How To Market Your Property Using Generative AI
(Hint:Start with the end goal in mind.)
All you hear about nowadays is how artificial intelligence is a "breakthrough" and a "game changer." There is so much talk it is hard not to think, "Yeah, right."...But maybe if you embrace change, generative AI could accelerate efficiency across your organization?
So to test this idea we decided to try to use readily available technology such as ChatGPT and Google Bard to create marketing materials for commercial properties.
"For all the hype that gen AI has received to date, many real estate organizations are finding it difficult to implement and scale use cases, and thus have not yet seen the promised value creation." -
November 2023 McKinsey article - "Generative AI can change real estate, but the industry must change to reap the benefits.”
This is part of a multi-part series that examines the different areas of real estate development where AI can improve business productivity.
Generative AI is disrupting how we market properties. Right. Now.
As brokers and developers, when we think of an offering memorandum, we usually think of long hours of drudgery to produce images, text, and financial reports describing a deal. Or even when we need to produce a one-page description of an investment to share with investors, we cringe at the thought of having to spend time--or have our junior associates spend time--writing.
Most real estate people are either finance people or they are builders. They generally are not writers.
To create successful marketing materials, we have to tell the story of the property with the right tone, marketing spin, and the hard facts.
Generative AI can help you create documents quickly
For example, you can use Real Estate Writer Pro, a new free-to-use GPT on ChatGPT to create a description of your property.
To create an offering memo, you can upload a brochure to use as a reference, and it will create a template for you to fill in the blanks. The output the GPT produces is simple, it is not going to write everything you need for a large complex building, but it provides a good overview and a start.
When it comes to general marketing copy it creates a fairly good product.
To test it out I uploaded an image to Real Estate Writer Pro GPT to create a description of a project my partners and I recently built, so ...
Click on the link here for the output from the GPT.
The project it describes is Oriole Landing a recent multifamily project Pugh Management created as a joint venture with Civico Development.
The results are impressive, but note they are not perfect. That being said you can use it to quickly describe a commercial property just by providing an address or uploading an image. This is a huge improvement over having to write all the copy yourself.
However, not all AI is created equal. I tried Google Bard for this same functionality, and it didn't deliver. This is what I got when I uploaded the same image and asked it to describe the property.
“Unfortunately, I cannot access images directly and thus cannot help you describe the features of your new multifamily property.” - Google Bard when asked to describe an image of a commercial property.
So we had success with a GPT, but not Bard.
A big shoutout to Chris Stevenson for tipping us off on Real Estate Writer Pro GPT
You may be asking yourself, from a business strategy standpoint, how can you integrate this into your workflow?
To plan for using generative AI to help write documents, it is a good idea to create what is called a Prompt Library. A Prompt Library is a collection of prompts to be used as templates that allow employees to fill-in-the-blanks to produce consistent results.
The biggest challenge with integrating AI today into business workflows is the control of the outputs and the learning curve for those new to using AI. A Prompt Library will help mitigate these risks and deliver better results.
You Can Use Generative AI to Create Images
When you market a new development, depending on how early you are, you might not have an image of your project yet. Maybe your architect is too busy, or you haven't hired one.
Not to worry, you can create an image to share using the Image Generator GPT. Or at least that is the idea.
In concept this is perfect, you just type into the GPT a description and it creates an image of your ideal building.
The reality is different.
Below is an image of a recent multifamily project my partners and I completed. It is designed in a contemporary farmhouse style and is 2 1/2 stories to better fit in with the context of the neighborhood in Lincoln, MA. Olinger Architects did the design work on the building in collaboration with Andrew Consigli and Civico Development.
Below is the image Image Generator GPT created for me based on my description. This is not exactly what I wanted, but it includes some elements and I think the style is about right.
If you want to create this but with a watercolor rendering style, you can just add that to the prompt..."in a watercolor style."
Not bad, but not necessarily something I would want to show a city planner or neighbor either.
Why?
Because when you show images to people during the development process, it creates expectations and managing the public conversation is key to success.
Many nuances in the design are lost in the use of the GPT, like the height, the inclusion of balconies, the number of trees shown.
All these elements cost money and if you show them, then you have to plan on including them or someone may think you intentionally misled them during the process. That would hurt your reputation.
Your reputation is everything in development.
So, either I need to improve my prompting technique or this GPT still has some development to do. Probably a bit of both.
Again, I attempted to use Google Bard to generate an image from a prompt and it said:
“That’s not something I’m able to do yet...Google Bard when asked to generate an image based on a prompt.”
We ran the same test with an industrial property we built. We described it and it generated an overly tall building that didn’t work functionally. See the results below of our Malden, MA located building on the left and the AI generated image on the right.
So, whether you're creating written copy or you're in need of images for your latest project you can give these tools a try!
Generative AI Links for You:
Key Takeaways:
Create a prompt library for your business so you have a "go-to" list of prompts for employees to use for certain tasks.
Using generative AI can produce some helpful written copy and images.
Your ability to identify the right generative AI models and then prompt them can correctly greatly improves your outcomes.
The use of generative AI to market commercial real estate projects is not flawless and still requires the human touch to make sure the product is what you want to show the public.
Dive deeper into this topic with these links:
MIT Conference for Generative AI Presentations in Youtube format - November 2023
Deloitte Report on RE-generative AI: How technology can transform commercial real estate
McKinsey - Generative AI Can Change Commercial Real Estate - November 2023
McKinsey - What is the Future of Generative AI. In 15 charts.
Chris Stephenson Twitter Account - He Tweets about AI for CRE
The Transforming Cities Podcast had me on recently. You can listen to the conversation here.
And I’m excited to announce that coming soon is the Real Estate Tech Insider! Stay tuned for more details on this podcast co-hosted by Rachel Walters and myself and produced by Push Through Media.
The View From Halfcourt:
Can you believe what’s happening in college basketball right now? I’ve been following along and this time of year is always very interesting as who is going to come out on top begins to become more clear. I’ve enjoyed watching Dayton play very well in the A-10. Houston is having a monster season and they are fun to watch with their 3-point show. I’ve also greatly enjoyed watching Seton Hall have a very-solid year. Their coach Shaheen Holloway was a fantastic high school player that I played against. He was one tough dude and he has instilled that toughness in the Seton Hall squad.
In the NBA I’ve enjoyed watching the Celtics have a strong year. They are 32-9 right now and are cruising. The Orlando Magic have had a good year with Paolo Ranchero leading the effort with some new blood that has also impacted their fortunes in a good way. And of course it has been a blast watching Victor Webanyama play as he transforms the league. I look forward to seeing how both the NBA and NCAA men’s leagues shake out in 2024!
Hoops links below…