How to benefit using AI.

Incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and various technologies into the rental housing industry has empowered communities to more effectively and efficiently serve their residents and teams. The transformations both inside and beyond the industry, especially concerning the integration of AI and related technologies, hold the potential to reshape the workforce. Although there is a prevailing notion of AI replacing human roles, it does not necessarily ring true for multifamily housing.

The intent is to enhance the workforce with AI and technology—not entirely replace it. This process, however, is not as straightforward as it might seem. Some of the more common reasons for adopting AI and other tech solutions often revolve around saving time and reducing costs. However, the specific needs of this technology can differ considerably, depending on the roles AI and tech are given within an organization.

Liv Communities has implemented an AI leasing consultant designed to respond to its customers 24/7, ensuring them round-the-clock access to information and the ability to schedule tours, optimizing the efficiency of our leasing teams. Currently, Liv Communities’ goal isn’t to replace humans—it’s to augment customer experience. It aims for near-instant responses, recognizing that its customers operate across various time zones.

Following this, Liv Communities’ team steps in and intercepts the conversation, ensuring that the experience is personalized, and a relationship is built with each customer.

Giving AI a Voice

For years, Liv Communities has implemented advanced technology into each of our communities to provide fast, convenient services for customers and team members. With a current portfolio of about 2,000 units, such a bold tech strategy appears unconventional for our size.

One of our organization’s principles is to lead with a forward-thinking approach and entrepreneurial spirit. Our CTO’s primary mission is for all Liv team members to champion innovation in their work and optimize the use of tech, not only for our customers, but our team members as well.

While many customers might engage in a conversation on a website, unaware they are interacting with AI, we always strive to retain that human touch. We use our own discernment and “brand language” to thoroughly create the content we want. Instead of providing a direct, generic reply, we craft our responses to revolve around the posed question, ensuring it resonates with our unique brand voice. AI is a wonderful tool to manage our processes, but we prefer our people managing relationships.

Measuring Up

It is important to keep track of all AI-related platforms, like any tool implemented to ensure they are worth an investment. We gauge AI usage by conversion, closing ratios and response times. The response time is a crucial factor that is often overlooked. While both conversion and closing ratios are important to track, analyzing average response times and breaking down the data to see how many of the AI responses translated into leads, sales and move-ins holds great significance to us. This data shows the impact our AI tool has made since it was implemented and provides insight on trends or changes we can explore.

Integrating AI across a localized portfolio allows customers the ability to search multiple sites at once if their first search did not meet their needs. If the AI tool serves only one community, we miss the opportunity to share our availability across the portfolio. Suppose someone seeks a two-bedroom and our current community lacks it. The AI will review availability at nearby communities and respond, “We don’t have a two-bedroom here, but we do have a three-bedroom currently. We also have a two-bedroom at another nearby Liv community available if you’re interested,” for example.

Staffing Impacts

I do believe there is a chance to potentially optimize a team’s size, without necessarily eliminating jobs. Certain roles could transition to a centralized sales team, enabling salespeople to operate at a higher, portfolio-wide level.

For some operators, this may result in fewer onsite team members. Instead of eliminating positions, roles might be reassigned within the organization to focus on centralized customer service or overseeing AI efforts. These changes could enhance the customer experience and ultimately improve both reputation and company performance.

For us, AI enhances efficiency and offers ways to streamline processes and save time, ultimately leading to improved revenue and reduced costs.

Moving Forward

AI marks a massive change within our industry. Traditionally, multifamily housing has been cautious in its approach to adopting and integrating technology. As such, these changes are just as impactful as they are across any other industry today.

AI integration in multifamily empowers property owners and operators, granting them the ability to seamlessly monitor the pulse of their community and building infrastructure. The capability to stay informed about our communities and leverage smart technology, enabling real-time notifications and responses to issues holds immense potential for us. This allows us to elevate the customer experience with cutting-edge tools, delivering service beyond our stakeholders’ expectations, and it is only going to get better. 

It is important to emphasize that any tech-based initiatives, especially those related to privacy, require careful consideration. As more aspects of our lives become interconnected and automated, our residents may have heightened concerns. It is our commitment to be intentional in how we utilize and monitor these new tools, always with the aim of safeguarding our residents, our team members and our communities.

Heidi Arave-Noonan is the Chief Operating Officer at Liv Communities.