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Realm-X is the name of the newest artificial intelligence-powered product update from AppFolio, a company that develops software for the apartment management industry.
The announcement was made at the company’s annual customer conference in Santa Barbara and shared with Inman in a Sept. 22 press release.
The company said that Realm-X uses AI to assist users with a number of critical business tasks, including those primary to any property manager’s to-do list, blanketing steps in leasing, maintenance and accounting. The software is part of AppFolio Realm, its enterprise-level solution under which its AI products reside.
Will Moxley, senior vice president of product at AppFolio, said in a statement that Realm-X will “redefine our space,” when it’s rolled out in full next year. The product is being tested with a few customers.
“AI is creating an extraordinary opportunity for our customers to enhance productivity, deliver differentiated experiences and unlock growth,” Moxley said.
Users can engage with the product in a number of necessary, daily operations that are ripe for automation. According to the company, Realm-X “eliminates repetitive tasks,” such as work order status inquiries, common email and vendor communication needs, and alerts on project completion dates, among other tasks.
Artificial intelligence is finding its way across the broader proptech spectrum, becoming integrated into everything from consumer search to AD compliance. Its ability to be easily layered into existing software applications is giving developers efficient ways to make powerful updates to products.
ChatGPT, the consumer-level AI interface with an increasingly influential business impact, has led the charge. Its makers, Open AI, announced today a voice-powered version of the app.
In a July interview with Inman Intel, AppFolio’s Cat Allday said that the company views AI enhancements as “really about activity elimination more than role elimination.”
Allday is AppFolio’s vice president of AI and product operations, and her comment reflects the intent of Realm-X. She told Intel that AI will help everyone involved in running a better apartment community.
“So let’s say I’m a maintenance person or a grounds person and I’m walking the property and see somebody parked illegally or blocking an exit. I could take out my phone and say, ‘Hey, look up whose license plate number that is.’ And it could come back with who that resident is. And then I could say, ‘Send Joe Smith a message that if he doesn’t move his car within two hours we’re going to have it towed.’ And it sends all that and I don’t have to go to a computer or do anything other than talk to my phone,” Allday said.
Other new features to AppFolio’s software were announced at the event, including personalized rent payment tools that give flexibility to the amount and times rent can be paid, giving tenants the opportunity to divide payments. Direct payments can be made to vendors with greatly reduced vendor and banking processing delays, property owners will be given increased access to performance data and insights and there’s been a number of productivity enhancements to leasing workflows, such as a new CRM that can work with its AI leasing assistant, called “Lisa,” introduced in 2019.
The company also championed several technology integrations, such as its new partnership with Birdeye, software that earned five stars in an Inman review for its ability to transform customer experiences into actionable marketing insights.
AppFolio also said it’s working with Amazon to install apartment lockers and working with a number of industry partners who have been added to its Stack Solution Partner Program, including OJO and Proper.ai.
