AI Use Cases in Commercial Real Estate

AI is revolutionizing areas of our lives all over. Our software engineering team recently told me they are 2-5x more efficient and productive than they were last year, simply thanks to Chat GPT. Imagine how I felt hearing that!

There are tons of AI tools being built today, the article below does a great job of consolidating the popular ones in one place. Below are a few real-life use cases of how you can start using AI today:

• Write complex formulas to organize create financial models in excel
• Create logos, graphics, or any unique images 
• Write social media captions
• Summarize long, complex legal documents or memos

If you don’t know where to start, click here. Sign up for a free account. And start asking it questions. 

Note – the power comes from good questions (prompts) so be thoughtful. The more information and context you provide, the better the output will be. Please always keep privacy and security in mind – reminder, don’t share any confidential information with it! 

Charlie Coppola
[email protected] 

AI TOOLS FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE (SEP 2023 EDITION)

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been exploring use cases, training, and tools related to AI in commercial real estate a lot lately! The reason is that Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to revolutionize the commercial real estate industry by transforming the way acquisitions, development, management, advisory, and marketing teams in the industry operate. AI tools are enabling CRE teams to process vast amounts of financial data, automate repetitive tasks, repackage existing content in more palatable formats, and gain valuable insights that can inform strategic decision-making.

In this blog post, we explore some of the AI tools that are most relevant to commercial real estate. This space is moving very fast. And so, as the industry adopts these tools, and as entrepreneurs create new tools, we will regularly release updated editions to this post.

In August 2023, we began adding updates to the key AI tools that we view as applicable to CRE. Those updates are included as bullet points to the tools below. We’ve also begun to add and remove tools based on their adoption, continued development, and/or emergence.

Note from Spencer and Michael: While we provide this post as a service, we do not endorse any of the tools listed here nor are we paid to share any of the tools on this list. It is simply a repository of AI tools that may benefit CRE professionals. If you have an AI tool you’d like added to this post, shoot us a note and we’ll consider whether it’s relevant.

AI TOOLS FOR REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS, DEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT, ADVISORY, AND BROKERAGE

If you’re reading this post, you’ve likely already played around with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. You’ve also likely read our various posts on using ChatGPT in commercial real estate. But what about other AI tools that CRE professionals are using in the industry? Below I’ll describe the tasks that real estate professionals perform, and then share various tools that can help with those tasks.

Real estate acquisitions professionals are responsible for identifying, analyzing, and acquiring real estate assets that align with their company’s investment strategy. They’re also tasked with communicating with brokers and sellers to source and negotiate potential transactions.

Real estate development professionals focus on acquiring, planning, and constructing new properties or redeveloping existing ones. Their day-to-day activities may include evaluating potential development sites, conducting feasibility studies, securing permits, managing project budgets, overseeing construction, and ensuring a successful lease-up and/or sale.

Real estate management professionals (property, asset, and/or portfolio) are responsible for overseeing the daily operations of residential, commercial, and industrial properties. Their tasks include managing tenant relations, collecting rent, coordinating maintenance and repairs, budgeting, and financial forecasting, and investment decision making.

Real estate advisory and brokerage professionals provide specialized guidance and expertise to clients such as property owners, investors, and developers. They conduct market research, financial analysis, and due diligence to support decision-making in areas like investment strategy, property valuation, and portfolio management. Additionally, they may offer insights into market trends and regulations to help clients navigate complex transactions and optimize their assets.

With this broad range of tasks that real estate professionals perform each day, we have created the following directory of AI tools that will help streamline the performance of those tasks:

