Above, from left: Sean McRae, John Featherston, Chris Kelly, Creig Northrop, Ben Silva. On-screen: Synthetic humans JackAI and Mae. Photo by AJ Canaria.
Artificial intelligence has moved well beyond the chatbot—ushering in what RISMedia Founder and CEO John Featherston likens to a modern-day Industrial Revolution.
During RISMedia’s 38th Annual CEO & Leadership Exchange last week in Washington, D.C., AI technologists, brokerage leaders and newly unveiled “digital humans” took to the stage to explore the next chapter in AI innovation: Synthetic human technology that facilitates lead generation, concierge services, agent training and more.
The session, titled, “Beyond the Chatbot: Transforming the Agent and Consumer Experience” offered attendees a glimpse into the future with the introduction of JackAI—RISMedia’s new synthetic human—alongside HomeServices of America’s “synth human,” Mae. During the session, Jack and Mae responded to questions from the panel and the audience in real time, providing a taste of the revolutionary technology’s potential.
Powered by enterprise real estate technology provider RELIANCEai in partnership with technology company AREIA Synthetics and RISMedia, Jack is the artificial intelligence coaching lead that will work in conjunction with Northrop Realty Founder and CEO Creig Northrop on the new Coach Creig Powered by JackAI training program. The 24/7 AI-powered coaching platform created specifically for RISMedia and the real estate industry, combines more than 40 years of RISMedia business-development content with the coaching expertise and real-world experience of Northrop, a real estate leader and trainer with more than 30 years of industry experience.
“Real estate professionals are much more sophisticated and educated about the use of technology and the power of technology,” said Featherston, underscoring the way in which agentic AI is transforming the industry today.
“Our real estate industry as a whole, as well as individual businesses around the world, has the potential to thrive in a form we’ve never seen before if we adopt and leverage the power of agentic AI,” he added.
More than just a buzzword, for HomeServices of America President and CEO Chris Kelly, AI is the bridge connecting the consumer and the agent rather than something that simply sits between the two—and Mae was created to facilitate that connection.
“It’s the bridge that takes what the consumer is already wanting to do, what the agent is doing with AI technology, and brings the two of them together,” said Kelly. “And so a question that a consumer has, now becomes information. That information then becomes a connection with the agent. That connection then becomes a relationship between consumer and agent, and with that relationship, you can actually take some action on it.”
Bringing AI to life: The rise of the synthetic human
Synthetic humans have been in development for several years, explained session moderator Sean McRae, co-founder and CEO of AREIA Synthetics and CEO of RELIANCEai. And it’s only the tip of the iceberg.
“There are a lot of companies working on different AI initiatives—and frankly, they’re all very exciting, but we’re just getting started. I think the best way to look at this (is that) these are actual digital assistants. We call them synthetic humans. They are highly intelligent. They are reasoning. They have the ability to have their emotional context,” explained McRae.
“But for the last two years, as we focused on the service-related industries and highly regulated industries like real estate, the emphasis has been on creating a product that for the first time ever makes technology feel human, where we are no longer tied to a keyboard and a mouse,” he added.
Digging deeper into how synthetic humans are evolving, Ben Silva—chief digital officer, Global Scale—offered his perspective on how these products stand to operate alongside real estate professionals.
“AI is starting to grab a stronghold with everyone,” said Silva, who points to real estate as a prime industry for AI to be able to help both buyers and sellers in addition to the broader ecosystem around them.
“The point is (that) a person wants to be able to talk to an agent and then talk to an agent without talking to an agent, so to speak,” explained Silva, likening the idea to going into a car dealership and talking to an AI sales agent where you’ll be more prone to ask a bunch of questions.
The idea, according to Silva, is that being able to talk to a synthetic human can help consumers find the right property while passing all of that information off to the agent. Because they can see and interpret facial and emotional expressions as well as inflections in your voice, “when an agent actually gets this data dump on who this person is looking for a property, the amount of data that they have is astronomical.”
The architect behind much of what was presented on stage, Silva points to the personal nature of the real estate industry as one of the most exciting aspects involved in creating both Mae and JackAI.
“My relationship with my real estate agent is very personal. That’s why I pick them, because the one that I choose is…a member of my family; you’re helping me move my family. AI is going to help that in every possible way, because as a real estate agent, you can’t do everything and be everywhere, but the AI can,” said Silva.
“It will make mediocre agents good agents, it will make good agents great agents, and it will make great agents unbelievable agents,” he added.
Silva also touched upon our tendency to fall into a “doomsday routine” when considering the impact of a new technology or innovation that stands to change the way we live and work.
“Fear mongering can hold back what’s going on right now in your industry, because (AI’s) whole purpose is to help agents and to help people,” explained Silva. “Its goal as it stands now is to help humanity—and in a lot of respects, it’s helping us leap forward. That’s its goal. And AI is basically goal-oriented. It doesn’t go outside that goal.”
Having already taken the real estate industry by storm, over the next two to three years, AI is going to continue to get better and more efficient, noted Silva.
“But as an industry, whether it’s real estate or hospitality or automotive, as we train the AI and we start to use it for very specific things and very specific tasks, both on the consumer side and on the other side, it’s going to evolve to be one of the most powerful tools that we could possibly have,” he added.
“It will never replace a real estate agent because that’s a very personal relationship, but it will enhance your ability to do so much better, so much faster and so much more efficiently,” said Silva.
Coaching agents into the future
As the industry looks for new ways to stay ahead of the curve, Northrop brought his signature energy to the stage as he introduced JackAI to an enthusiastic crowd for a live Q&A.
When asked about his role, Jack told the audience that his purpose is to provide agents with “timely, relevant coaching and accountability” to help them grow their businesses—from winning listings, pricing homes, handling objections and generating leads.
Helping agents apply best practices in order to turn knowledge into action, Jack explained that his mission is to empower agents rather than replace them.
While the goal is to help those agents using artificial intelligence find success, holding agents accountable begins with “keeping their goals and commitments in context, allowing for quick adjustments to ensure agents are always working toward their objectives.”
Jack also pointed to the technology’s human-centered approach, specifically highlighting its life-like, face-to-face interactions.
“We emphasize a compliance-first model with governed memory and ethical artificial intelligence design, ensuring that artificial intelligence supports agents without overstepping professional boundaries,” Jack stated.
For Northrop, who has been closely involved in training Jack, the demonstration provided a glimpse into where the industry is headed.
“The long and short of it (is that) brokers and managers need to lean into this. This is the next level of real estate. I’ve been in (it) for 40 years, and I haven’t seen anything like it—and I’m proud to be part of the pioneer(s) to make it happen,” said Northrop.
“I always say that knowledge is confidence, confidence is trust, and trust is the sale. And so, at the end of the day, Jack is going to solve your agents’ problems. This is totally agent- and broker-driven. This talks your language, talks where you are, makes you understand and learns the most valuable thing agents need to know is empathy,” he added.
As the conversation drew to a close, Featherston reflected on the journey involved in bringing JackAI to life.
“The last year has been absolutely invigorating being around and with these fellows and watching them grow and build an incredible tool not just for Berkshire Hathaway, who were pioneers on this, but for many of you here,” he said.
“Creig and my son Jay and I got together and created Coach Creig powered by JackAI because we wanted to create the world’s greatest trainer, coach and assistant for all of your agents and all of your companies that’s cost-effective and meaningful, that brings value and helps your agents be more successful. But most importantly, (we made this to be) a sustainable AI agentic innovation that you can be proud of and bring to your clients (to) show them you’re ahead of this curve,” concluded Featherston.
