Artificial intelligence has quickly become one of the most talked-about topics in real estate. From conference stages to product demos, AI seems to be everywhere. But for multifamily owners and operators, the conversation is shifting away from what AI could do and toward a more important question:

WHAT VALUE IS AI CREATING TODAY?

At RETCON, leaders from Kettler, Rose Associates, Mark-Taylor Residential, and Pay Ready came together to discuss how AI is being implemented across multifamily operations, where it's delivering measurable results, and what organizations need to do now to prepare for the next phase of adoption.

One thing became clear throughout the discussion: the companies seeing success with AI are not chasing trends. They're solving real operational problems.

START WITH THE PROBLEM, NOT THE TECHNOLOGY

One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is adopting AI simply because it's available.

Instead, panelists emphasized starting with existing operational challenges and identifying where AI can remove friction, improve efficiency, or create a better customer experience.

Rather than asking, "What can AI do?" the better question is: "What problem are we trying to solve?"

This approach allows organizations to focus on measurable outcomes instead of getting distracted by new tools and features.

For multifamily operators, that often means targeting repetitive administrative tasks, communication bottlenecks, reporting processes, and resident service workflows.

AI IS BECOMING PART OF DAILY OPERATIONS

While AI may have started as a technology initiative, it is quickly becoming embedded throughout multifamily organizations.

At Kettler, AI is viewed simultaneously as a strategy, an operational initiative, and an organizational capability. The company spent nearly two years developing its approach before implementing solutions at scale.

That deliberate approach is paying off.

Rather than rushing into individual tools, leaders focused on building the framework, governance, and processes necessary to support AI adoption long term.

The lesson for operators is simple: Successful AI adoption starts with strategy before technology.

THE BIGGEST EARLY WINS ARE HAPPENING IN COMMUNICATION

Across the panel, one of the most common use cases for AI was communication.

At Mark-Taylor Residential, AI was initially deployed to improve prospect and resident interactions through chat, text messaging, email, and phone support.

The results were immediate.

The company discovered that roughly 20% of leasing-related calls occurred outside traditional office hours. Prospects expected answers when they were ready to engage, not when leasing offices reopened the next morning.

By deploying AI-powered communication tools, Mark-Taylor was able to provide faster responses, improve lead engagement, and support residents around the clock.

Today, AI supports the resident journey from initial inquiry through move-out, helping manage everything from application follow-up and document collection to resident communications and delinquency workflows.

The key takeaway? Speed matters.

In an environment where residents and prospects expect immediate service, AI helps bridge the gap between customer expectations and operational realities.

CREATING CAPACITY FOR TEAMS

One of the most important themes from the session was that AI is not about replacing people.

It's about allowing people to focus on higher-value work.

Property teams spend a significant amount of time handling repetitive administrative tasks, responding to common questions, scheduling tours, following up on documentation, and processing routine workflows.

By automating those activities, organizations can free employees to focus on what humans do best:

• Building resident relationships
• Leasing apartments
• Solving complex problems
• Delivering exceptional customer experiences
• Managing communities

Panelists repeatedly stressed that AI should be viewed as a complement to employees, not a replacement for them.

In many cases, organizations are actually seeing positive impacts on employee satisfaction because team members spend less time on repetitive work and more time on meaningful interactions.

THE RISE OF AGENTIC AI

While chatbots and communication tools represent today's most visible applications, panelists spent considerable time discussing what comes next.

The next frontier is Agentic AI.

Unlike traditional AI tools that simply provide information, AI agents can execute workflows, complete tasks, and take action across systems.

Kettler recently identified dozens of potential use cases for AI agents and is beginning to test solutions focused on month-end accounting and financial reporting processes.

The goal is to reduce administrative burden while improving consistency, accuracy, and operational efficiency.

By automating portions of these workflows, organizations can create greater capacity within their teams while improving reporting quality for owners and investors.

As AI agents continue to mature, many multifamily leaders see them becoming an increasingly important part of day-to-day operations.

HUMAN TOUCH STILL MATTERS

Despite the excitement surrounding AI, every panelist emphasized the importance of maintaining human interaction.

Not every conversation should be automated.

Residents experiencing financial hardship, navigating sensitive situations, or facing major life events often require empathy and personal support that technology cannot provide.

The most successful implementations use AI to handle routine interactions while creating seamless handoffs to human team members when needed.

Many organizations are developing governance processes and escalation protocols to ensure AI knows when to step aside and allow a person to take over.

As one panelist noted, multifamily remains a people business.

Technology should strengthen relationships, not replace them.

DATA WILL DETERMINE THE WINNERS

Looking ahead, panelists agreed that the companies gaining the greatest advantage from AI will be those that can effectively leverage their data.

Today's multifamily technology stack often consists of numerous disconnected systems, each containing valuable information.

The organizations that successfully connect those systems and create a unified view of their operations will be best positioned to unlock AI's full potential.

Future AI applications won't simply answer questions or automate tasks.

They will identify patterns, surface insights, recommend actions, and help operators make better decisions faster.

The foundation for that future is data.

Companies that invest now in organizing, connecting, and contextualizing their information will have a significant advantage as AI capabilities continue to evolve.

THE FUTURE IS CLOSER THAN WE THINK

Perhaps the most striking takeaway from the discussion was how quickly AI is advancing.

Capabilities that seemed years away are already becoming operational realities.

Organizations are automating leasing workflows, deploying AI agents, improving resident communications, streamlining financial processes, and even rethinking traditional staffing models.

The multifamily industry is still in the early stages of AI adoption, but the conversation is no longer about whether AI will impact operations.

It already is.

The real question is how quickly organizations can identify meaningful opportunities, build the right strategy, and create the infrastructure necessary to take advantage of what's coming next.

The companies that succeed won't necessarily be the ones using the most AI.

They'll be the ones using it with purpose.