Are real estate agents using AI to get better—or just getting better at letting AI do the thinking?
In this informal, podcast‑style episode of Brokers Uncensored, host Steve Zaras is joined by managing brokers Shadd Boucher and Becky Dewey (both with RE/MAX Alliance Group) to discuss how artificial intelligence is being adopted in the real‑estate industry. The conversation moves from a light‑hearted opening about AI fatigue to a deeper examination of AI’s role as a productivity tool rather than a replacement for human agents. Shadd emphasizes that AI can multiply output but requires adult supervision, clear parameters, and human editing; he warns that agents who rely on AI without mastering it risk damaging credibility. Becky echoes the need for proofreading and source‑checking, noting that AI can mimic personal style but also produce “garbage in, garbage out.” The panel reflects on generational comfort with technology, the allure of the “easy button,” and the current trend of former social‑media gurus re‑branding as AI experts. They discuss how consumers are beginning to treat AI like a search engine, meaning agents must learn to position themselves for AI‑driven recommendations. Authenticity emerges as a key concern—agents are seeing more requests for in‑person interaction as buyers tire of AI‑generated content. The hosts conclude with practical advice: treat AI as a tool, master a few core uses before expanding, and always keep the human relationship at the forefront of the business.
Chapters
Hello everyone, this is, uh, uh, Brokers Uncensored. We're glad to be here. Uh, I'm here with Shadd Boucher. He's a managing broker with RE/MAX. Oh, did I pronounce it wrong? He's drinking.
You got it. You're good. You're good.
And, uh, Becky Dewey, another managing broker with RE/MAX Alliance Group, and myself, Steve Zaras. Uh, we're all managing brokers with RE/MAX Alliance Group. Great company. We're glad you're here today. We're going to talk a little bit about, uh, AI. And, you know, some folks, are they getting burnt out with AI, or are they receptive to it? Do they like seeing it? Do they like the creativity of it? Uh, or is it a replacement, or is it something that's enhancing your marketing? So we're gonna kind of talk about that for a little bit. And, uh, uh, me personally, I, I get to the point where I follow certain folks and it's the same thing over and over and over again, and I just feel that they're leaning too much on AI and animation and cartoons and other things instead of just showing who they are. That's my opinion. If you folks would like to— Jump on and add to that.
AI is a tool. Okay, it is. Most people, most, okay, so most of us, I think we would agree, most of us on this podcast right now are Gen X, right? I mean, Becky, you might be a boomer, but Steve and I are Gen X.
But I look good, don't
I? The preservatives are working, Becky. The preservatives are working. But no, most of us are Gen X, right? So, I'm lucky that I'm like the tail end of Gen X. So, I grew up 15 years with no tech, and then the other half of my life, I've had technology. Not to mention the fact my father was big into mobile telecom and big into things. So, I've had technology in my life since I was about 15 years old. You know, we had a cell phone in the house, you know, in the '80s. So, I think we all have, the 3 of us have a healthy relationship with technology. We understand that it's there to enhance the human experience, not to replace it.
Yes.
And I always preach to all of our agents, you know, technology in addition to, not instead of. And unfortunately, I think the real estate industry as a whole is always looking for the easy button.
Yes.
And they've now found the easy button, which is AI. And the problem that they don't understand with AI is if you can't do it manually, the AI can't do it because you don't know how to tell the AI how to do it.
Right.
That's the massive problem. The AI is a time saver. It is not a replacement. You know, in fact, I'm about to record a video for, for agents that basically the title of it is Your AI Needs Adult Supervision. Because I'm tired of the word nestled. I'm tired. I mean, you look, you have to, you have to put parameters on this thing.
Yeah.
And most people don't. And so it sounds goofy and stupid, you know, The AI is simultaneously the smartest and stupidest thing on the planet Earth. It's up to you to breach that middle line. Um, now the problem is, the problem that we're running into right now, and agents need to realize, is they can't shun AI.
No,
no.
Because the public is using it like a search engine. So you need to understand how to work with it. For sure. Yeah, it's—
And that keyword is with.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think that's— and here's the thing, you know, it's really hilarious to me that we've got all these gurus in real estate, right? We're not going to throw names out, you know, and some are good, right? Some are really good. Some are just trying to get clicks and get you to, you know, think they're awesome. You know, one of those comes to mind, which I find funny, but they've all switched. So they're all now AI gurus.
Yeah.
Right. But you watch what they do.
And all that. Right.
Right. They were social media gurus before that. Now they're AI gurus. So, you know, the only ones that I ever listen to is the people that have been an AI guru forever and Really understand what where its position is and what it's for. So yeah, I you know that's my it is a fascinating
tool. It really is.
