From providing insights into market data, automating daily tasks, and even managing properties and showings, AI is transforming real estate. According to Morgan Stanley research, these AI innovations “could lead to $34 billion in efficiency gains” in the industry by 2030. For agents with forward-thinking business and growth plans, this is great news.
AI assistance can help agents. It cuts costs and boosts productivity in ways that can be truly life-changing. But some may fear that AI is more than a tool to leverage — that it’s competition for agents. They may mistakenly believe AI has the potential to replace agents altogether. But with the integration of AI across multiple industries, one thing remains an inarguable truth: There’s power in a human fiduciary.
Being a successful real estate agent is about connection and community, and these factors are now more important than ever. In his newest book, Rookie Real Estate Agent: Launch a Limitless Career That Lasts, Jay Papasan shows just how irreplicable a real, live agent is — especially in times of mass digital integration. An agent who is willing to master their skills and become a true fiduciary can future-proof their career in real estate. And Rookie will show you how to do just that.
Human Connection — The Shining Star in a World of AI
While AI offers efficiency and streamlines our systems, human connection is what bridges the gap between getting the job done and creating clients for life.
You can’t force AI to learn emotional intelligence, even though some platforms can demonstrate very human-like tendencies. AI can’t live a similar life to your client, share their interests and values, or hold their hand through the highs and lows of navigating a transaction.
Psychologist and professor Dr. Amit Baumel writes in Psychology Today, “What really matters is how [AI reshapes] the energetic network of value exchange — the invisible web of human acts through which value flows between people.”
Baumel doesn’t suggest abandoning AI altogether, only using it as the tool and assistant it is to better your relationships and improve your strategies.
“To make the most of what AI can offer … we’ll need to focus less on how it performs, and more on how it supports our ability to be there for one another,” he says.
What Does It Really Mean to Be a Fiduciary?
One way to focus on the relationships you build as an agent is to put an emphasis on your fiduciary duties. That word, “fiduciary,” is used a lot in real estate. But what does it really mean?
In real estate, there are two types of service you might provide to your clients: functionary and fiduciary. If you’re serving in a functionary role, you’re in a specific task relationship with your clients — you do the job. By contrast, if you act as a fiduciary, you not only complete the tasks of the job, you’re also in a high-trust relationship with your clients and feel responsible for the outcome. Top agents understand this difference and, as a result, they work hard to provide fiduciary-level services. (To be clear, this use of “fiduciary” doesn’t refer to any legal duty agents may owe to their clients.*)
Jay says a fiduciary educates and guides clients through the process of purchasing or selling a home. In Rookie Real Estate Agent, he writes:
“They get to know the people they are working for and determine the solutions that suit their clients best. They answer questions, provide support, manage unpredictable situations, break bad news, and make people’s dreams come true.”
A fiduciary puts their client’s wants and needs above their own. They remain objective about potential outcomes of a transaction, and their ultimate goal is to reach a win-win deal for their client.
For those looking to embark on a career in real estate, or for agents who want to level-up their businesses, AI can help you do more with less. This is especially important for new agents who don’t have a huge budget to work with. But being a successful agent is about more than data and algorithms. To get that win-win outcome, you have to build real relationships with your clients. This is what will make them keep coming back and referring you as their trusted agent.
As author Ryan Leak said at KW’s 2025 Mega Agent Camp, “The future belongs to the people who truly master human connection.”
Deepen Your Connections and Gain Clients for Life
Ultimately, a real estate agent’s relationships with their clients is what will make their career thrive. No technology can replace the community you build with your past, current, and future buyers and sellers.
There are four essential Rookie tools you can use to help deepen your connections and build a sustainable business by ensuring people know, like, and trust you.
Master Conversation Frameworks — Having deep, impactful conversations with your leads and clients is how you can uncover their wants and needs and develop a plan to best serve them with your specialized skills. This download shows you how to master vital conversation frameworks to build deeper connections.
3 Steps to Setting Appointments — Appointments mark the beginning of your official relationship with a client. Once you’ve mastered your conversations, you can use your skills to convert leads to clients. This simple three-step formula, which starts with connection, will help you set appointments where you can showcase your services and get a client to formally sign on to work with you.
Database CTA — As you build connections with potential, current, and past clients, you’ll have a lot of information to keep up with and store in your database. This CTA model (which stands for both “call-to-action” and “cultivate-tend-automate”) will help you make the most out of your connections by working your database so that it works for you.
Segment and Tag Your Database — To dive a level deeper into your database, you can use segments and tags to reach out to the right people with the right message at the right time. This download will teach you how segments and tags work and provide some of the most popular examples for agents to implement
Whether you’re thinking of embarking on a career in real estate or you’re an agent wanting to go deeper with your clients and tap into your fiduciary value, Rookie Real Estate Agent can show you all the tools and skills that AI can’t replace.
Rookie Real Estate Agent: Launch a Limitless Career That Lasts is available for purchase at KellerINK.com.
*Providing fiduciary services to clients does not mean that agents must take on the legal duty of a fiduciary relationship in states that do not impose this heightened duty of care on real estate agents. Some state laws do not consider real estate agents to have a fiduciary relationship with their clients or with any other parties to a real estate transaction. Please consult with your local broker or attorney if you have any questions about how your state’s laws define the legal duties owed by real estate agents to their clients.
