← Estate of Mind — The Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate
Estate of Mind — The Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate
AI, Assistants & Automation: What Luxury Agents Can’t Afford to Ignore in 2026
00:45:05
In this episode we sit down with Joe Carteret, Founder & CEO at The Carteret Group (Powered by eXp Realty), to break down how top-performing luxury agents are leveraging AI, automation, and emerging technology to elevate client experience, streamline operations, and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market.
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- [00:00]
A
That's what you need to get started. So obviously we've seen over the years the bar has continuously changed and risen to a place where you either have to get on that train or get left behind, as they say. Right. It's interesting because our CEO, I remember a quote that he said that I loved was his thought on technology is, you know, every technology he's experienced, it's really overhyped in the immediate, right the short term, but then it's under hyped in the long term.
- [00:27]
B
Today's podcast is brought to you by Interlux Auctions. Your solution to guarantee competitive offers on your luxury listings with no compromise to commission. Visit InterLuxe.com today to find out more. That's I N T E R l u x e.com. Welcome to A State of Mind, a podcast series all about motivating, inspiring and educating you in the art of selling luxury real estate estate. The podcast is brought to you by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing. I'm Tammy Sims, lead trainer for the Institute and a full time real estate professional in St. Petersburg, Florida for nearly two and a half decades. In today's episode we're going to talk about what luxury real estate technology we can't live without in 2026. And joining me today is a very special guest, Joe Carteret, who is CEO of the Carteret Group with EXP Luxury in Charlotte, North Carolina. Welcome, Joe.
- [01:31]
A
Thank you, Tammy. I'm glad to be here.
- [01:34]
B
Excellent. I know that I have my notepad at the ready because I'm excited about this topic, but to get us started, I would love for you to tell our audience a little bit about yourself and about your role with EXP Luxury.
- [01:48]
A
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I joined EXP in 2022 in a day and age where everything was moving so rapidly in the brokerage world. We had tons of different brokerages that were trying to identify their identity within technology and AI starting to come out. And I ended up joining EXP just due to a lot of the work that they're doing to stay forefront of the technology world as it relates to the brokerage or in the real estate industry. So I run a company called the CarDirect Group. We are affiliated with EXP and specifically within the EXP Luxury Division. And so I'm here in the Charlotte, North Carolina area and have been in real estate. This is year six for me and excited to be on this journey. It's been a roller coaster, especially with what Covid did to our industry and Charlotte was one of those hot markets that we saw A lot of movement during COVID so.
- [02:49]
B
Yeah, understood, understood. There, There has been so much transition and I, I think it's, it's, it's a breath of fresh air to, to talk to somebody who's been in those, in the industry for those numbers of years because you've seen change that for many of us previously took a decade to get to the next step and then all of a sudden it was rapid fire. But one of the things that, that I think in the industry we recog Exp came out front and center as really embracing technology. And I remember actually training, I think it was even pre Covid, I trained within EXP World. And so that was, that was a virtual experience. That was before the rest of us were using Zoom for everything. But I want to talk about kind of the difference between. My mother used to refer to it as being on the leading edge and not the bleeding edge. So what would you have to say about some of the essential technology that's kind of at the ground level?
- [04:00]
A
Yeah, I think, you know, when we think about the term essential, like you said, for many decades, way before me in real estate, you know, and as I got into real estate, it was essential. Just simply meant, did you have a CRM or do you have a really good workable Google sheet that you're using and your MLS login? That's what you need to get started. So obviously we've seen over the years the bar has continuously changed and risen to a place where you either have to get on that train or get left behind, as they say. Right. It's interesting because our CEO, I remember a quote that he said that I loved was his thought on technology is, you know, every technology he's experienced, it's really overhyped in the immediate. Right. The short term, but then it's underhyped in the long term as it starts to season and people start to use it. And really he said you've, we've come a long way in the most interesting times with technology revolutions that he's seen in the past 20 years. So he was coming into it with the mindset of staying from a place of curiosity and are you leaning into it to expand what you have to offer your clients, or are you in that mindset of, you know, the negative and technology is going to hurt my business and things such as that. So it's. We're in an interesting time for sure.