NATURAL LANGUAGE MODELS AND INTERFACES

• GPT-4 (and future versions). A natural language model created by OpenAI that pushes the boundaries of natural language understanding and generation, leveraging improvements in context comprehension, reasoning, and creativity. (Link)
  • In Playground mode (playground.openai.com), a new instruct model called gpt-3.5-turbo-instruct was released that for some use cases is far more powerful than ChatGPT. For instance, the new model can play chess around the level of an average player (something ChatGPT’s models are unable to do).
  • OpenAI released a teaching with AI for educators resource in September.
• ChatGPT. AI language model designed by OpenAI for conversational interactions, capable of understanding and generating human-like responses across a wide range of topics. (Link)
  • On September 20th, OpenAI announced DALL·E 3, its next generation text-to-image model and that DALL·E 3 would be fully integrated with ChatGPT.
  • ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak. (Link)
• ChatGPT Enterprise. OpenAI’s LLM designed for businesses, offering data security, advanced data analysis, unlimited GPT-4 access, and customization features for seamless large-scale deployment. (Link)
• Google Bard. A conversational AI chatbot developed by Google, initially based on LaMDA and later PaLM LLM models. (Link)
  • Big changes to Google Bard in September per release notes. Google Bard’s recent update introduces real-time information retrieval from Google Maps, YouTube, Hotels, and Flights, integration with Gmail, Docs, and Drive for content collaboration, a Google It v2 feature for double-checking AI-generated responses, the ability to continue shared Bard conversations, and new features like image uploads via Google Lens and customizable responses across all supported languages.
  • It was also reported in September that Google was close to releasing a GPT-4 quality competitor in Gemini. It is assumed that Google Bard would be powered by this new and improved model.
• Perplexity AI. A new search engine bot challenging ChatGPT, offering features, a mobile app, and free access, providing detailed answers and additional resources for users. (Link)
  • Recent updates include file upload, the release of LLaMa Chat (see below), a redesigned sidebar, the inclusion of images in responses, the ability to categorize searches, various updates to the Perplexity AI iOS app, and the release of a new Chrome extension to prompt Perplexity from the Chrome search bard.
• LLaMa 2. Meta’s foray into the large language model space and the only true “open source” LLM. Currently, for non-technical individuals LLaMa 2 is best accessed via a frontend tool created by Perplexity called LLaMa Chat. (Link)
• Microsoft Copilot. Built on OpenAI’s GPT LLM, Microsoft Copilot is an AI-driven assistant designed to seamlessly integrate with Windows 11, Microsoft 365, and Edge, providing context-aware assistance across tasks to enhance productivity and efficiency.
  • Announced in September, the tool is slated to begin rolling out in its early form as part of a free Windows 11 update starting September 26th. Copilot introduces over 150 AI-powered features, including enhancements to Paint, Photos, and Clipchamp, as well as Bing’s incorporation of the latest DALL.E 3 model for personalized search, a new AI-driven shopping experience, and updates to Bing Chat Enterprise for increased mobility and visual interaction.

PURPOSE-BUILT AI TOOLS FOR CRE

• LeaseLens. AI lease abstraction service that costs effectively $25 per commercial real estate lease abstract export. (Link)
• Prophia. AI-powered asset/portfolio management platform specializing in lease abstraction for commercial real estate, offering data-driven insights to optimize investment strategies and operational efficiencies. (Link)
• Proda AI. Rent roll processing and data roll up. (Link)
• DocSumo. Process and digitize rent rolls in under 30 seconds. (Link)
• Likely AI. AI monitoring technology identifies potential (residential) sellers, refreshes lost contact details, and sends automated alerts. (Link)
• Elise AI. AI property management platform to manage prospects and residents, automate tasks such as leasing, resident conversations, service requests, and payments, and integrate with various communication channels including emails, texts, chat, and phone calls. (Link)

TOOLS FOR EXCEL AND GOOGLE SHEETS

• ExcelFormulaBot. With the assistance of AI, you can instantly convert your text instructions to Microsoft Excel formulas. (Link)
• Ajelix Google Sheets Formula Creator. The AI-Powered Google Sheets Formula Generator translates text into formulas, saving you time and increasing productivity. (Link)
• SheetGod. Create intricate Excel formulas, macros, and automate manual tasks, using plain English and Google Appscript code snippets with the help of AI technology. (Link)
• MS Copilot in Excel. Unlock insights, identify trends or create professional-looking data visualizations in a fraction of the time. (Link)
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot will be generally available for enterprise customers for $30 per user per month on November 1.
• Formula Dog. This tool automatically converts text to Excel formulas, VBA code, and Regex, providing explanations along the way. Also compatible with Google Sheets, Airtable, and Notion. (Link)
  • Formula Dog has a “public roadmap” that outlines features in process and on request. However, they have not released any new features since March 2023.
• GPTExcel. A free tool that generates complex Excel formulas effortlessly. (Link)

TOOLS FOR DOCUMENT CREATION AND EDITING

• ChatGPT (and GPT-3.5/4). ChatGPT uses a language prediction model to draft new and/or edit existing text. (Link)
  • See ‘Natural Language Models and Interfaces’ section above for latest updates.
• MS CoPilot in Word . Write, edit, summarize and create in Word. (Link)
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot will be generally available for enterprise customers for $30 per user per month on November 1.
• CheckboxAI. Streamline document drafting, approvals, and e-signature process. The tool uses OpenAI’s GPT to help teams manage tasks and questions faster and easier. (Link)
• Type. AI-first document creation and editing tool. (Link)
• WordviceAI. Improve English writing with automatic error detection and correction capabilities. (Link)
• DocuWriter.ai. This tool auto-generates documentation from source code for all programming languages. (Link)
• BeautifulAI. Effortlessly create stunning presentations in minutes with AI-assisted design and smart slides. (Link)
• Handl. Handl is an AI document platform that transforms documents into data for multiple industries. (Link)

