Check out our new The REAL AI Podcast for this week – Episode 40 8/17/26 – AI generated with hosts Miles and Grace
REAL AI: Use AI to fix things, AI stats and facts, headlines, and AI quote of the week
By Kevin Hawkins with Korey Hawkins | August 17, 2026 – Vol. 4 Issue 33
REAL AI is the industry’s first and most popular weekly newsletter and podcast helping real estate professionals stay on top of the most important AI developments to help save time and stay safe. Get your copy AI’s best-selling real estate book The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents at Amazon.
Use AI to fix things
Most people still think about generative AI as something that creates things. Generate a flyer or website image. Draft a blog post. Write social posts. Produce a summary from a huge document. Or brainstorm new ideas.
But one of my favorite uses of ChatGPT Business has nothing to do with creating something new.
I use AI to fix things.
We covered this earlier this year (“AI as the fixer”), but computer vision capabilities in Business ChatGPT and Gemini Pro have become so good at using AI to fix things that it deserves a second look. Today, one of my favorite AI habits is incredibly simple: When something isn’t working or I don’t understand what I’m looking at, I take a picture or screenshot and show it to ChatGPT.
Your phone just became a diagnostic tool. AI can not only fix things, but it can also “see” the problem.
How ChatGPT helped save $44,000
At this year’s National Association of Real Estate Editors Conference, I shared how I used the pro version of Gemini Notebook (and its hyper-secure vault) to review my taxes. Had TurboTax missed anything? It quickly found about $1,200 in additional deductions.
Afterwards, a woman came up and told me her story. Her CPA said she owed $44,000 in taxes. She put the information into Business ChatGPT and asked it to analyze the numbers. ChatGPT identified what appeared to be a mistake and explained exactly what she should point out to her CPA.
She shared the information, and her CPA redid her taxes and corrected the mistake. She no longer owed the $44,000.
Her comment to me: “How’s that for an ROI?”
There’s an important lesson here. ChatGPT didn’t replace her CPA. It helped her spot something that needed a second look and gave her the information she needed to ask the right questions to fix a potential problem.
A picture saves a $150 service call
Then the head of technology at a large MLS told me how ChatGPT helped him fix his pool.
A valve wasn’t working properly, so he photographed it and explained the problem to ChatGPT. It identified the equipment, including the specific model, but then suggested the valve might not actually be the problem. The actuator could be the culprit.
ChatGPT explained how to test it. He did, and AI was right.
When he called his pool company, they told him they would need to make a $150 service call to determine whether the actuator was bad. He told them he’d already diagnosed it and asked them to bring the replacement actuator.
They did. It was the actuator. He saved $150.
Decoding impossible assembly instructions
My latest example came while helping our oldest son Korey assemble furniture. He just became a first-time homeowner! Like so much furniture today, including his sectional couch and queen-size bed and mattress, everything arrived in boxes.
That meant hours of assembly. Fine. But the instructions ranged from barely understandable to downright awful. At one point, I was staring at a tiny illustration with a finger pointing at something that made absolutely no sense.
So, I photographed the instructions, dropped the picture into ChatGPT and asked, “What is it trying to tell me?”
It decoded the illustration, explained what the step meant and even warned me about what not to do. Our sons would have searched YouTube for the exact piece of furniture and watched a video until they found the troublesome step. Using ChatGPT, I had my answer almost instantly.
Your camera is now an AI tool
Think about how often this could help you as a real estate agent.
You’re at an open house and encounter an unfamiliar smart thermostat, smart lock, garage door opener, control hub or other home technology. Take a picture and ask ChatGPT what you’re looking at. Then ask it to explain how it works at a fifth-grade level so you can easily explain it to a buyer touring the home.
Having trouble with a website or software program? Take a screenshot. Show ChatGPT where you’re stuck and ask it to walk you through the settings. I’m not suggesting this replaces contacting Tech Helpline, but if you still need professional tech support, you’ll be better prepared to explain the problem and what you’ve already tried.
The same approach works for countless little problems in your business and personal life.
Computer vision has become astonishingly good. We carry a camera everywhere today, yet most of us don’t think about using it as an input device for AI.
Try this the next time something isn’t working, the instructions don’t make sense, or you’re staring at something and thinking, “What the heck is this?”
Don’t just search for it. Show AI the problem and ask it to help you fix it. (-Kevin)
AI Facts + Stats
1. 33.8% of prospective homebuyers view AI search as a very trustworthy source for accurate property listing information.
2. 37.3% of prospective homebuyers are comfortable using AI for financial calculations during the homebuying process.
3. 39% of prospective homebuyers are comfortable using AI to draft legal documents with human review and approval.
4. 25.4% of prospective homebuyers would use an AI agent for the entire transaction, even without financial savings.
5. 23.8% of prospective homebuyers under 30 do not trust AI search to provide accurate information about homes for sale.
Source: Bright MLS (-Korey)
AI Headlines
More from Ai4: The legends of AI uncork the good, bad and ugly of AI today and tomorrow | 8/11/26 WAV Group
Learn more about the memorable discussion between three of the biggest minds behind AI.
AI’s Scariest Week Yet | 8/9/26 The Wall Street Journal
The hypothetical dangers of AI are becoming less of a theory and more of a reality.
MLS leaders say AI requires a new approach to governing real estate data | 8/11/26 HousingWire
MLS leaders need to understand the difference between AI governance and control.
Real Estate Has an AI Problem | 8/14/26 Bisnow
A McKinsey executive says the issue isn’t tech.
It May Be Time to Panic About AI | 8/12/26 The Atlantic
As AI bot behavior has crossed from unsettling to dangerous, it’s time to reel them back in.
Patterns and problems in emerging multiagent systems | 8/13/26 Anthropic
The success of a multiagent system depends on how well its AI agents are used.
Ai4: Would you trust a brilliant teenager to run your business? | 8/10/26 WAV Group
AI agents are like teenagers: smart enough to both help and cause trouble.
apprAIz teams with Restb.ai to automate up to 90% of UAD 3.6 appraisal reports | 8/12/26 Real Estate Rama
apprAIz is using Restb.ai’s AI-powered workflow to extract property details from listing photos.
Washington homebuyers get a new AI-powered search tool | 8/11/26 Axios
HouseMe.AI portrays itself as an easier version of Zillow for Washington homebuyers, but it has a long way to go. (-Korey)
AI Quote of the Week: Jeetu Patel – Cisco
The REAL AI Guide for Real Estate Agents, our Amazon bestseller, is available in paperback and for Kindle. Story ideas? Email korey@wavgroup.com.