Inman

‘It’s bulls@#$!’ — Glennda Baker on the authenticity of AI

Photo by AJ Canaria Creative Services

Mark your calendars for the ultimate real estate experiences with Inman’s upcoming events! Dive into the future at Connect Miami, immerse in luxury at Luxury Connect, and converge with industry leaders at Inman Connect Las Vegas. Discover more and join the industry’s best at inman.com/events.

Glennda Baker was called out on Instagram for her “talking head” style video content by a person who said the new way to share your brand is artificial intelligence-generated animations.

To know Glennda Baker is to know the real estate influencer wasn’t about to take such a slight lying down. Instead, she took to the largest of industry stages, Inman Connect New York, to offer a retort, and used the opportunity to advance the discussion of her own, personal form of AI — authentic intelligence.

“AI is an amazing tool, but what it isn’t is a substitute for you,” she said.

At the end of a frantic week powered by talks on AI from every angle calculable, Baker’s Atlanta drawl-infused reassurance applied a balm of sanity to the room of agents whose brains were likely scrambled by acronyms, hot takes and must-dos.

“If you’re creating an avatar to deal with your people, you’re replaceable. The minute that you put somebody else in communication with your clients, you are replaceable,” she advised.

Baker shared that she recently announced something that made her vulnerable, but real. It’s who she is, and she wants agents and her followers to be real, too.

“Whether you’re creating video content, or any content, you need to stand behind it,” she said.

Baker made the most of an oncoming cold, openly thanking an audience member who stepped up to hand her some tissues, using the moment to again admit that people will accept you for being you, and never for being an AI-generated avatar.

Baker had five points for her audience about “authentic intelligence:” show up in your content, bring value, be a trusted advisor and create a relationship with your clients.

“Also, don’t post and ghost,” she said. “If people comment, whether it’s one, two or three, comment back to them. Artificial intelligence is what service providers use. Now is the time to love on your people and don’t worry about vanity and virality.”

Oh, and her response to the idea that her personal video style is “out?”

“It’s bullshit.”