When prospects reach out about leasing opportunities, they want an effortless experience that gives them confidence in your team. Chatbots have become a popular solution for property management teams to handle inquiry overload and overextended agents. But they can only answer client questions within specific parameters and lack the personal touch and sophistication that spark a human connection. The limits of traditional chatbots have generated a demand for conversational AI. AI solutions combine intelligent processing with engagement tactics that stimulate clients and accelerate opportunities. Here, we explore why AI yields better results than traditional chatbots.
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Prospects are more likely to engage if they think they are communicating with a human.

According to a recent study conducted by the customer experience group, Calabrio, nearly 79% of participants said having the option to interact with a human instead of a chatbot was an indicator of positive customer service. Seventy-four percent of those surveyed said they are more loyal to businesses that allow them to speak to humans, than those that only offer customer service through digital channels. Simply put, humans who speak to humans are more inclined to move down the leasing pipeline.

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Because chatbots lack personalization and emotion, users become aware that they are communicating with a machine almost instantly. The desire for human interaction is made worse when issues arise that prospects want to be met with empathy, such as disability access or policies around children. Chatbots can’t improvise or handle complex inquiries humanly and can turn off prospects long before they enter the sales funnel.

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Meet Elise’s AI is frequently mistaken for a human being. “Elise” has been asked out on dates and offered gifts due to “her” emotive solid connections. AI makes it possible to message back in 5-10 minutes, 24hours a day, via email or SMS, underscoring that ‘round-the-clock connections via multiple touch points are just as crucial as the content of the conversations.

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Decision-tree chatbots can only answer a limited number of questions, one at a time

Decision-tree-style chatbots were designed to answer simple questions with factual statements. They use pre-defined rules that depend on a conditional if/then at each step. However, the limited responses make it impossible to answer the kinds of multi-part questions that are standard in the leasing process—such as pet policies or neighborhood specifics. This often leaves prospects with more questions than when they started and demands that they go through more steps to connect with your support team.

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AI solutions like Elise, process questions the way human beings do. Elise was developed with psychology and linguistics in mind to deliver an intuitive interaction that can satisfy even the most curious prospects. The solution is also sophisticated enough to handle multiple questions at once and become more adept at answering unique, layered questions based on historical analysis.

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Communicating in natural language with prospects provides a more premium experience.

Nothing can replace the natural flow of human conversation. Most chatbots cannot adapt to slang, misspellings, or sarcasm, leaving prospects feeling misunderstood. That means chatbots can miss opportunities to hook prospects when they are passively browsing or used to communicating in regionally or culturally specific ways. Rather than streamlining the process, this undermines the immediate service prospects are seeking and can cause users to feel like your company isn’t willing to meet them where they’re at.

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) backed AI is a powerful alternative. Elise utilizes machine learning to put unstructured inputs in context and respond through patterned interpretation instead of a fixed flow. Elise looks beyond keywords and breaks questions down according to motives. For example, someone may type “Monthly rent”, while another may input “How much will this cost me?”; in both cases, NLP will break down pricing in an approachable way that makes your prospect feel that it gives them a favorable opinion of your community.

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Conclusion

Users want to have a pleasurable experience with property management teams from lead to lease. AI solutions offer an elevated experience that makes up for the rigid parameters and in authentic conversations typical of standard chatbots. With solutions such as Meet Elise, users will have engaging interactions and gain clarity. The impression and trust they gain from those initial interactions with our intuitive AI will make it easier to turn them into paying renters and leave them more inclined to do business with you in the future.

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