- [05:16]
B
Yeah, absolutely. And I remember. So my mother was 40 years in the business prior, so I have a lot of historical knowledge and she remembers when people said that the Internet was going to put us out of business. And that isn't quite how it went down. But there are ways that we can utilize technology that give us more time to focus on the consumer front, on the personalized service. And so I would love to know your thoughts about ways that technology can help with the efficiency. And maybe this is a spot to weave in the AI because that's on the top of everybody's mind, but ways that we can embrace technology and any different technology platforms that can take us away from some of the minutia tasks and give us more time to focus on our highest and best views.
- [06:13]
A
Yeah, well, I think it goes back to like understanding as an individual that's looking to use technology is what are you looking to use technology for? And I think it's if you have the mindset of it giving us the competitive advantage and again, it being an enhancement to some of the old school tactics, we'll use that term because those still work. And I think a lot of times people are trying to chase things and it is, we don't want you to give up the things that are tried and true that we work the way in which we get out in the field and grind. But we want you to leverage technology as a tool that is going to continue to sharpen how you show up to enhance the offering that you bring to the table. And then as the technology grows, what we're going to see is a lot of those ankle biter tasks, the things that agents either don't want to deal with, so therefore they haven't adopted the technology or they just don't understand it. So investing the time to understand how to deploy it in your unique business goes to the wayside. I think if we can get to a place of learning it, learning how it it ties to our unique brand and the way in which we show up with our unique niche niches and then being able to deploy it appropriately, you'll see a lot of those things that tie us down as true salespeople and relationship builders start to become easier, start to be automated to where life is easier as an agent because a lot of those small tasks are taken care of. I think at the end of the day, at the end of the day it's looking at it as a tool and that's the differentiator is looking at as a tool. And then how the agent shows up in leveraging that technology is really what's going to set our client up for success. So hopefully that kind of, you know, where my Vision is as it relates to technology and making our everyday lives easier. It starts with a setting our own tone of how we're going to show up to leverage that and then leaning in and being open to it.
- [08:12]
B
Understood. And that makes me, that's, that makes me think about how we differentiate ourselves in our initial conversations with people. So I had a conversation with a prospective seller just the other day that said, I can give you a shiny presentation and tell you all the places that we're going to market your home and all the lovely things. And I said, but quite honestly, almost all of us have the same toolbox and anybody that you choose is going to be able to list your home and make it look good online and get it to all the places that it needs to go. But it's, it's about more than that. And so I'm kind of curious how top performing luxury agents today are using that technology to differentiate themselves in that crowded market from that initial conversation.
- [09:02]
A
So I think the thing is for me is how I look at it is it's a, it's a three step framework or a three layer framework. Number one is technology in my world is used for intelligence. I have to be able to make sure that as I'm going into a conversation, regardless of the client and the client's strategy and desires on the other end is that I know what the data is telling me, right? So technology is going to continue to get sharper faster and it's going to continue to be more automated. So coming ahead and being able to lean into that is going to give me the advantage against my competitors that are walking into that room, possibly as well. The second layer is presentation. It's how I show up, right? So it's like if I was doing everything manual before to make the look, the brand be where I wanted it to be, going into living rooms and having conversations. Now I can leverage technology to do it faster, go deeper with what that presentation may look like, prepare me better to actually articulate in that presentation. Right? And then the last layer of course is operations like how do we run on the back end? Are we running with tight systems and processes and everything that used to be manual to where I have to sit down and literally write that email, or write an email that is identical to another email that I just did two weeks prior for another client, that these are things that can be automated through technology. So the three step framework is number one. Number two, I think when you think about setting ourselves apart in the luxury world and how these technologies can be leveraged is it's just the level of experience. So you think about if you, you lean into those three layers now, you have a elevated experience. When those three come together, it's about what is the luxury client going to gain from us having more tools, sharper tools, being able to move faster and at the end of the day, ideas such as we have a client portal, so we have a custom client portal within our company that we have built out with proprietary information and data. And that portal provides an experience to the client that they may get something similar at another brand, but it's not going to be the same. It's not going to be the way in which we do it. We take it a step further. And I always think about the luxury client as someone that, or at least our clients, it's busy executives or families. It is people that when you have their attention, you need to capture it, go in very specific with what you need from them or what they may need from you, deliver the news and get out. Right. And then they want someone that is going to make their life streamlined throughout the process, not add drama and needs to their life, but instead provide options for them that have already been played out on, you know, on the back end. We are coming straight to them with exactly what we need, what we need, their sign off on or the solve to what they may need that they're going to have to chase down on their own. Right. So these tools should be able to enhance how we show up. The other thing that comes to mind is, you know, especially with COVID I feel it started during COVID The luxury client was expanding, you know, what was convenient for them, what their lifestyle was going to entail, simple things like where they could work from. Right. And there were additional luxuries that would, being able to provide or solve for them would set you apart. Well, one of those was just how we build a network. So our referral network. How can we now take technology, advance that network not only wide but also more specialized to then have those resources at the ready when that client is moving around? I've got some clients that moved to Prague from the United States. They needed a lot of things, but everything that we did, we were able to leverage advanced technology to just make that experience smoother and be able to do it much quicker.
