Check out our new The REAL AI Podcast for this week – Episode 38 8/3/26 – AI generated with hosts Miles and Grace
REAL AI: 3 surprising things about AI today, Dallas hosts AI Summit, AI stats and facts, headlines, and AI quote of the week
By Kevin Hawkins with Korey Hawkins | August 3, 2026 – Vol. 4 Issue 31
REAL AI is the industry’s first and most popular weekly newsletter helping real estate professionals stay on top of the most important AI developments to help save time, stay safe and improve business workflow. Buy the best AI guide for real estate pros: The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents at Amazon – Kindle or paperback.
3 surprising things about AI today
You could not walk very far at Inman Connect San Diego without hearing about AI: agentic AI, AI policies, AI discoverability, AI assistants and AI-powered everything.
Some of it was exciting. A lot of it was main stage, unfiltered sales pitches. And some of it was downright unsettling. After moderating two of the best AI panels, talking with agents and brokers, and listening to one of the most provocative AI keynotes I have ever heard, three messages stood out.
1. Agentic AI is awesome and frightening
As you know, agentic AI does not just answer questions, it takes action – as if it were you. It can follow up with leads, execute multistep workflows, communicate with clients, update systems and make decisions with little to no human involvement. That makes it potentially transformational for agents and brokerages.
It also, as AI expert Ashley Filder suggested, exponentially increases risk. What happens when an AI agent says the wrong thing to a consumer, violates fair housing rules, mishandles confidential information or completes a task it was never authorized to perform?
During the AI policy panel I moderated, compliance expert Summer Goralik delivered the line every real estate professional needs to remember: “AI isn’t going to lose its license. You are.”
That is the reality. Agents and brokers cannot use fear as an excuse to ignore AI governance. If anything, fear should make them more proactive. Every brokerage needs clear rules governing which AI tools may be used, what information may be entered into them, which activities require human review and who is accountable when something goes wrong.
Ashley Stinton, NAR REACH managing partner, gave a starting place for AI policy: a downloadable template to give brokerages the framework to customize and complete (link is in this article, login required). But perhaps most importantly, all the AI experts agreed that agents need to be on board: they must understand and practice their brokerage’s AI policy.
The best AI tools will protect agents. But no AI tool eliminates broker or agent responsibility.
2. AI discoverability is becoming the new gold rush
For years, real estate professionals have chased the first page of Google. Now they want to be the agent recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and every other AI answer engine. “AI discoverability” is the industry’s newest Holy Grail.
There’s just one inconvenient problem: AI rarely gives everyone the same answer. Its recommendations can change based on how a question is phrased, what context the user provides, the AI model being used and which sources that system retrieves or trusts.
Agents should absolutely strengthen the signals AI systems can find. Much of that work looks familiar: authoritative websites, consistent business information, credible third-party mentions, solid schema, local expertise, useful original content, strong reviews and clearly established subject-matter authority.
But is there an easy button someone can push to guarantee that ChatGPT recommends you?
Heck no.
Be especially skeptical of anyone selling certainty. No consultant can promise that AI platforms will deliver the same recommendation to consumers. Agents should invest in building genuine authority and better digital signals, not invest in an expensive new flavor of snake oil.
3. Less screen time, more face time
Former OpenAI go-to-market leader Zack Kass delivered what I thought was the AI speech of the conference. It was less optimistic about AI’s potential than what has already happened because of another tech: the smartphone.
Parts of his keynote were alarming, jarring and even jolting.
Inman’s Nick Pipitone delivered a great story on Kass, sharing his argument that housing is not fundamentally a technology problem. Technology has made many things cheaper and more accessible, but housing, education and healthcare remain painfully expensive because many of the obstacles are rooted in policy.
But the part that stuck with me most was Kass’ discussion of screen time, declining social connection and what is happening to younger generations. AI is supposed to give us time back. What will we do with it?
Will we spend the extra time staring at another screen, generating more content and feeding another algorithm? Or will we use it to reconnect face-to-face with clients, families, friends and communities?
For real estate agents, that answer is obvious. Use AI to eliminate repetitive work. Use it to research, prepare, organize and communicate more effectively. Then close the laptop, put down the phone, and spend more time with people. (-Kevin)
AI Facts & Stats
1. ChatGPT now accounts for 12% of search-related traffic in the United States – Graphite
2. 61% of B2B software buyers surveyed said they use AI search engines alongside Google in tandem – G2
3. 35% of users surveyed said AI is more useful than search engines for discovering new brands – Similarweb
4. About 60% of U.S. adults surveyed say they read AI summaries at the top of search engine results – Search Engine Journal
5 26% of AI Mode users surveyed said they overrode rank order due to brand recognition – Growth Memo
Source: Position Digital (-Korey)
AI Headlines
What happens when the AI bubble pops? | 7/31/26 The Hustle
What the Birmingham bicycle boom can teach us about the AI bubble.
Housing Notes: Messy jobs like real estate agents could be more insulated than we realize from AI threat | 7/28/26 The Real Deal
AI’s capabilities decline when its tasks become messier.
These Are Some of the Top Questions Homebuyers Ask RealAssist AI on Realtor.com | 7/29/26 Realtor.com
One of RealAssist AI’s most frequently asked questions is the price of a home per square foot.
Lone Wolf bets future of real estate AI is embedded, not standalone | 7/28/26 HousingWire
Lone Wolf’s AI-powered Talent tool helps brokers recruit and retain agents via data and AI.
Compass’ chief economist has his eye on the AI housing boom | 7/27/26 Real Estate News
Compass’s Mike Simonsen wants to know if and when the trend of AI’s impact on the housing market will spread.
BKeeperAI launches AI-powered text messaging expense assistant for real estate | 7/27/26 HousingWire
AI assistant lets real estate agents categorize transactions on receipts via text.
The AI Millionaires Are Coming for Real Estate | 7/27/26 NAR
AI fortunes are creating a new class of wealthy home buyers that seek luxury homes.
AI creating uneven real estate demand | 7/30/26 Florida Realtors
AI is strengthening demand in some markets while shrinking in others.
How real estate is rethinking social media in the AI era | 7/29/26 Inman
AI can simplify content creation, but it should act as your assistant, not your voice.
Realsy launches AI-powered property evaluation platform through partnership with Restb.ai | 7/29/26 Realty Times
Realsy’s new AI platform combines AI-powered appraiser methods with photo-based quality and condition scoring. (-Korey)
AI Quote of the Week: Katie Lance
The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents, our Amazon bestseller, is available in paperback and for Kindle. Story idea? Email your idea to korey@wavgroup.com.