How AI fits hand-in-glove with Virtual Assistants

In the competitive world of the property industry, agencies are always looking for ways to increase efficiency and lower costs. One of the best ways to achieve this is by taking on a Virtual Assistant who will work remotely to handle routine administrative tasks.  Another is to employ AI powered tools to improve speed and productivity. We believe that the greatest success lies in the best of both.

With the increased use of AI-embedded software becoming common in business, estate agents may wonder if they can skip expanding the team and just install AI systems to automate routine administration. However, AI is not like having an extra human pair of hands or like a clockwork toy where you wind it up and let it do its thing. AI is a tool and needs human oversight.

When you put systems into place with Virtual Assistant-supervision, the reality is that AI can be implemented to streamline workflow and “add” valuable hours to the team’s day, helping to grow the business.  But, when it comes standing out in a competitive market by ensuring excellent work and quality service, one vital added human attribute is that your VA knows you, what you want and understands your values and mission.

Here are just 3 examples of the many ways that your Virtual Assistant-management is essential in the management of AI powered tools:

• Ensuring timely human interaction with prospective clients: AI has dramatically improved estate agencies’ ability to respond immediately – increasing their speed to lead. For example, as a tool on a website, an AI-powered chatbot can instantly respond to routine, frequently asked questions, 24/7, and can efficiently route complex enquiries to your Virtual Assistant for follow up. Yet, AI systems struggle to tackle queries (or any task) that falls outside their programmed parameters. The lack of an intelligent or complete response can frustrate potential clients who “just want to talk to someone.” Virtual Assistants, on the other hand, add an invaluable human touch to client interactions. They can provide insight, empathy and problem-solving skills that even an exceptional AI cannot duplicate.

• Increasing productivity, intelligently: While AI-powered software can be super-efficient when accurately handling repetitive and straightforward tasks, human input is essential – especially in handling tasks that require complex, real-time solutions. One simple example, when it comes to diary management, AI powered scheduling software can handle the routine task of scheduling appointments and then follow up with appointment reminders. But when it comes to intelligent thinking, scheduling AI is not “human” enough to ensure that sufficient time is allowed between two out of office appointments that require extra time to navigate rush-hour traffic.

• Making smart decisions based on big data analysis: AI has improved upon traditional data analytics through automation and sophisticated algorithms that allow for more efficient processing and analysis when it comes to massive amounts of data. This makes it a useful tool in analysing trends in the marketplace, assessing competitor marketing activity or doing post-social media campaign evaluation. AI can be programmed to analyse data and provide recommendations that your virtual Social Media Manager can evaluate and implement to improve the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. As such AI is a great tool in the hands of an experienced marketer.