The robots aren’t stealing our jobs—they’re just doing all the boring stuff we hate.
While headlines scream about the AI apocalypse, our Happy Summit experts Kyle Nelson (VP of Corporate Strategy at Snappt), Steve Boyack (Chief Operating Officer at JVM Realty Corporation), and Jeff Derricott (Director, Operations - IT & Process Strategy at Thomas Safran & Associates), led by HappyCo’s Trevor Riley, made it clear: AI is here to make your team better, not replace them.
First, Let’s Unpack the Buzzwords
Trevor broke down the AI terms:
- Generative AI: Your chat buddies like ChatGPT
- Natural Language Processing: Tech that understands sentiment
- Machine Learning: Creates predictive algorithms from patterns
- Computer Vision: Lets machines “see” (think inspections on steroids)
The AI Journey: From “Oh Hell No” to “Hell Yes”
“We’ve seen a shift where teams started with fear, which transitioned into curiosity, then exploration, and ultimately adoption,” said Steve.
Jeff echoed the same sentiment: “We are creating space for employees to try things out, to have fun with AI. It’s kind of messy right now, so I want my staff to engage with it and be okay making mistakes.”
Pro tip: Create clear guidelines so your team doesn’t worry about exposing sensitive data, and give them permission to experiment (and occasionally fail).
The “Aha” Moments That Made AI Click
The panel shared some impressive results:
- Steve described how AI cut reporting processes from 10 days to just 2 days
- Kyle said, “In the last year alone, we saw a 1000% increase in speed of our ability to deliver results”
- Support ticket response times went from 24 hours to minutes
But the biggest win? Freeing humans to build relationships.
AI Won’t Replace Your Team, But It Will Change Their Day
Think about all the tedious, mind-numbing tasks your maintenance team hates: data entry, paperwork, endlessly scrutinizing documents, and spending hours on administrative busywork. That’s what AI is designed to eliminate – not their jobs.
“The human element shouldn’t go away,” Jeff emphasized. “It shouldn't go away because we are in the customer service business.”
When your team spends less time buried in spreadsheets and more time building relationships with residents, everyone wins. Your maintenance techs didn’t get into this business to fill out forms – they joined to solve problems and help people.
“Any AI-powered vendor leading with the promise of staff reduction is doing it wrong. We want to give your staff hours back,” shared Kyle.
The panel stressed repeatedly that AI excels at standardized, repeatable tasks, while humans excel at relationship-building and complex problem-solving. It’s not about doing more with less – it’s about doing more of what matters.
Where to Start Without Losing Your Mind
For those thinking, “Great, but how do I actually DO this?”:
- Start with pain points, not shiny tech: “Look at the problems costing the most money and taking the most time,” Kyle suggested.
- Give your team space to play: Let them test things out with guardrails.
- Find your guides: “Find mentors that have already done this,” Jeff advised. “And find partners who can help guide you.”
And most importantly, in Kyle’s words: “We went through a rebranding exercise in 2022. The question: What kind of business are you in? And our answer: we’re in the trust business.”
The AI Future Is Closer Than You Think
The panel’s AI predictions:
- Talking to your data: Ask “What affected this property’s performance?” and get instant answers
- Post-lease innovations: Kyle thinks the next frontier is move-outs and collections
- Eliminating data entry: Jeff dreams of “a world without data entry” and AI companions for senior residents
The winners in multifamily will be the ones who free their teams from spreadsheet purgatory to focus on what actually matters – building relationships with residents.
Don’t fear the bot. Own it. Your residents (and your maintenance team) will thank you.
Ready to see how AI can transform your maintenance operations? Let’s talk. Visit happy.co/demo to schedule a personalized walkthrough of our AI-powered maintenance solutions.
