By Deena Cook

Published Apr 17, 2024

Updated Apr 20, 2024

Residents have demands. And in an industry as rapidly-evolving as multifamily, leveraging technology is an absolute must to meet growing resident needs and stay competitive. So in the midst of the AI revolution, we turn once again to the newest tools to procure unprecedented ways of enhancing efficiency — and boosting tenant satisfaction.

In the name of productivity, here are the top five AI tools that are changing the game for multifamily companies today:

1. Virtual tours + AI-powered concierges

In an age where everyone is always busy, there’s just no time to spare. Which is why convenience is a top priority for tenants who wish to explore properties on their own terms — and on their own timeline. From literally anywhere, potential tenants can now take a virtual walk-through of an available space — without having to spend time and money to physically get there. From the comfort of home, tenants can eliminate properties that wouldn’t work for their family and focus solely on true potentials. 

To complement virtual tours, AI concierges are being utilized to answer tenant questions in real-time, lead personalized tours unique to a clients’ needs, and even schedule follow-ups — leaving prospects with all the information needed to make an informed decision. Because, let’s face it — choosing a home is a huge decision! To be able to make that decision from your living room is a dream come true for anyone who has little or no time to spare.

The top AI touring players

Realync This virtual platform highlights its all-in-one video and 360 solutions, giving multifamily teams digitized, convenient and unique touring experiences. The technology is increasing lease efficiency and improving renter communication. Users are able to organize their tours and needs in Realync’s digital dashboard, where they can utilize features like real-time live videos, interactive maps, note-taking software, and more. For ease of operation, all files are recorded and then saved to the cloud, so users can share them with friends, family, partners, or any key decision-maker related to the process.

Tour24 This is truly the software hack for the busiest people. Tour24 prioritizes convenience for the on-the-go mom, business professional, or anyone with a lot of needs and only a little time. Tours are available literally whenever a user needs one — whether it’s way after-hours, or if a leasing office happens to be closed. It’s touring technology made easy. 

Peek Peek offers self-guided virtual tours that create a seamless experience for potential renters with full-stop e-commerce leasing. Users can enjoy a virtual tour of their entire community while targeting exact-unit availability. To tie it all up, analytics are generated for agents, sharing data about demographics and their interests — contributing to personalized prospect outreach.

The top AI concierges

BetterBot This automated leasing assistant has been estimated to save leasing teams hundreds of hours a month, company reps estimate. That’s because this AI tool will gather all the information needed about properties and create a virtual leasing assistant that requires zero training — and has all the answers. Any lead, from any source, can be directed to this Chatbot, as it’s able to help prospects find property information, schedule tours, initiate leads and follow-ups, handle move-in and move-out maintenance requests, FAQ’s, and more.

PERQ An all-in-one marketing platform, PERQ not only acts as an AI-powered leasing assistant, it also serves up digital renter tools, strategic advertising, AI Chatbot support, automated lead and follow-up initiatives, in-person and virtual tour scheduling, and more. For overburdened onsite teams and marketers — PERQ integration is essential.

2. Smart leasing platforms

After you’ve chosen your new home — thanks to AI — you can continue to save time on all the pre-move-in protocols. New, AI-driven leasing platforms make the application and vetting processes faster and more efficient than ever. These systems automate credit checks, employment verifications, even criminal background checks. Not only does this assistance reduce workload for leasing agents, it significantly speeds up the approval process — so residents can move in sooner. 

RealPage On-site Online Leasing This platform offers ease of use for both property managers and residents. The goal? Transitioning any and all leasing processes to an online, digitized format. Certified templates and documents make creation of custom-branded applications easy for agents — and even easier to sign, for residents! 

RentTango This AI-backed, automated service can verify pretty much everything about a prospective resident — their income, employment status, identity, bank details and account balance, and more. It’s AI-induced fraud reduction, and it makes the leasing process easier for both agents and renters.

365 Connect Online Leasing This AI service aims to fill in the places where multifamily leasing teams are spread too thin. The digitized platform serves both agents and renters, by taking applications, facilitating the signing of necessary paperwork, and collecting payments connected to the lease process. 

