in their daily routines. This early adopter segment, however, may not represent the traditional tech-forward crowd from previous cycles.

Tools That Actually Work

The most successful AI implementations in real estate focus on solving specific pain points rather than adding new complexity to agents’ workflows. Grant highlights companies that have found the right formula by integrating with existing processes.

Productive.ai handles one of the industry’s most persistent challenges: CRM data entry. The platform listens to phone calls, reads emails and texts, then automatically logs communications and notes into agents’ existing customer relationship management systems.

“That solves a huge need, because the average professional is not spending the time, it’s a frustration for them, but they’re not really doing a great job logging communications and notes into their CRM,” Grant notes.

Another example is DashFox, which mines agents’ email inboxes to identify follow-up opportunities with existing clients. Rather than generic automated messages, the system finds meaningful touchpoints, anniversaries, life events, or previous conversations, that enable personalized outreach.

“The best business you’re going to gain is from your existing sphere of influence, your database,” Grant explains. “But the average business person wastes a ton of opportunities because they don’t do a great job following up.”

Integration Over Innovation

For property technology companies, Grant’s advice is clear: integration is more important than innovation. “If I were to give one or the other a better chance to survive, it’d be the ones that integrate, because real estate professionals already use a lot of tools,” he says.

The challenge lies in workflow disruption. Asking agents to adopt standalone AI tools that require leaving their existing systems creates friction that most won’t overcome. “The average adult is lazy,” Grant states bluntly. “You’ve got to make it as simple as possible if you want them to adopt and work it into their routine.”

Successful AI tools either integrate seamlessly with existing platforms or completely replace current solutions—there’s little middle ground for partial adoption.

The Consolidation Question

While entrepreneurs predict industry consolidation from AI, Grant sees broader market forces at play. Real estate was already trending toward concentration, with top performers capturing most market share and team structures becoming more common.

“The data shows the percent of people in this industry that don’t make money, you have your top 10% make over 90% of the revenue, and you have a whole lot of hobbyists in the industry,” Grant observes. “I think that was going to happen no matter what.”

Rather than wholesale replacement, Grant anticipates a “new generation, not based on age, but AI competency.” Agents who effectively integrate AI tools will gain significant advantages in communication, customer service, marketing, and content creation.

The Human Element Remains Critical

Despite AI’s growing capabilities, Grant remains skeptical of predictions that technology will eliminate the need for real estate professionals entirely. The stakes involved in real estate transactions, combined with AI’s current limitations, support the continued value of human expertise.

“One of the biggest issues with AI is the fact that sometimes the content it creates is flat out incorrect,” Grant explains. “There’s a huge issue with hallucinations, where it just makes up information.”

The analogy he uses resonates: “If my life is on the line, I want a competent doctor involved. If my livelihood’s on the line, I want a competent lawyer. And if my entire life savings and investments are on the line, I want a competent real estate professional, not a piece of software that lies.”

Navigating AI’s Dark Side

Grant distinguishes himself among industry speakers by addressing AI’s potential pitfalls alongside its benefits. The real estate industry’s adherence to a code of ethics creates unique compliance challenges that many agents haven’t considered.

AI-generated property descriptions, for example, can inadvertently violate fair housing laws. “If I ask it to create a property description and it generates one that says it’s ‘a nice family home in a great family neighborhood close to the churches,’ that would get me in so much trouble with the code of ethics and fair housing laws,” Grant explains.

The solution involves implementing guardrails and maintaining human oversight, but many agents remain unaware of these risks. Similar issues arise with AI-generated visual content, where using the wrong tools for virtual staging can create inaccurate property representations.

Looking Forward

As convention season approaches, Grant will carry his balanced AI message to National Association of Realtors events and state conventions across the country. His newly developed ePro certification course for NAR will help standardize AI education for real estate professionals.

The path forward requires realistic expectations about AI’s current capabilities while preparing for continued evolution. Rather than fearing replacement, successful agents will focus on strategic implementation that enhances their existing strengths.

“AI can be just as destructive as it is positive if not used properly,” Grant warns. “But if you use it right, it can be an amazing tool.”

For real estate professionals, the message is clear: AI adoption is becoming essential, but success depends on thoughtful integration rather than wholesale change. The agents who thrive will be those who leverage AI to enhance their human capabilities, not replace them.

The industry’s next chapter won’t be written by technology alone, but by professionals who understand how to harness AI’s power while maintaining the human judgment that complex real estate transactions demand.