- [13:00]
B
Of course, you know what I was thinking since you first started that thought is right now I have a couple of transactions with clients who are abroad and not only do you have time changes, so you need to be able to make them have the ability to Access the information that they need at the time that's convenient for them, which can certainly happen in a client portal environment, but also adapting technology. One of my clients at the moment uses a very old school trust attorney. And so there are some documents. We are chasing down notaries and multiple witnesses there. And another colleague of mine said, why aren't you using the remote online notary service? And I thought to myself, you know what, I know about this. But I bet that this particular trust attorney is so old school that they wouldn't consider that.
- [13:58]
A
Yeah.
- [13:58]
B
And
- [14:01]
A
that's interesting. I love that. That was a great example because I, you know, and some of that, state to state, of course, you've got different rules and stuff. We, we're just having this conversation last week with a client that was able to do a lot more stuff electronically because that attorney had adopted it. So they're adopting a technology kind of similar to what you're talking about that made our life easier and then helped us continue to look like the superstars for our client. I love the thought of making technology and luxury almost be invisible. Right. So like, the client doesn't feel the technology. What they feel is an elevation or a change in experience. And when you can get to that place, it just makes life a whole lot easier. And in your scenario, you were able to provide more for those clients that now they'll take back with them to talk about how smooth the process was working with Tammy or, you know, how her vendors were on board with a process that they just didn't even realize that they were closing. It was just so simple. Right. Like the little things that they don't feel but is going to make the biggest difference and help you with repeat business.
- [15:06]
B
Yeah, absolutely. And so one, one title company that I'm working with, and here in Florida, we typically use title companies as a person as opposed to attorney closings. One of them came up right away. I have a closing that's going to happen next week. And one half of the couple is in France. And they said immediately, there's no problem. I mean, my client was anticipating the problem. Right. I don't know that we can pull this off because it conflicts with this, this situation. And the title company that I was using for that particular transaction immediately came up with the Ron. Right. And was like, no problem at all. And my client was like, oh, okay. So just exactly what you said. Right. Just exactly what you said when it. You're coming up with the solutions that make it easier. Yeah. So I'm curious when a brokerage considers Adopting new technology. Right, because if we're talking about title companies and attorneys offices, adopting new technology is, you know, kind of frightening in many ways and to some degree for real estate brokerages as well. What factors determine whether it becomes part of the platform or, or when it's going to make things easier versus adding more complexity to it?
