How To Create A Real Estate AI Voice Assistant (For Appraisal Followups)

How To Create A Real Estate AI Voice Assistant (For Appraisal Followups)

You’ve no doubt heard the old saying “Good, Fast, Cheap… Pick Two”.

Well, gone are the days when “Fast” was an option.

A recent consumer research study found that two-thirds of consumers say speed is more important than price.? So you can be good and fast or cheap and fast. But among all else, you better be fast.

From the data we’ve collected from more than 400 real estate websites, it takes an average of 3.2 days for an agent to prepare and send an appraisal to consumers who have requested one via a real estate agency’s website. This delay is often due to agents being caught up in the demanding cycle of listing and selling properties, leaving them without the resources to respond quickly to new leads.

This failure to respond to appraisal requests in a timely manner, whether an agent’s fault or not, is costing agencies literally millions of dollars in lost GCI every year.

But what if there was a way to bridge this gap and respond to potential clients within an hour of their inquiry? Enter Vapi , an innovative AI-powered solution that’s transforming how real estate agents handle lead conversion.

The Cost of Delayed Responses

Before we delve into the solution, let’s consider the stakes.

Our Vendor Lead Tracker platform has revealed that 15% of people who request an appraisal or property estimate via real estate websites list their property within the next 90 days.

However, it also found that agents who take more than just one day to respond will lose 80% of those listings to a competitor.

So the 3.2-day average response time mentioned earlier is more than just a number—it represents millions of dollars in potential GCI slipping through the cracks of real estate businesses each year. In an industry where the early bird often gets the worm, this delay is a luxury agents can ill afford.

More agencies are now using instant property estimate tools on their websites, which delivers a higher volume of potential vendor leads to the agency over an appraisal form on their website while also providing faster responses to potential sellers—who get something ‘instantly’.

Our Vendor Lead Tracker platform shows that?10% of people who request a price estimate will go on to request an agent appraisal after receiving their report.

With this flood of price estimates now coming into the website, you would think that agents are falling over themselves to turn these into appraisal leads, right? Sadly, this is not the case.

In the example below, a small-medium-sized agency generated over 300 vendor leads in a 90-day period, with 17 properties listed during that time. Only three were listed with this agency, while the remaining 14 were listed with a competitor resulting in $148,000 in lost GCI.


Stepps Vendor Lead Tracker

So the price estimate tool, while extremely useful for filling an agency’s pipeline, is not the silver bullet if the potential vendors aren’t being called – and quickly.

Enter Vapi: Your 24/7 AI-Powered Real Estate Assistant


Vapi offers a groundbreaking solution to this problem. By leveraging advanced AI technology, Vapi enables real estate agents to create custom AI assistants that can make outbound calls to potential clients who have requested price estimates on their website to service the lead and steer them toward an appraisal.

These AI assistants aim to convert these leads into appraisal bookings for the agents within the office.

Here’s how Vapi is revolutionising the lead conversion process:

  1. Customisable AI Assistants: Vapi allows you to create numerous “Assistants” tailored to various situations in your real estate business. For this article, we’re focusing on assistants designed to follow up on price estimate requests.
  2. Personalised Voice Options: You can add your own voice or choose from a range of templated voices using Vapi’s integration with Eleven Labs. This feature allows you to maintain a consistent brand voice across all interactions.
  3. Custom Conversation Guidelines: Vapi enables you to create custom instructions and set guidelines for how you want the assistant to function during conversations. This ensures that your AI assistant represents your brand accurately and professionally.
  4. Realistic Background Simulation: To enhance the authenticity of calls, Vapi offers the option to add “background noise” simulation, making it sound as if the assistant is calling from your office.
  5. Voicemail Capability: You can set a custom message for when calls go to voicemail, ensuring no potential lead goes uncontacted.
  6. Comprehensive Call Transcripts: Vapi provides full transcripts of all calls, allowing you to review conversations and gain valuable insights.
  7. Flexible AI Model Selection: Choose your preferred AI model from options including OpenAI’s ChatGPT models, Anthropic, and more. This allows you to select the AI that best fits your needs and budget.
  8. Cost-Effective Solution: With rates as low as $0.05 USD per minute, Vapi offers an affordable way to ensure prompt follow-up on all leads.
  9. Internal Knowledge Integration: Vapi allows you to upload internal documents, enabling your AI assistant to access crucial information about your company, processes, agent names, sales statistics, and more. This feature ensures that your AI assistant can provide accurate, company-specific information during calls.
  10. Emotion Detection: Vapi can detect the caller’s emotions, such as anger or joy, and feed this as additional context to the AI model. This allows for more nuanced and empathetic responses, enhancing the overall conversation quality.

Ethical Considerations: Transparency and Consent

While the benefits of using AI assistants like Vapi are clear, it’s crucial to approach their implementation with ethical considerations in mind. One of the most important aspects of using AI in customer interactions is transparency.

