The AI Edge: Pathways for Innovation and Growth
- Jeff@CEGspaces
- Nov 21
- 3 min read
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a cutting-edge luxury reserved for large companies with deep pockets. AI is now a plug-and-play framework accessible to commercial real estate businesses of all sizes, including small brokerages and independent investors. When used thoughtfully, AI can free professionals from repetitive tasks, enhance decision-making, and open new pathways for innovation and growth.
Like any tool, AI works best when used with intention. Overuse, lack of direction, or skipping basic training steps can dilute its value. At CEG, our team is leveraging its strengths while being aware its limitations and the need for ethical use. The following are tips from our team on how to use AI strategically, where to begin, and how to develop a communication style that ensures your AI tools understand you, your business, and your goals.
1. Start with low-hanging fruit and automate repetitive tasks. Adam Burke, who is in business development for CEG, recommends before jumping into advanced AI initiatives, begin with simple, time-consuming tasks that drain productivity—especially those involving repetitive data or content. He suggests you look at your daily and weekly tasks and select one that is high volume, but low risk, such as understanding documents or drafting emails. Then use a tool, like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, or Claude. Experiment with prompts to get the output you’re looking for. Knowing there is a learning curve, ask yourself, did it save time? Improve quality? Then make needed adjustments according to your answers and keep going!
2. Use AI for growth, innovation, and competitive advantage. Effective use of AI models level the playing field, strengthen credibility, and accelerate deals. Broker Emmanuel Woldeyes uses AI to help him enhance his client’s experience and streamline operations to get more things done in a faster amount of time. He uses it to read and analyze documents and quickly extract key data points, as well as enhance and utilize his customer relations management systems. This allows him to spend more time on high-level, revenue-producing activities—prospecting, negotiating, relationship-building, and strategic planning.
3. Train AI like you train a new human assistant. AI performs best when it understands your preferences, tone, workflow, and business model. Just like onboarding a new employee, training takes time and intentionality. As a broker and investor, I recommend having daily AI conversations about your work, deals, clients, and goals. When I’m sitting in my car waiting to pick Levi up from school or walking in my neighborhood, I talk to my ChatGPT. The more I talk, the more it learns.
4. Use AI daily, but don’t overuse it. Although consistency trains the model, overuse dilutes your judgment. Anne Marie Arndt, CEG marketing, advises that AI should supplement—not replace—your professional expertise. The best results come from a balance of human insight and AI efficiency. She believes it’s important to review and revise, read aloud, and fact check research. She warns users to remember their brand personality and not allow AI to dictate their voice. When it comes to marketing properties, it’s tempting for some to use AI to make a property overly shiny. Yes, remove that random object that is distracting, but the property should not look completely different during a showing. Bait and switch is shady.
5. Build a future-ready AI system. AI effectiveness grows over time. By building an intentional ecosystem now, CRE professionals can create scalable workflows that grow with their business. Broker and investor, Brian Potratz, uses AI in many ways, including researching properties and locations, writing document amendments, understanding and responding to emails, gathering leads, and even finding people caught on security cameras through face recognition. (Note: it won’t give you someone’s personal information, but it does connect you to social media profiles) He offers this heads up, store inputted files or transcripts from your AI conversations in a folder on your computer. Consider it your training library. That way, if you switch models or build a new one specific to your business, you can go to your folder instead of starting from scratch. AI becomes more valuable the more you use it—and the more it learns about you.
Conclusion
AI is reshaping commercial real estate, and small businesses now have the power to compete with major firms by working smarter, faster, and more creatively. By starting with simple tasks, training intentionally, and developing communication practices that honor your voice, you gain an AI edge to build pathways for innovation and growth.
Jeff Salzbrun is the owner/broker of Commercial Equities Group (CEG). As a veteran-owned real estate brokerage, CEG has been involved in thousands of sale and lease transactions, ranging from single offices to 250,000+ square foot buildings. At CEG, we get your deal done. We know space, and we know the CRE business.
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