- [16:22]
A
Well, I think kind of a general rule of thumb is asking a question possibly at the brokerage level or even team level, we get these mega teams and such as, as that brokerage level, you say, okay, is this technology going to make the agent stronger or does it make the brokerage look stronger? Because again, we're talking about two totally different things. And in my opinion, a brokerage that is going to continue to outpace others is going to be the one that is doing everything in their power to keep the agent forward. You know, personal brand is where you should start as an agent in 2026. It's not which is the latest and greatest brokerage or who's going to have been around for 50 years, 60 years, nothing wrong with that. But it really should start with you. And as the agent, how do I stay front and center? Because staying front and center builds the relationship so that the brokerage is then focused on tools that are going to keep that agent front and center to go out and do what they do best, which is to be in the seller seat and the relationship building seat. Right now if somebody's trying to build at the brokerage level and it's about the brokerage, sure there's little things that have to be in place to keep the brokerage operating and healthy and such, but an agent focused technology, or a technology that is technology touching the client should be agent focused at all times. You know, I think about like at our brand, you know, we, we have a AI and it's called mira. And so what MIRA is, is essentially it's more than just your stereo, you know, your AI assistant. It is a tool that gives a competitive advantage so that that tool is constantly available for the agent. It provides clarity in the agent's business. It helps the agent zero in on historical facts that are related to their business and then extract the things that are going to be timely are going to help them in preparing for getting in front of that client. And at the end of the day, it's something that is building relationships, closing deals, and really helping them scale their business with purpose and intent versus just, hey, have you heard about EXP Realty? Now that's not a knock on exp, but that is not only my opinion on how we show up, but it is that of our, our leadership team that they have done things that have constantly put the agent first because we're the first ones to touch the client. Right? Yeah.
- [18:48]
B
And, and I couldn't agree with you more. And, and in the, the institute's training we focus on the fact that you can have all the power of your brands and your brokerages and that sort of thing, but it's your personal branding that, that, that really is the nitty gritty because they can just like they can, a client can pick any number of realtors, they can also pick any of any number of Realtors within the same brokerage or the same brand. So your personal brand is, is really, really important. I know a lot of agents, new, seasoned, anywhere along the way often feel overwhelmed by perhaps having too many tools. And so I'm curious about whether you have, I don't know, a top five top 10, some off the top of your head. What specific technologies are actually helping top agents reclaim time so that they can focus on that, the relationships and the deal making. I know you talked about technology equals intelligence and I, and I like that, but I'd love, I'd love your, your thoughts on that.
- [19:56]
A
Yeah. So I'm glad that you brought that up because it is a, it is a real diagnosis that we don't talk about enough. I think agents are one of the industries that suffer the most from shiny penny syndrome. And so if you are in the technology world and you're a salesperson, selling to real estate agents is the place to be. All joking aside, I mean tool you, you can get overwhelmed with tools. It's a real problem. It's, it's a major thing that is undiagnosed, like I said, or under diagnosed. And at the end of the day it's something that more tools are not always the answer. Fewer, intentional, better integrated and ones that are unique to your strategy and needs are what you should be focused on. So an example of that, when I think about like, what are the very like specific tools that on a day to day basis we use or that allow us and our teams to set ourselves apart at the Carteret Group in a production level, right. Number one is going to be, do you have an assistant in your pocket? And so as a team leader, I can't provide a physical, actual person as an assistant for every single agent. It's not realistic. But what I can do is provide them a technology, a tool that is in their pocket that in many ways can act at the Ready as their personal assistant. So, so for us, that is House Whisperer. Okay, so House Whisperer, it's a 24.7ai teammate. Let's think about it like that. A lot of companies are going the app route and there is a specific need in place for an AI assistant app. I agree with that. However, what sets House Whisper apart is that they are more of a phone technology. They have a phone number that is assigned to your assistant and you can text or call that agent, let's call it that teammate agent. Right. And so for example, I could have an 8am huddle that is on my calendar every single morning. And at 8am I can call and check in my, my AI assistant, her name is Donna. So for those that are ASUTE fans, Donna was the assistant to Harry. But Harvey, excuse me, but anyways, I can call Donna or I can text Donna a list of tasks, things that I need for she and I to be aligned on. I can then go about my day and go into what's next on my calendar and Donna's working behind the scenes. And so what House Whisperer has done is provide, provided an alternative to the AI companies that are just building these apps and trying to sell an app. And instead it feels more personal, it feels a little bit more unique to our needs. I can also bring them into a line where I do a three way call. Let's say I call a client and I can have Donna House Whisperer app on that call as a three way call. She has taken notes just like Tammy, if you were my personal assistant on the call as well. And then she is hanging up and going taking action based on those notes. So as you can imagine, it integrates with our follow up boss CRM. It integrates with our Google workspace of suite or suite, excuse me, it integrates with my calendar. So it's now setting appointments for me. You name it. And they're continuing to grow. But this is a tool that if agents aren't tapping into something similar to this, it is a invaluable tool that is priceless, that can give you a lot of legs up on clients and that kind of thing.
