by Lachlan MacQuarrie

This article might change your view of how technology can improve the operations of real estate in less than 3 minutes – but only if you do something with it! When I first encountered AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity, I was a complete novice. I didn’t know where to start or how they could fit into my professional life. Then I spent an hour with Rob Murchison from Intelligent Buildings (IB), who shared how he was leveraging AI in his work. That session changed everything.

I started with simple tasks—summarizing documents, drafting emails, or generating ideas. But I quickly learned the real power lies in asking more sophisticated queries, tying in web search data, uploading documents with key facts, or even providing hypotheses upfront. With some experimentation, I began to see how AI could enhance productivity and creativity in unexpected ways.

Discovering AI’s Potential

To help you explore AI, here are some practical ways to get started:

• Experiment with Queries: Start with simple tasks like summarizing articles, then move to more complex queries that involve analysis or decision-making support.
• Upload Your Materials: Upload resumes, strategic documents, or even leases to ask AI for insights or recommendations.
• Combine Information Sources: Share a link to your website or a critical document and ask AI to analyze or refine the content.
• Collaborate with Teams: Use AI to brainstorm ideas, draft strategies, or even prepare creative presentations.

Examples of AI in Real Estate

Here are a few ways AI can transform real estate operations:

• Smart Building Strategies: Ask AI to draft a strategic outline focusing on cybersecurity, operational efficiency, or ESG compliance—or better yet, use real intelligence and connect with Intelligent Buildings, who can help accelerate the ideas you started in this example (shameless plug!).
• Lease Analysis: Upload a lease document and ask AI to summarize key terms or flag risks.
• Improved Communication: Evaluate word documents sent to tenants for clarity, tone, and impact.
• Marketing Content: Use AI to generate creative and engaging marketing content tailored for your tenants.

Challenge Yourself

Why not spend the next month exploring what AI can do for you? Ask your team members who is already using AI or who thinks it should become part of your business. Start with a fun task—perhaps using the tool to create a humorous speech for your holiday party about engaging employees to drive effectiveness. Let AI surprise you with its creativity.

Your early experiments will pay off—AI is transforming real estate, and you can lead the way. On my journey, I’ve learned that AI is a powerful tool that will redefine how we operate in real estate.

Let’s Connect

Connect with me anytime—I’d be happy to share my vision of the future or introduce you to the 20+ years of expertise Intelligent Buildings has developed to help clients optimize technology in real estate. Together, we can explore how to harness these tools to transform your business.

Explore ChatGPT Discover Perplexity

P.S. This entire article was written using AI, with my brain, in less than 10 minutes. I edited and curated what I wanted to say, but didn’t type any of it—it was created for me using my guidance. Thanks for starting me on the journey Rob!