AI Chatbot Saves Leasing Agents Hours of Phone Time – Without Compromising Customer Service

AI chatbots that can intelligently respond to prospects are providing multifamily operators labor-reducing options for handling incoming property inquiries. Automated chat has gotten smarter and far less frustrating, and when backed up by live agents can greatly relieve burdened leasing agents at a relatively low cost. The AI chatbot revolution began about five years ago and accelerated last year as businesses were forced to work remotely. Across the U.S., the AI chatbot market is expected to reach $9.4 billion by 2024, up almost $7 billion from 2019, according to Business Insider. More impressively, a report from Juniper Research suggests that the consumer retail spend via chatbots worldwide is expected to reach $142 billion by that time. Chatbots are getting better at dispelling perceptions that conversing with a machine is frustrating and unproductive. IBM notes that chatbots can now answer about 80% of standard questions, and 67% of customers used automated chat in 2019. In multifamily, an effective chatbot complements a leasing or call center staff by answering basic questions quickly and knowing when to get a human engaged. Improved technology is enabling chatbots to understand questions and provide the right answers to keep the conversation moving. Rather than getting stuck on a non-standard question and potentially losing the consumer, the ideal chatbot smoothly transfers the call to a live agent. RealPage’s chatbot, called Paige, is these days very busy helping apartment prospects find the right home. And in doing so she is freeing site staff for other obligations and opportunities. Paige is a great option for apartments working with limited or reduced onsite staffing, without compromising the quality of customer service or missing incoming leads. She also is there to welcome renters who want answers without engaging in a live conversation. Augmented intelligence: a smart chatbot above the rest Paige isn’t your everyday bot with artificia...