- [23:30]
B
It sounds very different than when Fireflies is coming to take notes in the meeting. That, that actionability is pretty remarkable.
- [23:38]
A
Yeah, yeah. And the last one, I'll say, and there's, there's a number and I can share with you. But the last one that is important too is like who do you have on the back end? So this is the one that's on the front end. This is the one that is assisting you, helping you hearing the things that are important. It gets used to the way in which you operate, the things you ask, that kind of thing, but simple things like an email assistant. So Fixer is one that our brokerage actually provides to us. Now you talk about a tool right there that can help advance an agent and keep the agent front and center. Fixer. And what Fixer AI does is it connects to your email and it is constantly crawling in your email and helping learn how you respond to emails and then prepping those emails for you at the beginning of the day or throughout the day. So your drafts are already ready to go. And it's not just AI driven responses or feels very AI. It feels very much in your voice and the way in which you engage with your clients and prospects. So that's another one, a very simple solve to a lot of issues that agents may have.
- [24:36]
B
I think that's brilliant. And you know, I've been watching things, you know, all of our major platforms have been integrating these AI components. And so whether, whether we're looking for them or not, they're, they're, they're coming at us. And it's been very interesting to see how they're adapting and how they're, how they're learning from us without us even knowing that, that, that we're teaching them. And so that sounds like a really high level approach to some of the things that are just coming along with, in your standard software these days.
- [25:12]
A
Yeah.
- [25:14]
B
So I want to ask, and this is kind of a frequent thing of mine with AI, so obviously the email assistant fixer, you've got the drafts, you can look at it and you can change words and you know, all of that sort of thing, but the bulk of it is done for you. Also, when you mentioned intelligence as being part of the thing, data analysis is one of the, one of the strong spots I would say for, for AI, But I'm in a very nuanced market where what AI thinks is the result of a data analysis can be completely off the mark. Given my, my years of experience in, in the marketplace, what are your thoughts on, on, you know, maximizing the time, take the tools, but still, but still having a role to play in, in the accuracy of, of, of, of what you're using those tools for.
- [26:12]
A
Well, I think number one is we have to also acknowledge and, and give grace or pause or you know, move with caution, whatever you want to call it, call it that AI is AI is not finished. Is AI very powerful? Of course, I mean the things that AI is able to do now, it changes every day and that's only going to continue to get more advanced, right? So I think, I think the first thing is, is you have to acknowledge the basic truth is that you can't just sit it out there and let it do your job for you, right? At the end of the day, we still have to be the agent, we are the voice, we're front and center. But what we're doing is we're implementing it, we are testing, we are leaning into it and seeing how it does based on what we're teaching it, right? And so we always have a finger on it. It's like that idea of trust but verify, right? Like, so we try these AI engines, we are hooking them up to stuff within our business. The first thing is you have to move with caution. You shouldn't just hook everything up to your internal operations because some of it can end up causing you to look, you know, very basic in the AI world and people can identify it very easy. So that's number one. Number two is think about leveraging AI almost as a coach in a lot of ways. So, for example, if I am going to use Chat GPT, well, the first thing is, is I'm not using Chat GPT, the basic version. Number one, I'm using the Pro, I pay for it. But also I'm operating within a custom GPT that I have built as the owner of my brand, right? That I have built. And it has taken me 8 to 10 months to constantly tweak that GPT so that it has the brand voice, that feels natural, it is knowledgeable, it has the intelligence of our brand, it is constantly sharpening that as new information available. I have it connected to the right places so that it sees how we operate in email, it sees how we show up on the phone. And then you want a technology that you are going to be able to integrate with other tools you're going to be able to stay close to. And then you as an agent should constantly be working. That's that work in your business, right? Like, that's that moment where you should be working in that custom tool that you've built or that you're leveraging. And to make sure that it matches your brand voice, never just hit the button to go and let it go all the way. You have to have some guardrails. Just like if you brought an agent into your team, would you say, okay, here's the keys to the building, here's the passwords to all the admin stuff, go Run the business. Well, of course not. Right. Like you would want to make sure they're set up for success. You wouldn't want to make sure that from a liability perspective that your brand continues to stay protected. You would want to coach them on the marketing and the way the brand voice shows up. Because guess what? That's what you've worked for, in my case, for six years or 20 years or whatever it may be. And so it's, it's making sure you're leaning in. It's making smart decisions and constantly reworking and reteaching along the way.