3. Automated maintenance management

Since maintenance requests are constantly coming up in multifamily residences, why not leverage AI to handle them more efficiently? Maintenance questions are now being answered by AI, with bots even walking residents through solutions on their own — without ever needing to enlist the maintenance team at all. But when maintenance does need to be involved, requests are prioritized by AI based on urgency, repairs are scheduled, and maintenance issues can even be predicted before they happen (using data histories and predictive analytics tools). It’s a proactive approach that significantly reduces downtime and repair costs, while improving tenant satisfaction for the collective.

The top AI maintenance tech players

AppWork This platform allows users to create and track maintenance work orders digitally, and syncs data to the cloud, where technicians and admins can monitor progress. Real-time data on the activity feed gives users more insight into project completion times. AI-driven analytics, insights and reports snowball into future efficiency, supporting faster and data-driven maintenance choices for next projects. AppWork’s use of AI tech and algorithms can categorize and auto-assign tasks, saving time and contributing to project efficiency. AppWork also offers a mobile technician app to streamline projects even further.

HappyCo Centralized maintenance for multifamily? Yes, that’s right, and HappyCo’s streamlined process is making maintenance a breeze. Powered by an AI that HappyCo has coined Joy, this platform can manage time-sensitive maintenance jobs, track the status of work orders, triage service tickets, monitor inventory, auto-assign tasks to suitable technicians, and provides a digitized space to track all information about properties and jobs.

4. Streamlined move-ins

Updater While not exclusively an AI tool, Updater — an all-in-one moving platform that can fulfill all of your clients’ various needs — still takes the reins on this one, by taking the once-manual moving process and digitizing it. (While AI is popular, it’s important not to sleep on the impact that automation can have on business operations). Residents, who have little time amidst the moving tasks at hand, can use Updater to streamline everything from purchasing internet and TV plans, transferring utilities, arranging movers, forwarding mail, buying packing supplies, securing renters insurance, or booking elevator timeslots during a move. It’s a fully-automated, time-saving solution customized for your portfolio. It helps revolutionize the move-in process by automating most of the tasks associated with a new move — making moving smoother for residents and saving hours for your onsite teams. By incorporating real-time data syncing with property management software, every task on the move-in to-do list will be completed efficiently. Every time.

5. AI-powered chatbots for customer service

In the multifamily industry, customer service is a 24/7 necessity. And what’s more perfect for providing constant, real-time support than AI-powered Chatbots? Chatbots are able to handle a wide range of queries — far larger than a human agent could — and can respond to leasing questions, tour scheduling, and more. Chatbots serve up instant responses, and know when to escalate more complex issues to human staff. It’s a win-win — residents’ needs are met immediately, and leasing teams have more time to focus on complex tasks.

The top AI customer service Chatbot players

Funnel Virtual Leasing Agent According to this company’s Chatbot, messaging shouldn’t work as a vacuum — constant AI presence, on a back-and-forth scale, will eliminate one-way chats. This provides consistency on the renter journey and gives leasing teams the support needed to instantly answer FAQs and follow-ups. Funnel’s AI system auto-updates a guest’s card with all renter preferences and other important information. And because it’s all stored digitally, no lead, preference or bit of communication is ever lost. With AI-backed convos, teams always have what they need to pick up a conversation with every detail in-tact. 

PERQ Conversational AI dominates the client response game at PERQ, with a cross-channel AI bot that’s built specifically for multifamily. Answers are instantly available to prospects with regard to property availability, amenities, tour scheduling and rescheduling, appointment reminders, and more. PERQ also provides automated nurture and follow-up services via email and SMS text. And it knows exactly when to auto-breathe new life into lost leads in the next rental cycle.  

Hayley Chat by Journey AI With personalized engagement and virtual leasing assistance 24/7, Hayley is currently integrating with ChatGPT to offer even more natural, humanized conversation. With prospect and resident chat portals, users can optimize conversation and response during their entire journey.

Elevated Living Communications solutions in multifamily have never been easier to obtain. Elevated Living’s AI concierge services are custom-tailored and branded to individual communities, and keep lines of communication open with regard to unique community events and resident experiences. 

Conclusion

Multifamily is one of the only remaining industries where working with a human is the standard. So how can AI allow us to be more human with renters? Hint: we get more time back to nurture relationships, and spend less time on admin busy-work. 

Deena Cook

Deena grew up in New Jersey, but has lived in various places around the world to satisfy a love of travel and adventure. She holds a degree in Journalism, and loves the freedom that comes from being able to write from wherever she may be living.