Brokerages tap AI to rev recruitment

Residential brokerages are starting to tap into advanced tech to recruit top talent.

ChatGPT’s debut last year made the opportunities in artificial intelligence-powered platforms hard to ignore — particularly in the data-driven world of real estate. As the technology continues to develop, AI might not replace agents at their jobs, but it could instead find them new ones.

Predictive analytics are the key some firms are using to widen their reach. Although the technology is still in the beginning stages, some firms plan to harness it to pinpoint which agents are likely to join their companies and bring in business once they get there.

At least a handful of brokerages are working with a platform called Courted, which uses machine learning to predict which agents are most likely to leave their firms. Douglas Elliman’s Florida CEO Jay Parker has already enlisted the technology company to single out new prospects.

To identify these agents, the company — founded by Sean Soderstrom, Compass’ former national expansion leader — looks at metrics across their careers and from their office, including whether their managing brokers have stayed with the firm, who their colleagues are and who they frequently do business with. 

“We think of it as a smoke detector,” Soderstrom said. “I can’t tell you another company is calling them, but I can tell you they are seven, eight times more likely [to move].”

Soderstrom said Courted’s customer base is rapidly expanding, though it’s unclear how many brokerages the firm is working with at this stage. 

Other brokerages are building their own tools. 

Anywhere’s chief product officer, Tony Kueh, said that the parent company of such brands as Corcoran, Century21 and Sotheby’s International is using machine learning algorithms to target top agents by analyzing their past performance to forecast future growth. 

In South Florida, One Sotheby’s International Realty hired an outside service to build an internal predictive analytics program, according to chief growth officer Taylor Travaglione. Since the firm started using the program about a year ago, it’s been able to secure more appointments and conversions. 

“Now, we have an even steadier and more consistent introductory flow of new prospects and new agents,” Travaglione said, adding that the program generates leads “almost by the hour.”

For the past four years, Coldwell Banker has relied on a similar in-house program to identify agents that are “on their way up,” the firm’s Southeast regional president, Duff Rubin, said. 

The firm recruited about 2,500 agents in Florida last year using its predictive model, which measures agents’ likelihood for future success. Rubin said that the program helps them be “right more than wrong.”

“There’s a better chance from a company perspective when we get one of these recruits that’s been flagged on the AI reports,” Rubin said. “It just makes us try to align our resources where the best return is going to be.”

Mixed reception

But some firms aren’t as keen on the budding technology. Douglas Elliman’s Josh Altman, one of the founding brokers of the California-based Altman Brothers team, said the firm is looking for agents who likely won’t be identified with an algorithm.

“We’re so specific when it comes to recruiting that I don’t care what tool is out there, it’s not going to help us at the Altman Brothers because our agents are a needle in a haystack,” Altman said. “So many things come into play.”

In New York, Brown Harris Stevens is starting to incorporate AI tools in other departments, but the firm hasn’t yet integrated the technology into its recruitment process, according to CEO Bess Freedman. 

“We’re so specific when it comes to recruiting that I don’t care what tool is out there, it’s not going to help us.”
josh altman, douglas elliman

BHS primarily relies on word of mouth and existing relationships to bring in new agents, Freedman said, and turning to predictive analytics doesn’t fit into its strategy. 

“It’s such a relationship business,” Freedman said. “The majority of our hires are rarely [agents] who don’t know any of us. It’s usually somebody who’s connected to us somehow.”

But, as is the case with companies weighing most technology in its earliest stages, Freedman added that she wouldn’t rule out its adoption in the future.

Some brokerage executives are also questioning how advanced this predictive recruiting technology is and whether its application is as efficient as traditional methods like advertising and marketing campaigns.

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Another drop in the brokerage tech bucket

“I’m not convinced that AI is going to magically find us leads or magically find agents who are attracted to join Real,” said The Real Brokerage’s chief technology officer, Pritesh Damani. “There might be some tools out there that advertise that they can find something, but highly unlikely.”

Although the Real Brokerage isn’t using AI specifically to recruit, the firm is building its own platform for agents in the hope that the cutting-edge technology attracts agents. The firm developed an AI assistant tool, backed by ChatGPT, called Leo. 

The platform will serve as a virtual assistant with the ability to answer agents’ questions about commissions, revenue share and transactions, among other capabilities.

“We believe that by building what we’re building, we’re going to create technology that will be so attractive that people will come to us,” Damani said. 

Real isn’t alone in this endeavor. Compass has also invested significantly in its own AI tools, though not specifically for recruiting. The brokerage spent nearly half of the $2 billion it raised from investors on building its technology.

President of growth Rory Golod told The Real Deal in May that Compass has “been using AI internally for almost two years,” including an internal platform with a “likely to sell” tool, a feature that predicts which of an agent’s contacts is ready to sell. 

“While AI is generating a lot of attention now, it is not new to Compass,” another spokesperson for the firm said. “We are the only brokerage that has AI capabilities that are not outsourced.”

New products don’t have to be brokerage-wide, either. Douglas Elliman’s Eklund-Gomes team is developing Maya, which they call “the first AI agent powered by ChatGPT.” Though the virtual assistant isn’t designed specifically for recruitment, the team is betting on Maya’s ability to bring new talent into the fold. 

“She is available for our agents, like an assistant, but she is open to everyone — our competitors, the entire industry,” co-founder Fredrik Eklund said.