- [29:23]
B
And that was a brilliant analogy.
- [29:27]
A
Right.
- [29:27]
B
Of bringing in a human. Right. And not letting them run, run the first day with the keys to the building. Because my first thought when you were talking about eight to 10, eight to 10 months to, you know, to, to, to train it and teach it, I could, I could just vision in my head some of our audience going, oh, my God, that sounds hard.
- [29:48]
A
Yeah.
- [29:49]
B
But when you make the analogy that even old school, bringing on an assistant, bringing on a team member, that sort of thing, you've got to put the effort into it. But I think, I think one of the, the nice things is that with technology in there, it's not as hard as teaching a human.
- [30:11]
A
Yeah, right. Yeah.
- [30:13]
B
There's actually that, that, that nicer piece there. And, and I think that that's, that's definitely something for, for people to keep in mind. And it's all really, there's no magic tools. I'm glad you said earlier that we are an interesting breed. People can sell us stuff all day long. 49.99amonth. Absolutely. And then two months later, you've forgotten what it was. You don't even know the charges on your credit card. But then if you, if you propose something, oh, this is going to cost you $500. And in our industry, people are like, what, $5. But yet if you look at their credit card statements, they're paying 500amonth for, for stuff that's, that's all, you know, magic bullet, pie in the sky. I think that's one of the one, one of the things that even so, technology makes us better. It can give us more time to focus on the, the dollar productive and the, the highest and best use. But there still is investment and it's not necessarily just dollars. So it's time.
- [31:13]
A
But the thing is too, that you just said, and I didn't mean to cut you off, but I think what's important too is a lot of people that try to get into technology. Or they want the same thing that they want when they show up to a mastermind in an event. They want the secret sauce. Right. So a lot of times that it takes work. If somebody's teaching you about cold calling, well, you don't just make your first call and all of a sudden everyone says yes, if they do, I want you on my team. But the reality is it takes time. You have to sharpen your tool, right? Like you have to learn the skill, you have to go back, you have to change your script, you have to approach it differently. Well, the same with technology. And we can't lose sight that people still want human connection. And so what you don't want to do is you don't want to go all in on AI and technology and just hand it your book of business and then expect that the client that you want in the future, the way in which you want to show up in the future, is just naturally going to pour into you if they are wanting that human connection. Because that's one thing that we'll never lose as agents, as salespeople is that's what's going to set us apart, is they want that human connection. They're hiring you for you. We talked about it earlier when we were talking about personal brand. It's you that they're hiring. They are paying you a lot of money. And we should earn that by making sure that we're leveraging tools in the background to make this more dangerous. But we are the one that is front and center and actually is doing the work. The tool is the tool. We are the vehicle to go out there and actually bring it to life.
- [32:40]
B
Amen. Amen. Absolutely. And it's funny, I, I tell people all the time in the training that I'm gonna disappoint them right at the beginning of the, the two days or one day of training. I say if you came here thinking that you were going to walk out of this room with 5 multi million dollar listings, you are going to be sorely disappointed because it takes work, it takes effort, but will, will help you find the skills and the strategies to get there. And I think, I think that's an underlying theme as well in terms of adopting technology and embracing that along the way. So I'm curious, if you had to have a crystal ball thinking about the next three to five years, what technologies do you think are going to most influence how luxury real estate market is how luxury real estate is marketed and sold?
