The AI Revolution is Here… But We’re Getting It All Wrong

The AI Paradigm Shift

We have entered the era of AI and it presents a massive paradigm shift comparable to the scale of the industrial revolution and the advent of the internet. For now, the magic of AI is locked away in the technology of less-than-user-friendly programs used to access it. Yet, it is not the invention of AI itself that is exciting - it’s the possibilities that AI represents to improve the ways we work and live.

In this emerging landscape, success will belong to those who grasp the paradigm shift of AI in their respective fields and probe the possibilities for revolutionizing the status quo. It is not about who adopts the existing AI technologies the quickest or builds the most chat-bots or generative marketing tools. To win, we must approach AI akin to the way Ford revolutionized the automotive industry with assembly lines, and the way Amazon pioneered digital commerce, PayPal transformed online banking, and Meta digitized community.

Real estate, like every industry, is poised for transformation by AI, but everyone in the game is using it wrong.

Challenges Faced by Real Estate Agents

For years, agents have been constantly sold the newest shiny object and told it would make their lives better and increase their income. As each new “tool” was presented, more training and systems became necessary, creating webs of complexity via more platforms to learn, manage, and sync. As real estate has moved increasingly online, agents have found themselves spending more time behind their desks drowning in screens, and increasingly less time in the field prospecting and interacting with clients, which is ultimately the paramount requirement of their success.?

Seeking solutions that would help agents get out of the office and back in the field, the concept of a team structure took off - all of a sudden, agents were hiring assistants, operations managers, marketing staff, and others to manage the deluge of screens. With hiring came the burden of increased decision-making, training complexities, and mounting costs. This is how the agent’s time became bifurcated between selling and running a business.?

Enter AI, with everyone proclaiming mastery as the key to success, lest you be left in the dust: more screens, more skills to master, more time at a desk, more anxiety.

Reimagining the Brokerage Role

All of this prompts a crucial question: What role should brokerages play in a modern agent’s business strategy? One thing I’m sure of is the days of agents paying splits and desk fees for mere access to a logo and E&O insurance are gone.

I have polled thousands of real estate agents across the world about what they want from their brokerage and what agents seek is clear: more support. They don’t want more tools to learn, or more AI seminars to attend. They yearn for time—to engage with clients and to live their lives. Most people see the opportunities AI presents, but they do not want to spend more time and energy to devote themselves to AI's inevitable evolution, and they certainly don’t want to spend any more time behind screens.

As brokerage leaders, can we leverage the intersection between AI and human connection to support our agents in doing what they are uniquely qualified to do? Can we use the AI revolution to free salespeople of their screens, teams, and cumbersome systems? Can we give them the benefit of AI without burdening them with mastering more platforms? Can we equip agents with the benefits of this new paradigm to create a competitive advantage like tech giants did for consumers?

I believe we can because, at SERHANT., we are…

Introducing S.MPLE: A Game-Changer

Two days ago at Inman Connect in New York, I unveiled SERHANT.’s groundbreaking app, S.mple.

S.mple, our proprietary technology fueled by AI, simplifies an agent’s day-to-day logistics by connecting them to real human support. In one click, the app allows agents to complete tasks that once took hours in just minutes, using one simple platform that takes little to no training to use effectively. S.mple learns how a user likes things done, delivers real-time status updates on task completion, and outperforms VAs and even in-house support staff.?

We believe it is high time to redefine the relationship between brokerage and agent. As a brokerage, we are on a mission to change how our people work, which requires tireless innovation. In the spirit of this pursuit, we’ve piloted a lot of ideas, some of which didn’t catch. As a result, we know what it looks like when something works. S.mple works. It is a platform that makes our agents' lives simpler and helps us to support every angle of their business while removing barriers to their success.?

S.mple is a monumental leap forward in accomplishing our mission, yet here at SERHANT., we’re relentless in our pursuit of the next game-changer. Keep your eyes wide open because trust me, you won’t want to miss the moment when we raise the bar even higher.