I haven’t been at this long but have so enjoyed researching AI and its effects on the commercial real estate industry this year. From the Boston ICSC Tech PanelI moderated in July to the seven new AI in CRE articles I published, it’s been very interesting and educational. AI is such a fun (yet slightly terrifying) topic to follow but we must continue to learn about what it can do and how it can help us.
Below are my AI predictions for 2024 as they relate to commercial real estate.
1. New Marketing/Tech AI Positions
We’ll see commercial real estate owners and brokerages dedicate dollars to an AI specialist that understands how to integrate AI at a tech level to streamline processes but also someone in marketing that understands and digests AI data and predictive analytics. Partners can’t expect everyone to understand the ins and outs of AI so they’ll need to call upon new AI leadership. This leadership will also set guidelines for utilizing AI at the corporate level, especially as copyright issues will continue to be raised. From a marketing standpoint, It’s important/helpful/wonderful to lean on AI but make sure that we modify content and use our own creativity and branding as a baseline.
2. More Smart Buildings
As AI advances, all things that utilize it will as well, like various building systems. The integration of AI technology with building systems will enable owners and operators to optimize energy consumption, reduce maintenance costs and most likely, improve tenant satisfaction. Smart buildings will be able to adjust lighting, temperature, and ventilation systems based on occupancy, weather and other factors. Now, we just need some robots to snow plow all of our shopping center lots! But…with global warming this will probably be less of a budget strain….EEEK!!!
3. More International Retailer Interest with Improved Virtual Tours
This year, I’ve seen a number of international brands come to Newbury Street, Boston (Hublot, Breitling, Sezane, Byredo, Blundstone, ba&sh) but I’m thinking that as AI advances, so will international interest in our top retail districts. AI will continue to enhance the virtual and augmented reality capabilities. Potential tenants will be able to better virtually visit properties/vacancies and visualize design concepts. I imagine this tech will also be used in the design and construction. We’ve obviously seen very high-end brands come to top US cities but would love to see other international brands come too, I mean some of the craftsmanship and products are unreal but not everyone can afford a $25,000 watch or $50 mascara.
4. Marketers Crank Out More Content
Now that AI basics have blanketed the marketing community, I think we’ll see more in-house marketing teams rely on AI to crank out content for social media. This isn’t a good thing as I worry that some in-house teams will lose their creativity and brand voice as they try to do more but we have to remember to be content strategists, not content vending machines (per WordPress at HubSpot’s INBOUND marketing conference this year).
5. More Leads with Smarter ChatBots
I’ve written about this before but I have been blown away by the amount of leads you can attain from a chatbot. Yes, you have to filter through the junk aka things that have no relevance to your company or answer straight up weird questions but I do think as this tech evolves it will get even smarter with AI. Chatbots will and are currently able to now understand more human dialogue and behavior and also digest large amounts of content like your complicated website. I think those that don’t add a chatbot to their websites are missing out big as they’ll continue to answer easy questions that were taking time from staff and create more leads. If you can create a system that takes these leads and inputs them into a CRM system with an automated lead nurturing campaign, that’s the ideal.
This is my last AI in CRE article of 2023! Thank you for reading, whether this is your first read or you’ve read all seven this year. Come 2024, I’ll continue to research, write and review AI and its impact on commercial real estate with our AI in CRE LinkedIn newsletter, which drops every Friday at noon.