- [33:34]
A
Yeah, I think luxury market is going to see the biggest transformation related to not just marketing. I think it's going to be really as helping us as agents get sharper as advisors to the client. Little things like technologies that are going to advance. You think about conversational AI as just the operational layer, like the basic way in which we operate. We're already in the earlier phases of like Claude and how we leverage Claude and the way that Claude can do things for us. But you know, I think in the future we're going to see a whole lot more things that are being thrown at us. We're going to see new ways of doing things. I think we're going to see more around the agent AI stuff that's showing up. But I think as agents where we bring normalcy and calm to that is the way in which we pick and choose in a very selective way to leverage those tools to show up. Right. When we think about luxury clients, the reason they're a luxury client is not just the cost of their home, it is the experience in which they expect the way they operate right in their day to day lives. And so we have to match that and constantly be thinking about how do we make their lives easier, but also drowned out the noise because what we shouldn't be doing is what I'm seeing a lot of agents doing. And they're introducing a new tool. Hey, you know my business, I can't wait to help you because I'm using this new tool, this new tool and constantly, every week they're presenting a new tool. We have to keep that kind of hidden. There are some secrets that should be kept, secrets on the Internet, right. And so we should be able to determine what we're putting out there, what we're leveraging because our clients deserve an elevated, elevated version of what real estate looks like for agents and the experience. Right. So I also think that we're going to see a huge, and this is one that I'm keeping an eye on is we're going to see they're doing it overseas, it's an Israeli company. And what they're doing is they are connecting AI agents to IDX websites. So let's just say my website, I would connect this company up to my website and instead of now where I have a chat function or we could set up bots and that kind of thing, these AI agents are set up to essentially be in my IDX and my website live at any given time. And the moment that someone goes in and they maybe click on search and they set search parameters in my idx, this live AI agent jumps into the conversation Right there on the website and starts engaging. Now, what we think of it today would be, oh, that's a bot. Right. Like that's what we would think.
- [36:19]
B
Mm.
- [36:19]
A
However, what this is is it is an agent behind the scenes that is having that live interaction and is changing technology or, excuse me, changing parameters within their search, literally as they're engaging that AI agent and then getting sharper with what they're actually putting in front of them when they hit submit. So the results that are coming out are going to get sharper and then they're taking them through the lifecycle, almost as a agent would do. Think about, like, what are the steps once you get an Internet lead? So what happens is they click on our website, they play around something, triggers a note to us as agents. Now, the way we do it today is as agents, we pick up the phone or we send a text or whatever it may be to get in front of them that speed. Right. Then what we do is we try to get them on the phone or try to get an in person appointment and we want to get in front of them because like most, I feel confident that if you get in front of me, I will close you. Now, the challenge is, is we can only be all things to so many people. So what this new technology does is it does all that pre qualification, it does all that engagement, it will then take it a step further and it will take them on a virtual showing. It will show them the house that they've gone through all the parameters and these three popped up and they're clicking on it and they're like, oh, my goodness, that's the house we've dreamed of. I want to schedule a showing. Well, guess what? No need to wait for two days or three days. Click right now and we will do a virtual showing with you. That AI agent, literally like a live showing, will lead them on a virtual showing of that property and answer any questions behind the scenes that aren't even visible. So, like, they tour the living room and they show the living room and maybe the person on the other end says, I wonder how tall the ceilings are right there in that formal dining room, because I have the most beautiful, beautiful blind curtains that have passed down from three generations. And that's the spot for them. This AI agent will be able to. To answer that in the moment for them.
- [38:26]
B
So.
- [38:26]
A
And it'll go further, of course, but essentially what you're doing is you're getting a lead so warmed up that the moment they meet you live and in person, you're their gal. You're their guy. Like there's no question because they're blown away by what your company, your brand did for them. And they were able to do it at 2am or they were able to do it when that high producing agent was busy. And it's their dream agent they've always wanted to work with. Right. So there's so much more. But that's one small example. And I just think, I love it.
