Check out our new The REAL AI Podcast for this week – Episode 45 9/21/26 – AI-generated with hosts Miles and Grace
REAL AI: ChatGPT makes small tweaks with a big impact, 3.3.1 Countdown, AI stats and facts, headlines, and AI quote of the week
By Kevin Hawkins with Korey Hawkins | Sept. 21, 2026 – Vol. 4 Issue 38
REAL AI is the industry’s first and most popular weekly AI newsletter and podcast, keeping real estate agents and brokers on top of the AI developments that matter most to save you time and stay safe. Want more? Get The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents on Amazon.
ChatGPT makes small tweaks with a big impact
The biggest improvements to ChatGPT are not always the ones OpenAI announces with fireworks. As a huge fan of ChatGPT Business, it’s hard not to be excited by even the little changes when it makes the experience better.
These little changes eliminate an annoyance, save a few steps or simply make ChatGPT easier to use. None of these tweaks are going to stop the presses. But put them together, and ChatGPT starts feeling less clunky and a lot more useful in the middle of your workday.
Stop staring at the spinning wheel
One of my favorites is what happens when ChatGPT creates an image. As the image renders, ChatGPT can now show you its progress, including the percentage completed and how long it has been working: in the bottom right corner. Instead of staring at the screen wondering whether your image is almost finished or whether something has gone sideways, you have a much better idea of what is happening.
Yes, it’s a small thing, until you are creating multiple images and wondering if ChatGPT is pausing or fell asleep at the wheel.
Let ChatGPT come find you
Even better, you don’t necessarily have to sit there and watch.
With notifications turned on, ChatGPT can alert you on your phone, tablet or smart watch when certain work is completed. That means you can start something, move on to another task and let ChatGPT get your attention when it needs you. OpenAI also continues expanding scheduled tasks and monitoring capabilities that can send push or email notifications.
For agents, this is where AI starts becoming more useful in the background instead of demanding your attention every second.
Edit it. Then copy your version.
Another small change I really like is how ChatGPT handles a draft inside the chat.
It can now create the copy of a writing block where you can edit the text yourself right in the chat stream. Fix a sentence. Delete something you don’t like. Add the wording you would use. Then hit the copy button, and ChatGPT copies your edited version, not the original version it created.
That is smarter than it sounds. You are no longer copying the draft somewhere else, editing it there and ending up with two different versions. Your edits stay with the conversation, inside what ChatGPT calls a “writing block,” where you edit live and then can ask for another revision, but it now also knows the changes you made.
Copy and paste is finally behaving better
Copying and pasting has improved as well. On the web, text pasted from Google Docs, Word or even another chat conversation can retain headings, bold text, links and lists instead of stripping away the formatting. None of this is sexy AI. But it is useful AI.
For real estate agents, being useful matters more. AI becomes more valuable when it requires fewer steps, fewer workarounds and less babysitting. You should not have to stare at an image while it renders, rebuild formatting after copying text or jump between multiple apps just to fix a sentence.
The best technology eventually starts getting out of your way. ChatGPT is getting better at that.
Final new “Cheat Code”
If a Word document is mysteriously huge, ask ChatGPT to strip out hidden bloat like embedded fonts and unnecessary file data while keeping the formatting intact. (-Kevin)
AI Facts + Stats
1. 78% of real estate property managers surveyed said they use AI daily or almost every day.
2. 26% of real estate property managers surveyed reported that they have received formal AI training
3. 86% of real estate property managers surveyed state they carefully review AI output before acting.
4. 85% of real estate property managers surveyed said AI has improved their productivity.
5. 93% of real estate property managers surveyed expressed concern about AI-generated fraudulent applicant documents.
Source: 2026 IREM®-AppFolio AI adoption survey report (-Korey)
AI Headlines
Inside AI: Your AI Agent Can’t Get a Real Estate License. But You Can Lose Yours. | 9/16/26 RE Technology
Agentic AI should be treated like an unlicensed assistant and keep humans in control of consumer-facing decisions.
AI tools are quickly becoming integral to brokerage operations | 9/17/26 Real Estate News
Brokerages are moving AI beyond content creation and into admin, workflows and more.
Agents remain responsible for AI-generated work | 9/15/26 Florida Realtors
Agents must be diligent in protecting MLS and client data, verifying outputs and never accepting AI’s first answer without review.
An M.I.T. Report Warns A.I. Is Causing ‘Cognitive Surrender.’ Universities Are in a Bind | 9/15/26 The New York Times
As university leaders embrace AI, teachers and students alike worry about its impact on learning and independent thinking.
Hive MLS expands RealReports access across its entire MLS footprint | 9/16/26 Realty Times
Agents across Hive’s footprint will gain AI-powered property intelligence drawing from more than 100 data sources.
House To Vote on Bill Protecting Homeowners From AI Data Center Power Costs | 9/16/26 Realtor.com
The Ratepayer Protection Act is aimed at shifting data-center-related grid upgrade costs from homeowners to large power users.
AI forecast to cut construction costs up to 20% | 9/16/26 CoStar
AI can shorten building timelines on multifamily projects.
Potential AI slowdown is not ‘end of the world’ for data center real estate, says Digital Realty CEO | 9/15/26 CNBC
AI adoption can sustain demand even if development of new models slows.
Local Logic Launches MCP Server to Ground Real Estate AI in Verified Location Data | 9/17/26 RISMedia
The new server gives AI systems access to verified neighborhood and location data to improve accuracy and reduce hallucinations. (-Korey)
AI Quote of the Week: Meagan – Voiceflip
This is your SAFE AI handbook: The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents buy this bestseller on Amazon. Story ideas? Email korey@wavgroup.com.