Tuesdays are 3 AI updates, one hot take, one action. Fridays are 1 practical real estate agent workflows.
1. 82% of agents use AI. Only 34% save 4 hours a week. An RPR survey of 225 real estate professionals published last week found adoption has crossed into mainstream territory. The number that matters is not 82%. It is 34%, the share of agents saving four or more hours every week. The gap between the agents who use AI occasionally and the ones who have built systems around it is wide and lengthening monthly.
2. A popular AI follow-up system is giving away some free subscriptions. 78% of leads go to the first agent who responds. Not the best agent. The fastest one. LaHaus is an AI platform built specifically for real estate that responds to leads instantly in your voice, qualifies them 24/7, and hands off warm clients directly to your inbox. They validated their tech with a Spanish language audience and are now launching across the entire US. To kick it off their Head of Growth announced they are giving away 10 free 2-month trials. I’ve seen this in action and if you’re running ads of any kind I’d jump on this today.
3. Zillow is rebuilding its platform around AI-fluent agents. Zillow's 2026 Agent Trends Survey found that ease of use has surpassed cost as the number one factor agents use when choosing technology. Agents are no longer asking what a tool costs. Zillow Pro launches mid-2026 with natural language ChatGPT search built in, and nearly 50% of agents already use AI daily. Zillow is building its entire next platform for that group. Will you invest in yourself and your sphere this year to break the dependency on Zillow?
Benefits that Zillow Pro claims to provide
HOT TAKE
Leonard Steinberg published data last weekend that reframes everything. 67% of online inquiries go unanswered. 60 to 75% of phone calls go to voicemail. Average response time is over 8 hours.
This is not a motivation problem. It is a systems problem. Agents are not ignoring their pipeline because they don't care. They’re can’t follow-up at scale with the speed and 24/7 availability that’s required.
It’s a place you’ve gotta use AI and why I mentioned Update 2 above. Your lead responses can’t wait.
1 THING TO TRY
The fastest follow-up wins new leads. A personal touch wins back the ones you already closed. Pick 5 people from your database you haven't spoken to in over two years. For each one, open your favorite AI tool and write:
"Research this list. Find out what they do, what they've been working on recently, and what's happening right now in their neighborhood. Write a short personal check-in email. Open warmly, mention something specific you're genuinely proud of them for based on what you find. Keep it human and real. Then at the very end, drop one casual line about something happening in their neighborhood right now. A development, a price shift, something hyperlocal. Make it feel like an afterthought, not a pitch. No real estate sales angle. Sound like a friend who pays attention."
Your AI does the research and writes the email. You edit it and send the ones that feel right. The message that gets a reply doesn't lead with market data, it makes someone feel seen.
This Thursday from 12 to 1pm ET, Skye Michiels and I are doing our second free training in the series on using AI to be more human, leading to better conversions and less burnout.
If you’re ready to dive deeper on AI, my next AI Marketing course is launching in just 1 month: March 23-April 3rd! Sign up today and join over 350 agents in the industry who’ve raised their game.
-Matt