- [38:58]
B
I'm intrigued. I want to go, and maybe this is too granular, but is this true, Is this true of any listing that they find on idx? How does that AI agent answer questions if the listing agent hasn't provided that information?
- [39:14]
A
Yeah, it's going to be 100 based on IDX. Of course, what it will do is based on technology. So like in the best way I can describe it, of course. So let's say if a photographer gets a wide shot of that formal dining room, okay. And it's, it's a wide shot, it's not a deep dining room. It's a wide dining room. Right? So like the AI has technology that can read that photo and be able to measure it is able to see different things within the photo that the average eye can't see. It's going to understand the distance of that window, how wide is that window? So there's little things that the technology will be able to determine simply just looking at the video or the, the photo and then that virtual showing. Now the easiest way that's going to happen, you got to think about, okay, well what does the setup look like? Well, that means that of course you got to have great photos of all your listings. You've got to have 360 camera like you're starting to see on some of the search sites now, right? Like you've got to have that ready to go because it has to have something to be able to move and it has to follow a map. Right? And so if those things are done to set it up for success, that AI agent behind the scenes is going to save you so much time behind the scenes and take that experience to a place that we never would be able to accomplish that quickly with a lead that we have never even met yet. So I think hyper personalized, I think niche specific, I think we're going to see a lot of niche specific type AIs coming to light and then pairing that up with things that your brokerage offers or if they don't offer, that you should be seeking, depending on where your, your business wants to go, where you want to take your business. That, that's what I think is going to be the differentiator that's going to set people apart and how they use AI technologies of the future.
- [41:07]
B
Wow. Well, holy cow. Save all of the like explosions for our wrap up here. Right? I'm, I'm super excited about that though. And I think that you were right in what you said a little bit earlier that things are continuing to evolve and more rapidly than ever. And keeping your eyes open and embracing things that are authentic, that allow each of us to really showcase what our professional services are, I think it's fantastic. So I think we could go on for another hour, but our time is drawing to a close and so I would just welcome any, any last thoughts for our audience about, you know, about the role of technology in stepping up our games as luxury real estate professionals.
- [42:04]
A
Yeah. I think at the end of the day it comes down to having a sit down moment with yourself to understand what do you want to do in your business. I think is number one, you got to have that, you've got to have vision. You have to be able to say to yourself or to your team or your leaders, like this is where I want to go with my real estate business. Then you need to make sure that you are partnered up and you're collaborating with people that are going to help push you and be leverage and solve some of those problems. And if that means a team, if that means a mastermind network, if that means a brokerage. But the question that you should be asking yourself as you're going through that exercise with yourself, your team, whatever it may be, is, is my brokerage providing this for me? Are they keeping me as the agent, as the team leader, as the team? Are they keeping me front and center? And then if they're not, or if there's tools that you're not getting or you don't have access to, you need to go out and find the solve to that. You need to affiliate yourself with a brokerage that's thinking further this thinking of these technologies. And again, their mindset is that the agent stays front and center in all that they do. We could go on for days. I'm very passionate about vision and personal brand and the way in which agents set themselves up for success around personal brand versus focusing on brokerage. First, I feel very passionate about my brokerage, of course, but at the end of the day we need to make sure that we're leaning into that and that's a part of our self reflection and conversation that we're having. To set us up for success going into the to the year as well as in the future as it relates to technology.
- [43:51]
B
Absolutely. I love it. And Jo, I am so grateful for you spending time with us today. I know I am motivated and it just gives me the kind of reinforcement to the passion that keeps us going and keeps us looking for the next way that we can improve. But for now, I want to thank all of our listeners and our audience for joining us today on this episode of A State of Mind the Art of Selling Luxury Real Estate. If you're interested in learning more about the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, you can find out more online at www.luxuryhomemarketing.com. and if you like what you just heard, please share it with a friend. And don't forget to subscribe, rate and review this podcast. And of course, if you've got a hot topic that you'd like us to discuss in a future episode, feel free to let us know. Send an email to infoluxuryhomemarketing.com thanks so much for listening.