Unless you've been living under a rock (or slammed with back-to-back closings since November), you've probably heard all the buzz around ChatGPT. But what is it?
Think of ChatGPT as a genius robot you can have a conversation with. It's essentially a computer program that can understand and respond to your "human language" questions and uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop a helpful response.
Only two months after its launch in November 2022, the chatbot had 100 million monthly active users. For context, it took Instagram two and a half years to get to 100 million. And according to Digital-adoption.com, OpenAI (who owns ChatGPT) recently became one of the 50 most visited websites in the world.
But can it be used for real estate? And, if so, how?
Let's look at a few ways to experiment with it—and a few cautionary tales.
Using ChatGPT for Real Estate Marketing
We know that 96% of all home buyers use the Internet during their home search, so your listing descriptions—whether you love or hate to write them—are a crucial aspect of your marketing strategy. ChatGPT can do some of the heavy lifting to write these descriptions, but you'll need to give it some guidance.
You might say:
"Please write a listing description for a 2,670-square foot house in Charleston, South Carolina, that has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a great location close to schools and shopping, and a large backyard. The house also has a two-car garage. The kitchen was remodeled in 2010 and has granite countertops and updated appliances. It also has a new roof and HVAC from 2021."
Here's how it responded:
Is your mind blown? Now, let's say that you want this to sound a little more professional and need to cut it down to 150 words for your MLS. Because ChatGPT is conversational, you can just ask it a follow-up question.
You might say:
"Please rewrite the listing description to be less than 150 words and in a more professional tone."
Here's how it responded:
Crazy, right? Besides writing new listing descriptions, you could also ask it to rewrite the listing descriptions of properties you had sitting on the market for a while—to breathe new life into their marketing. The possibilities are basically endless.
2. Revamping Your Email Drip Campaigns
If one of your to-dos is updating your email drip campaigns, ChatGPT can help with that too. For example, imagine you're setting up a drip campaign for potential homebuyers in your CRM, but you don't know where to start. First, let's ask for ideas on what kind of emails to send.
You might say:
"Can you give me 5 quick ideas for drip emails to potential homebuyer clients that a real estate agent would send?"
Here's how it responded:
We know this sounds too good to be true…but let's say you love idea #4 on "homebuying tips," and you want it to write the email for you. It can do that, too!
You might say:
"Can you write a template email for number 4 that is under 200 words and includes a strong CTA?"
Here's how it responded:
Imagine spending an hour or two creating an entire drip campaign for home buyers and scheduling the emails in your CRM. Talk about lead-generation gold! Just remember to review, edit, and add your personality and flare. Because AI, no matter how cool, is not you.
Using ChatGPT for Content Creation
3. Brainstorming Blog Titles and Outlines
Another great way agents can use ChatGPT is to help create blog content. Note that we said "help"—because there is a fine line on what Google will accept (or penalize) regarding AI-generated SEO content.
You'll want to use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, help you with blog outlines, and maybe make some tone adjustments—never to write the whole thing and then copy/paste. Let's look at how that might work.
You might say:
"Give me 5 specific titles of blogs that a real estate agent in Nashville could write."
Here's how it responded:
And, similar to how we asked it a follow-up question on the email templates, we could ask it to then write an outline for the "DIY projects" idea.
You might say:
"Can you write a short blog outline for topic #4?"
Here's (just part of) how it responded:
We could go on and on with this blog idea. Maybe next you ask it to "write the introduction in under three sentences," followed by an ask to update the tone to something more approachable…you get where we're going.
4. Creating Captions for Social Media
Using that same blog example, let's say you want to share the blog on your Facebook page. Again, ChatGPT can write the caption, help you with hashtag ideas, and adjust the tone as you see fit.
You might ask:
"Can you write a short but witty Facebook caption for this blog, including relevant hashtags?"
Here's how it responded:
Want a more professional-sounding caption for your LinkedIn page? Yep! It can do that, too.
You might ask:
"Can you rewrite this caption in a more professional tone for LinkedIn without emojis?"
Here's how it responded:
We could see this being very useful when you're prioritizing your time on transaction-related tasks—letting ChatGPT write your social captions so you're not spinning your wheels on these marketing admin-type things.
5. Writing Video Scripts
Video content is huge right now, and social platforms like Instagram favor video content in their algorithms. So, if you've been on the fence about getting in front of the camera, ChatGPT can make it a bit easier for you by (you may have guessed it) writing the script.
Following our example above, let's see what happens when we ask for a video script. Again, remember to be specific with what you want.
You might ask:
"Can you write a 45-second video script about this blog that a real estate agent could record for Instagram?"
Here's how it responded:
Pretty amazing! Of course, you could follow this up with an ask for a more playful tone, maybe to rewrite it into a 30-second script, or even in a tone similar to Joe Rogan's. True story. You've GOT to see that, right?
Here's how it responded:
If you've ever listened to a Joe Rogan podcast, you know this is pretty spot-on. Are your wheels turning with how much fun this could be?
6. General Brainstorming
Outside of all of these specific examples, ChatGPT is also great for general brainstorming. Let's say you have a new listing and need help with out-of-the-box marketing ideas to help the listing stand out. Or, maybe you're ready to start a monthly newsletter and want some ideas for content to include. Need ideas for your upcoming podcast episode? You can ask it all those things.
You might ask:
"Can you give me 6 rapid-fire ideas for a closing gift a real estate agent could give to their homebuyer clients?"
Here's how it responded:
The things you can ask ChatGPT are seemingly endless, and it does a great job when you give it specific prompts that help it be more accurate. But not everything is all sunshine and rainbows.
Cautionary Tales
We have to ask ChatGPT, right?
Seriously, though… there are some things you'll need to keep in mind when using ChatGPT for your real estate marketing efforts. Here are some considerations:
- It stopped learning in 2021. ChatGPT doesn't know anything past 2021, which is when its training data cut off. So, it won't be able to help you with questions about current events or the state of the market, etc.
- It's not always right. Sometimes it can give you the wrong information—it's artificial intelligence, after all. So always fact-check what it's telling you to confirm its accuracy.
- It doesn't have your judgment. It also doesn't know the nuances and rules of your real estate council, your brokerage, ethical guidelines, etc. So it's not for sensitive tasks; you'll need to always use your best judgment.
- It can't access MLS data. It doesn't have access to MLS data, so help with competitive analysis or neighborhood trend reports isn't going to happen.
- It's just not YOU. Always insert your personality, your knowledge, and your expertise into whatever ChatGPT helps you create. Because, after all—it's not human.
Whether you've been playing with ChatGPT for months or this is the first time you've heard about it, we'd love to get your take on whether or not you're team AI or team human. Join us over on our Facebook page, where we're continuing this discussion.