The Importance of Disclosure

When using Vapi or any AI assistant, it’s essential to make it clear to the consumer that they are interacting with an AI, not a human. This disclosure should happen at the beginning of the interaction, before any substantial conversation takes place. There are several reasons why this is crucial:

  1. Building Trust: Honesty and transparency are fundamental to building trust with potential clients. By being upfront about the use of AI, you demonstrate integrity and respect for the consumer’s right to know.
  2. Legal Compliance: In many jurisdictions, there are evolving regulations around the use of AI in customer interactions. Being transparent about AI usage helps ensure compliance with these regulations.
  3. Setting Expectations: When consumers know they’re interacting with AI, they can adjust their expectations accordingly. This can lead to more productive interactions and reduce potential frustration.
  4. Ethical Practice: Disclosure aligns with ethical business practices and shows that your agency values transparency and honesty in all interactions.

Obtaining Consumer Consent

After disclosing that the assistant is AI-powered, it’s important to ask the consumer to opt into the conversation. This could be as simple as asking, “Are you comfortable proceeding with this AI-assisted conversation?” Here’s why this step matters:

  1. Respecting Consumer Choice: Some individuals may prefer to speak directly with a human agent. Giving them the choice respects their preferences and autonomy.
  2. Demonstrating Consideration: By asking for consent, you show that you value the consumer’s comfort and preferences, which can enhance their perception of your agency.
  3. Creating a Positive Experience: When consumers actively choose to engage with the AI, they’re more likely to approach the interaction with an open mind, potentially leading to a more positive experience.
  4. Compliance and Documentation: Obtaining and recording consent can be important for compliance purposes and can serve as documentation of the consumer’s willingness to engage with AI technology.

Implementing Disclosure and Consent

When using Vapi, consider programming your AI assistant to start each conversation with a brief introduction that includes:

  • A clear statement that it is an AI assistant
  • A brief explanation of its purpose (e.g., to help with property valuations)
  • A request for consent to proceed with the AI-assisted conversation

Here’s a real (yet basic) example our team recorded using Vapi, including our setup in Vapi below:

Vapi settings for our assistant:


The Future of AI Conversations

It’s worth noting that these AI models are improving at an astonishing rate. The level of human-like conversation we’re seeing today is just the beginning.

The possibilities and use cases for this technology in real estate businesses is exciting:

  • Property management calls for maintenance, rental arrears or reference checks.
  • Appointment bookings
  • Followup calls
  • And so much more.

As these models continue to evolve, the naturalness and effectiveness of these AI-powered conversations will only get better and better. This means that the potential for voice assistants to revolutionise lead conversion and the speed of response in real estate is not just immediate, but also has a long-term, ever-improving trajectory.

Enhancing Agent Productivity, Not Replacing Agents

It’s crucial to understand that tools like Vapi are designed to complement and enhance the work of real estate agents, not replace them. By handling initial inquiries and follow-ups rapidly, Vapi allows agents to focus more on high-value, dollar-producing activities. This synergy between AI and human expertise creates a more efficient, responsive, and profitable real estate operation.

Getting Started with Vapi

One of the great advantages of Vapi is its accessibility. Anyone can set up an account and start exploring its functionality immediately. This allows you to test the system, experiment with different AI models, and get a feel for how Vapi could benefit your real estate business.

However, it’s important to note that to fully leverage Vapi’s capabilities and integrate it seamlessly with your internal systems—such as calendar bookings and email notifications—you’ll need the assistance of a developer. This integration ensures that Vapi works in harmony with your existing processes, maximising its effectiveness in your lead conversion strategy.

The Impact of Rapid Response

By implementing Vapi, real estate agencies can dramatically reduce their response time to price estimate requests. Instead of waiting 3.2 days, potential clients can receive a follow-up call within hours or even minutes of their inquiry.

Given that 15% of these requests lead to listings within 90 days, the potential impact on your business is significant. Responding within an hour could be the difference between losing and earning millions in GCI.

Enhancing Customer Experience and Stopping Lead Leakage

Beyond the financial benefits, Vapi helps improve the overall customer experience. In today’s fast-paced digital world, consumers expect quick responses. By meeting this expectation, you’re more likely to impress potential clients and stand out from competitors.

Moreover, these voice assistants can help stop lead leakage in your real estate business.

No more missed opportunities due to overwhelmed agents or busy periods. Your AI assistant ensures that every lead is followed up promptly, maximising your chances of converting inquiries into appraisals and, ultimately, listings.

Conclusion

In an industry where time is money, and speed is increasingly trumping price in consumer preferences, Vapi offers real estate agents a powerful tool to stay ahead of the competition. By leveraging AI to respond quickly to price estimate requests, you can significantly increase your chances of securing listings and boosting your GCI, all while freeing up your agents to focus on what they do best.

The future of real estate is here, and it’s powered by AI that’s becoming more sophisticated by the day. While anyone can start exploring Vapi’s capabilities today, partnering with a developer for full integration will unlock its full potential.

What do you think? Is this a step too far in the evolution of AI? Will consumers warm to AI voice assistants?

Let us know your thoughts below.

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