Sure.
Yes.
Super cool. But it gets a little crazy too. It's almost like you know you're catfishing people. Yeah. That is not you. You know I mean that's like you you got your 1980 high school graduation photo on your business card and you show up and you're like whoa.
Well that's that's that's one of the jokes AI has allowed you. You know, look, look, we've all done this, right?
Mm-hmm.
When we were young agents, when we were in our 20s doing this, how many times did you have a business card with a 25-year-old glamour shot? If anybody, by the way, date yourself, glamour shots, right?
Yep.
When that was a thing, you'd see a glamour shot, guy, girl, it didn't matter. This glamour shot on their business card, right? And this agent who looked like a model was meeting you at a showing. Car pulls up. You hear the walker get deployed and come out of the back, and chunk chunk.
And
you're going,
are you talking about a dating website?
Well, those two. I mean, it's kind of the same thing.
But you know, I was with a client one time, and that actually happened. That actually happened. This this woman got out and deployed a walker, and we're looking at the card. He's looking at me. I'm looking at him. And I'm like, okay, you know, she must have been in her 70s and this picture was her in her 30s. You know, what are we doing? Are we that vain? But yeah, absolutely. And, you know, let's be honest, nobody's being fooled by your AI video of you talking. Nobody understands. Nobody thinks that's you. The cadence is wrong.
Well, there are some scary parts where you're like, I mean, right now I just assume everything's AI. Correct. Some of them are pretty stinking solid and you're like, yeah, you know.
But that's another, that's another great thing to Steve's point is people are exhausted.
Yeah.
So now they're starting to go back the other direction, like burnt out.
They're getting burnt out. Yeah.
I've had more requests in the last month to meet in person because they think Okay. Well, I'm, I don't want this AI crap. I want to meet you.
Right.
Okay. Awesome. So authenticity is becoming key.
Yeah. And AI's been around for a long time. Oh yeah. I may date myself with this, but my first exposure to AI was a movie with Arnold Schwarzenegger called The Running Man.
There you go.
You remember that movie?
Well, yeah.
They made up this whole story about him.
Yeah. Well, if you think about it, science fiction always becomes science fact.
Yes. Yes.
Right. Can we, can we take— can all of us right here in this, in this room take a phone call on our watch right now?
Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely. Right. Well, Dick Tracy did that crap in the '50s.
Yeah.
You know, Get Smart, the TV show in the, in the, in the '70s and '80s. So yeah, exactly. KITT. Yeah. Knight Rider. Yeah. Don't, don't get me started. I want me a Knight Rider car. But, and that was our exposure to AI.
Buy a Tesla, they probably do that.
Most likely. Um, but it, it still needs that voice. It still needs the exact voice. But yeah, KITT, Terminator, like, you know, WarGames, you know, hello, Dr. Falcon, want to play a game? You know, yeah, you know, thermonuclear war. But—
Eagle Eye, another one. Yeah.
Eagle Eye, another one, right? You know, but this is, this is where this kind of goes and You know, I'm always reminded, and I guess maybe I'm just a big nerd, which, shocker, but Jurassic Park, the original one, right?
Yeah.
Jeff Goldblum looks down at the room of scientists making dinosaurs and says, all the people in that room spent all this time realizing they could, meaning they could make a dinosaur, and not one minute wondering whether they should. And all of these agents are fascinated that they can do all these things. And don't take one second to realize what this is going to do to their credibility,
right?
Their business. Like, the AI rides shotgun, but it should never be the face in front of the customer.
No, and never overlook that we're in a relationship business.
Correct, correct, 1,000%. And, and I think that's where the problem— it's tool, right? It's a tool, and it's a tool that I monitor. I have never posted one thing that ChatGPT has written for me as it has written it. Ever.
Same here. Same here.
Ever. Now, do I use it? Yeah, every day, because it allows me to get 3 times the amount of stuff that's done. You
know, I have a, I have a feeling we could do a 90-minute segment on this topic. It's just, it just gets bigger and bigger and bigger when you start peeling back the layers.
Yeah. Well, the biggest problem is going to be the public. going forward. The public are going to use it like a search engine. So if you don't know how to position yourself so the AI finds you or the AI recommends you, you're screwed.
That's right.
Because, because it's— they're not, they're not even going to try to find a great person.
Yeah.
The AI is just going to tell them, oh, this is who you should go to. And they're going to be like, okay.
Well, that's kind of scary too, because are they really a great person? Right? Or did they just know how to operate and maneuver AI?
