Check out our new The REAL AI Podcast for this week – Episode 36 7/20/26 – AI generated with hosts Miles and Grace
REAL AI: How well does AI know you, Inman Connect San Diego, AI stats and facts, headlines, and AI quote of the week
By Kevin Hawkins with Korey Hawkins | July 20, 2026 – Vol. 4 Issue 29
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. Get the real estate agent’s AI playbook: The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents at Amazon.
How well does AI know you?
Last week, I was in Bullhead City and Kingman, Arizona, teaching two four-hour AI classes for real estate agents hosted by Momentum MLS. During each class, I challenged the agents to ask ChatGPT a simple question: “What do you know about me?”
One agent, Melinda from Bullhead City, volunteered to see what ChatGPT would say about her. She has been using AI for a while, and it knew quite a bit.
Then I showed the class what ChatGPT knew about The REAL AI Guy.
It knew more than my name
I have been training ChatGPT Business for more than three years. At this point, it may know me better than Google, and I have had a Gmail account since Gmail was in beta.
ChatGPT understood the full REAL AI Guy brand, including my audience, book, newsletter, training programs, course titles and signature teaching concepts. It even knew about Inside AI, my newest video interview series.
More impressive, it understood how The REAL AI Guy sounds. It knew my preferred tone, the clichés I reject and the promises I refuse to make. It knew I never want to say AI helps people “work smarter” because my central promise is that AI saves people time.
It also knew my signature message: The best AI tools are also the safest AI tools.
That did not happen by accident
That level of knowledge came from more than three years of conversations, corrections, examples and ongoing instruction. It also revealed a habit I have developed without giving it much thought: I am constantly teaching my AI.
One of the core AI skills I teach is how to make AI sound more like you. I show agents how to complete ChatGPT’s personalization settings, including Custom Instructions and the “More about you” section.
Those settings are the foundation, but the deeper learning happens through the information you continue to share. Every. Single. Day.
Feed the beast
I call this practice “feeding the beast.” Keep giving your best work to ChatGPT so it has better examples of what good work looks like to you.
Was your latest client email a hit? Upload it and explain what worked. Proud of your newest newsletter or market report? Share it. Did a social media campaign deliver unusually strong results? Give ChatGPT the final version and tell it why it connected.
Each example gives AI more context about your preferences, standards and voice.
The ‘ah ha’ moment
Then I added one more step during the class. Whenever you finalize and polish something you created with ChatGPT, give it the completed version.
Show it the changes you made, explain why you made them and ask it to learn from the final copy. I could see the light bulbs go on across the room because many of the agents had never considered returning to ChatGPT after the work was finished.
Most people ask AI to create a draft, make their edits and move on. They keep the best version for themselves, which means ChatGPT never sees the answer key.
What you reject matters, too
Teaching AI what you don’t want can be just as important as showing it what you like. ChatGPT knows I reject tired clichés, empty promises and language that does not fit my voice because I have corrected those patterns repeatedly.
That doesn’t mean it gets everything right. It means the first draft is more likely to be closer to what I want, which saves me time.
The key is to keep circling back. Share your strongest work, provide the final version and explain what changed.
Then, every so often, ask it again: “What do you know about me?”
You may be stunned by the answer. When something is incomplete, outdated or wrong, correct it. The more accurately your AI understands your voice, standards and business, the more time it can save you. (-Kevin)
AI Facts & Stats
1. 60% of real estate investors said they are unprepared to scale AI beyond pilots – JLL
2. 87% of real estate organizations surveyed admitted to raising their tech budgets because of AI – JLL
3. Only 8% of realtors surveyed said they had used Apple Intelligence in their workflow – NAR
4. Generative AI in real estate grew from $0.77 billion in 2025 to $1 billion in 2026, a growth of over 30% – Research and Markets
5. 46% of realtors surveyed reported that AI hasn’t produced a noticeable impact on the business – NAR
Source: Luxury Presence (-Korey)
AI Headlines
OpenAI Just Declared ChatGPT as You Know It Dead | 7/11/26 Inc.
With the launch of ChatGPT models Work and Codex, the regular ChatGPT app is now ChatGPT Classic.
I Got Slopped | 7/16/26 The New York Times
AI slop has become even worse than before.
The New Excuse: ‘AI Did It’ | 7/13/26 Kom Ferry
AI assistants still need human managers in order to avoid oversight problems.
Inside AI – Episode 3 with Ashley Fidler: The biggest AI mistake real estate companies are making | 7/16/26 WAV Group
Ashley Fidler, CPO of MoxiWorks, talks about how the greatest mistake when using AI is not knowing what you want to do with it.
GPT-5.6: Frontier intelligence that scales with your ambition | 7/9/26 OpenAI
ChatGPT 5.6 takes bigger steps into design judgement, better results for professional tasks and more.
How AI is reshaping value creation in residential real estate | 7/13/26 McKinsey
The companies that benefit the most in using AI will be the ones who turn demand into an efficient and human-like process.
AI-powered real estate services promise homebuyers thousands in savings, but experts warn against replacing agents | 7/16/26 News 4 Jax
AI may cut costs in the home buying process, but it comes with a dangerous risk.
Can AI Replace Real Estate Agents? This Colorado Startup Thinks So. | 7/12/26 5280 Magazine
The Ridley AI Platform is designed to help sell homes without commissions, but the lack of supervision raises a red flag.
Could AI Put Your Job at Risk? Here’s Your Advantage | 7/13/26 NAR Realtor News
NAR lists the ten main reasons why AI will not replace agents who are Realtors.
Mayor Mamdani Says Landlords Can’t Secretly Use AI Images to Advertise Properties | 7/16/26 Peta Pixel
The Rental Ripoff Hearings are aiming to require landlords and realtors in NYC to disclose any use of AI in their listings.
HouseCanary’s bold vision for its Google listings expansion | 7/11/26 Real Estate News
HouseCanary is wanting to utilize AI for bringing home listings to Google. (-Korey)
AI Quote of the Week: Dan Troup
JULY OFFER: The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents personally signed, including shipping, for just $19 – and volume discounts available! Email korey@wavgroup.com for details.