The Agent's AI Checklist

Most of the AI talk in our industry is about speed - listing descriptions in seconds, market summaries on demand. That's real. But the same tools are in the hands of people who want our clients' money, and they're getting better at sounding like us.

So this list starts with security, not shortcuts. Work through it top to bottom. Each layer assumes the one before it is done. Check things off as you go (your checks stay in this browser only).

Lock the Doors

Your email is the key to every transaction you touch. Start here, even if you never open an AI tool.

Turn on 2-step verification everywhere

Email first, then your MLS, transaction software, e-signature, cloud storage and bank. A stolen password alone won't get anyone in.

Use an authenticator app or a prompt on your phone when you can. Text-message codes are better than nothing, but a phone number can be hijacked.

Switch to "passkeys" where they're offered

A passkey replaces the password with your phone's face, fingerprint or PIN. There's nothing to type, so there's nothing to phish - a fake login page can't collect it. Google, Microsoft and Apple accounts all support them now.

Use a password manager for everything else

One strong, different password per site. If one site leaks, the rest stay shut. Bonus: a password manager won't fill your login into a lookalike site, which is an early warning on its own.

Check your email's forwarding rules

When an agent's email gets hacked, the first thing the intruder often does is add a quiet rule - forward anything with "wire" or "closing" in it, or file replies out of sight. Look under your email settings for forwarding and filters. If you don't recognize a rule, delete it and change your password.

Pick a family and office "safe word"

A few seconds of your voice from a video is enough for AI to clone it. If "you" call your assistant asking for a document, or a lender calls asking for a change, a word only real people know settles it.

Protect Your Clients

Wire fraud is the scam our industry is built for: big sums, tight deadlines, lots of emails between strangers. AI just makes the fake emails better written.

Warn clients about wire fraud at the FIRST meeting

Not at closing - by then the scammer may already be in the thread. Make it part of your buyer consultation and your listing appointment, every time.

Say it again in writing, then again before money moves

Put it in your under-contract email, and repeat it the week of closing. Three times feels like a lot until the one time it matters.

Give them one rule they can't misread

Wiring instructions never change by email or text. Before sending any money, call the closing attorney at a number you found yourself - not one in the email.

Never send wiring instructions yourself

Let the attorney's office send them through their secure system. If your email is ever compromised, there's nothing in it worth stealing.

What I say at the first meeting

"Before we go any further - wire fraud is rampant right now. Nobody involved in your purchase will ever email or text you new wiring instructions. If you get one, even if it looks like it came from me, call the attorney's office at the number on their website before you send a dime."

Steal it. For a client-facing version with examples, send them to my wire fraud explainer.

Know What's Safe to Share

Before you paste a contract into a chatbot, know where it goes.

Find out which AI tools your brokerage covers

Many brokerages now have business agreements with an AI provider that keep your uploads private and out of training. Free consumer tools usually don't make that promise. Ask your broker-in-charge which tools are covered.

Keep client data out of free tools

Names, Social Security numbers, loan details, signed contracts - if the tool isn't covered, strip them out or don't upload it.

Ask the tool directly

"Is what I type here used for training? Who can see it?" Then check its settings page to confirm the answer.

Put It to Work

With the doors locked, here's where AI actually saves time.

Let it read the documents

HOA covenants, disclosures, inspection reports, old septic permits. Upload them to a covered tool and ask plain questions - "Can they park a boat in the driveway?" Always ask it to point to the page, then check the page.

Use it for first drafts, not final ones

Listing descriptions, showing feedback summaries, client updates. It gets you to 80% fast. The last 20% - your voice, your facts - is still your job.

Prep for showings and appointments

Hand it the listing details and ask for the questions a buyer would ask. You'll walk in having already answered them.

Answer the questions buyers now ask AI

Buyers ask chatbots things they'd never type into a search bar. The agents whose websites answer those questions plainly are the ones AI points people to.

Stay the Human

Your license is on everything AI writes for you.

Fact-check every number and claim

AI states wrong square footage, school assignments and zoning with total confidence. If it's going in an ad, you verify it.

Read it for fair housing

Describe the property, never the people. AI copy drifts toward "perfect for young families" and "safe, quiet neighborhood." Cut it.

Label edited and virtually staged photos

If AI removed furniture or added it, say so in the listing. Check your MLS rules for the exact requirement.

Keep the judgment calls yours

Pricing, negotiation, and the hard conversations are what clients hire us for. AI can prepare you for them. It can't have them for you.