Yeah. Right. Fool the AI.
Yeah.
Which is exactly a lot of what happens.
Those aren't live Google reviews, you know, from a live person, which is—
Nope.
There, there, and let's, and let's face it.
Yeah. The first couple of seconds when you meet somebody, you, you're already figuring out who they are.
Yeah.
And if you have one perception looking online of that person, then you meet them and you realize they are completely the opposite, that's gonna put a bad taste in a consumer's mouth. Yeah.
Just for sure.
It's gonna happen.
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, I think going forward, you know, agents need to realize there's a position for AI in their business, but it is not facing the customer.
It
just isn't, you know. But again, agents are so like, you know, back in the day when the very first email drip campaign came out, oh, this thing will automatically email your customers. You don't even have to write the email. Here it goes. Just hit the button. Right. Agents were all over that crap because it was like, oh, I can set it and forget it. You know, that, that dude from the infomercials, you know, Ron Popeil, the guy that made the, the, the cooker thing, set it and forget it. Agents were all over that.
Yes.
Yeah.
Because it's the easy button.
Yeah.
Just like they're all over this because it's the easy button and they don't realize, like anything, it is a tool that you must master.
Yes, agreed.
And if you don't master it, you're gonna look like an idiot and it's gonna mess you up. So yeah, I think, I think it's important. Becky, what are your thoughts? I feel like I've been talking way too much.
No, I think it's a tool. I think it's a great tool. I use it every day too. But the same thing is, is use it as a tool, but you need to proofread. And that's one thing I perhaps said with the agents. I'm like, use it, you know, engage in it.
Yes,
you know, help it, you You know, you gotta— it's— but it's garbage in, garbage out. Yeah, you have to tell it what to do.
You have to sort through it.
Proofread it. Because at the end of the day, you know, if it's, you know, it says it's, you know, beautiful whatever, and it's not so beautiful, you want to make sure that it doesn't say that, you know. I mean,
make it cite its sources.
Yeah,
you know, make it cite its sources, you know. Ask it, are you lying to me?
Right?
Like, it's pre-programmed to make you happy.
Well, and it's kind of cool because it gets to the point where the more you use it, the more it starts to understand your personality and your style. I mean, there's many times where I'm like, you know, I need to create a post or something like to go along with this graphic that I'm creating or whatever. And they're like, oh, do you want it more Becky style? You know? And I'm like, I'm not really sure what that is.
Well, and that's a funny thing. So like, like you said, proofreading it, right?
Yeah.
A lot of the times I write something, I'll say, to your point, Becky, I'll say, make it in my voice. Right. I didn't realize that I apparently misspell the word believe quite often.
Well, and I suck at punctuation, which is why when I'm typing emails or letters, I'm like, I put it in here, I'm like, clean it up.
Right.
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, it writes stuff and it was misspelling the word believe because I'd go, I'd go to paste it in somewhere and it would be like, oop, you misspelled believe. I'm like, why are you misspelling believe? Oh, we thought you wanted that. That was part of your voice. I was like, no, I—that's poor schooling. That's what that is. I didn't pay attention.
Yeah, ChatGPT thinks I'm funny and humorous and snarky, and you know,
wow!
You know, talk about fooling the AI, didn't
it?
Talk about fooling the AI.
What everybody needs to know watching this is that we have a great time, the three of us together, and we—we mess with each other all the time, and—and we just have fun with this. And we could probably talk for hours about this topic and give examples.
Or any other topic for that.
Yeah, yeah, we love to talk. And we hope that you folks enjoy, you know, the atmosphere that we're creating and also the topics that we talk about. We're trying to be informative but keep it light. And I really value my friendship with Shadd and Becky, both professionally and personally. So we're probably going to cut this at this point now, cut it short. Yeah.
No worries.
Well, hey, we didn't ask you to wear that hat, Becky.
No, I— here's the, here's the last thing I think we need to— just like anything, guys, master it. Don't dabble in it.
Yes.
Master it.
It's not going away.
You're gonna have to learn. Don't just be one of those people. Learn.
Yes. And if I could piggyback on that, if you have 12 things you want to learn, it could be overwhelming. Pick 2 of them, master those 2, and then add a 3rd one. Just take it inch by inch. Everything's a cinch. Yeah. So
anyway, well, listen, creative sayings.
Yes, thank you for joining us. And, you know, comment if you like. Our contact information will follow. We will be back real soon with more content. And if you have suggestions, make suggestions. I thank Shadd and Becky for a great session.
More from Shadd
Flight Attendants with Real Estate Licenses The Public Deserves Better! #b #professional #really