What Happens When You Ignore AI?
Chirag Shah & Shay Artzi
The real estate industry is at an inflection point. Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept or a nice-to-have tool; it is actively reshaping how agents work, how clients make decisions, and how brokerages compete. In a recent Compass webinar, industry coach Chirag Shah and Compass Head of Engineering Shay Artzi shared a candid, practical conversation on what this shift means for agents today and how those who embrace AI are already pulling ahead.
Below are the most important insights from the session, translated into clear, actionable takeaways for agents and brokerage leaders navigating a rapidly changing market.
Why Ignoring AI Is a Business Risk
Chirag framed the current AI moment as comparable to the Industrial Revolution: when the world changes at scale, those who don’t adapt are left behind. Agents who resist AI aren’t just missing out on efficiency; they risk losing listings, clients, and long-term relevance.
Agents using AI are:
Faster and more efficient
Delivering more personalized client experiences
Making better, data-informed decisions
Scaling their businesses without burning out
Those who don’t adapt face a different reality: lost revenue, increased stress, and a growing gap between themselves and top performers. As Shurrog put it bluntly, hope is not a strategy.
Today’s Clients Expect More Than “Technology”
Clients are not asking for flashy tools; they are expecting the outcomes that technology enables. Consumers now have access to powerful AI tools themselves, allowing them to research neighborhoods, analyze commute times, compare schools, estimate payments, and even generate comps.
This creates a fundamental shift in the agent’s value proposition. To remain relevant, agents must recognize that the modern client expects a higher standard of service.
This creates a fundamental shift in the agent’s value:
Clients expect insights, not just information
They want personalization, speed, and clarity
They expect seamless communication and follow-up
Platforms like Compass One bring this experience together, organizing the entire transaction in one place and allowing agents to deliver what Chirag described as “the Four Seasons experience with a Navy SEAL execution.”
AI as a Branding and Attention Engine
Winning attention in today’s market requires more than being present; it requires being relevant. Agents who stand out are using AI to scale their authentic voice, not replace it.
Key strategies discussed included:
Personalizing AI models with your voice, tone, brand, and market expertise
Creating platform-specific content (Instagram ≠ LinkedIn ≠ YouTube)
Using AI to generate hooks, stories, captions, and calls to action
Leveraging simple tools like teleprompters to speed up execution
Interestingly, while AI-generated content is advancing rapidly, raw and human content is outperforming overly polished production. Authenticity, imperfections, and real presence are becoming brand differentiators, with AI acting as the strategic engine behind the scenes.
Solving the Biggest Time Drains in an Agent’s Day
When agents were asked what slows them down most, familiar themes emerged:
Social media content creation
Listing descriptions
Follow-up emails and newsletters
Property research and data validation
Chirag demonstrated how AI can transform a standard listing description into a compelling, emotional story; it is a tool that appeals to the senses and positions a property as an experience rather than a set of specs. With the right prompting, that same content can instantly become an Instagram post, an email, or a video script.
The key takeaway: most disappointing AI results come from under-prompting. AI performs best when given context, direction, and a clear objective.
Getting Started Without Feeling Overwhelmed
For agents intimidated by AI, the advice was simple: start small and stay consistent.
Replace some phone scrolling with AI conversations
Use voice dictation instead of typing
Treat AI like a highly paid assistant you expect excellence from
Ask it to clarify, ask questions, and refine outputs
Just 15 minutes a day of hands-on use can build confidence within a week. As Chirag shared, he did not learn AI through formal training; he learned by using it every day.
How Compass AI Changes the Game
Shay explained that what differentiates Compass AI from general AI tools is not just the model; it is the data and integration.
Compass AI:
Lives inside a secure, proprietary ecosystem
Understands agents’ real listings, clients, and transactions
Connects directly to CRM, search, business trackers, and Compass One
Executes tasks; it does not just answer questions.
In a live demo, Compass AI handled in minutes what normally takes agents close to an hour: adding contacts, logging notes, creating searches, building deal trackers, drafting emails, inviting clients to Compass One, and identifying follow-ups; all through natural conversation.
What’s Coming Next
Looking ahead to early 2026, Compass AI is evolving from a tool into a proactive partner. Upcoming capabilities include:
Lead and opportunity surfacing
Private Exclusive and buyer-demand insights
Native calling and texting inside the CRM
Automatic communication logging and follow-up reminders
A fully revamped agent network tool for targeted outreach
The long-term vision is clear: a personal assistant and coach that anticipates agent needs, handles operational complexity, and frees agents to focus on clients and growth.
The Real Takeaway
AI won’t replace real estate agents — but agents who use AI will outperform those who don’t.
The agents who thrive in the next chapter of real estate will be those who:
Integrate AI into their daily workflows
Use it to amplify, not replace, their humanity
Deliver faster, smarter, more personalized experiences
As the session made clear, this shift is not coming someday; it is already here. The question is no longer if agents should adopt AI, but how quickly they are willing to do so.
Want to hear more? Let's connect and explore the best strategies for your real estate goals.
Featuring
Chirag Shah
Real Estate Coach
Shay Artzi
Head of Compass Engineering