TOOLS FOR ORGANIZING/ANALYZING REAL ESTATE INFORMATION

• OpenAI Advanced Data Analysis (formerly Code Interpreter). ChatGPT functionality that enables users to upload various files and execute operations like data analysis, image transformation, and code modification via ChatGPT. This add-on can manage file uploads and downloads in diverse formats such as CSV/Excel. (See use cases and instructions for using Advanced Data Analysis)
• ChatGPT ‘Ask Your PDF’ Plugin. This ChatGPT plugin enables users to upload PDFs and interact with their content, facilitating efficient extraction of information. (Link)
  • The AskYourPDF API is now open for developers to build applications and services, which means real estate teams can now integrate this tool into their own tech stack.
• ChatPDF. Easily and quickly chat with any PDF for free without needing to sign in using ChatPDF. Whether you have books, research papers, manuals, essays, legal contracts or any other type of PDF, you can talk to them. (Link)
• AskCSV. Similar to ChatPDF, a tool for digesting information contained within a CSV quickly. (Link)
• A.CRE Sales Comp Plugin. While not a publicly available application, I built this tool to connect my proprietary sales comp database to ChatGPT. (Learn how to create your own Sales Comp ChatGPT Plugin)

TOOLS FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION

• Bluemail GEM AI. Summarize emails and draft responses quickly with AI. (Link)
• Flowrite. Have your daily emails and messages written for you across your browser with an AI email writer tool. (Link)
• MS CoPilot in Outlook. Synthesize and manage the inbox in Outlook. (Link)
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot will be generally available for enterprise customers for $30 per user per month on November 1.
• Relationship Coach AI. AI help and recommendations when responding to communications. (Link)
• Poised 2.0. An AI communication coach for confident and clear speaking. (Link)
• Yoodli. Yoodli is an AI-powered speech coach that provides free personalized communication feedback. (Link)
• Usetwain. Twain is an AI assistant that helps sales/marketing teams with effective outreach. (Link)

TOOLS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

• Lately. Convert long-form content into dozens of social media posts. (Link)
• Heyday. AI bot that engages with social media audience in comments. (Link)
• Omneky. Generates personalized social media ads using AI. (Link)
• Cortex. Provides optimized posting recommendations based on historical metrics, competitor analyses, and design preferences, as well as a dashboard for scheduling and previewing posts. (Link)
• UpHex. Automate Facebook (and other online) advertising campaigns. (Link)
• AI Social Bio. AI Social Bio generates social media bios using keywords and influencer inspiration. (Link)

TOOLS FOR MARKETING

• Jasper. Generative AI platform that tailors brand-specific content for your business. (Link).
• Phrasee. AI generated email, push, SMS, web, app, and social ad content. (Link)
• Smartwrite. Writes personalized marketing emails. (Link)
• Voicebooking. Converts written text to AI-generated voice files. (Link)
• Resemble AI. Create voiceover from text with human-like voices, including your own. (Link)
• Phrasee. Phrasee generates optimized, on-brand content for improved business results. (Link)

TOOLS FOR IMAGE DESIGN

• Midjourney. The leader in AI generated images from text. Images created via a prompt on Discord. (Link)
• DALL·E. AI generated images from text created by OpenAI, the same team that created ChatGPT. (Link)
  • Dalle e 3 was announced September 20th, and the preview of what it can do is spectacular. It is also slated to work directly in ChatGPT.
• DreamStudio. Web app by Stability.ai that provides a suite of generative design tools that allows users to create images with AI. The most practical AI image generation tool I’ve used, although the results are inferior to what Midjourney is able to produce. (Link)
• Designs AI. Create logo designs quickly with AI. (Link)
• Adobe Sensei. Uses AI to improve and simplify design. (Link)
• Adobe Photoshop. Uses Generative Expand, using AI to expand an image beyond its actual scope. (Link)
• 2Short AI. Extract from long videos, relevant short videos for TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts, and others. (Link)
• Deep Art Effects. Utilize artificial intelligence to conveniently and innovatively edit images. (Link)
• Designs AI. This is an AI-assisted graphic design tool for creating logos, videos, and more quickly. (Link)
• MarketingBlocks AI. Ethan is an AI assistant that generates landing pages and other marketing assets. (Link)

CONCLUSION – AI FOR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

In conclusion, it’s clear that Artificial intelligence (AI) is already transforming the commercial real estate industry and will continue to do so in the future. As we’ve seen in this post, AI tools are providing tremendous value to acquisitions, development, management, advisory, and marketing teams in the industry.

At A.CRE, we’re excited to see the industry embrace these tools and leverage their power to make more informed and strategic decisions. We’ll continue to keep an eye on this fast-moving space and update this post with new tools and developments as they arise. It’s an exciting time to be in commercial real estate!