How Generative AI Can Help Power the Future of Property Management

At POD Management, we’ve always believed in bringing together experts in our field with technology to create outstanding experiences in property management. As the property landscape continues to shift and evolve, we’ve noticed one technological advancement that is beginning to make waves - Generative AI. While artificial intelligence has been topical in tech circles for years, Generative AI is redefining what’s possible, and in our opinion, it could really streamline key processes within the property management industry specifically.

What is Generative AI and What Makes it Different?

Before we talk about the practical applications, let’s get clear on what Generative AI actually is and how it differs from traditional AI or the typical chatbot you might have spoken to online. In simple terms, traditional AI systems are often programmed to follow pre-defined rules or to offer up a set of options based on what they think you might want. Chatbots, for example, are reactive. They wait for your input and offer multiple generic replies or decision trees.

Generative AI, on the other hand, is proactive. It doesn’t just give you options - it learns from patterns, understands historical data, and makes a definitive decision based on what’s worked best in the past. So, this means it’s not just answering, it’s acting. Where traditional AI might give you five options and ask which one you want, Generative AI evaluates those options and just picks the best one based on everything it knows, meaning it isn’t reliant on human interpretation to function.

At POD, we believe this opens doors for the property management industry in how we can manage certain tasks and process, data, and ultimately, properties.

Transforming Property Management with AI

At a recent conference, our team discussed a real-use example of logging and categorising invoices. Right now, property managers can automate part of that process. OCR (optical character recognition) software can read the invoices and accounting systems can sort some of the data. But at some point, someone still has to make a decision: what budget does this belong to? Is this cost routine, or unusual? That’s where the delay happens.

Generative AI removes that decision bottleneck. It learns that, say, a line item that includes ‘emergency boiler repair’ has historically been coded to a specific account. The next time it sees something similar, it doesn’t just flag it - it logs it, codes it, and files it. The impact is time saved, accuracy improved, and stress reduced.

We know that the potential use cases of Generative AI can go far beyond just invoice coding for our industry. For example, systems could assist with automatically triaging emails based on resident needs and history, generating repair reports with recommendations and costings based on past data, creating predictive maintenance schedules and booking contractors by analysing historic data repair.

These are just a few examples, but there are countless repetitive tasks within our industry that could be handed over to Generative AI to improve process efficiency, allowing team members to give more time to other tasks that may be more pressing and require human intuition.

The Personal Touch

Reputable management companies can certainly lean on AI as a support system, but it will never be a replacement for people. Although extremely helpful, we want to clarify that property management employees should not see AI as a threat.

At POD, we know that our dedicated teams bring something that AI can’t replicate: empathy, emotional intelligence, and nuanced decision-making. As we know well, not all property management decisions are black and white. A good property manager reads between the lines with real emotion, even if, on paper, another scheduled admin request seems more urgent - that is something Generative AI cannot do.

AI taking over the tasks that don’t require emotional judgment, like invoice logging, pattern recognition, or handling simple service queries, ensures that property management teams can focus on the work that really matters. That means better overall service and customer satisfaction, faster response times, and more attention to the complex needs of property management.

The Human-AI Partnership

Although technology is advancing, the reality is that not every task can or should be handled by AI. Generative AI works best where the rules are clear, the outcomes more predictable, and the data is reliable. That’s why it's ideal for repetitive administrative work and processes.

When we’re managing real people’s homes, the stakes are high. The job of a property management company involves handling sensitive situations, managing priorities, and making judgment calls based on factors a machine simply can’t feel. Human intuition and emotional adaptability play such a huge part in our role.

At POD, we’re committed to using technology where necessary to enhance, not replace, aligning with our ‘smart’ core value. The goal will never be fewer people; it’s simply better use of our people, giving our amazing teams more time to focus on customer service, creative problem-solving, and building strong relationships with residents and clients alike. In essence, it’s smarter property management, which allows us to meet our mission of well run, safe buildings where we can exceed expectation.

The Future of Property Management

Looking ahead, we’re excited about what Generative AI can do for the property management industry. At POD, we’re grounded in our goal to be tech-smart but always human-first. We believe in technology that underpins what we do, not overshadows it. Every tool we adopt is there to support our process, however, we’ll never automate care, compassion, or customer service. Our vision will never stray from helping our communities and delivering excellence across the board.

Contact Us

If you’d like to discuss the smooth and streamlined running of your properties or new development this year, our team would love to help you today:

• Fill out our business enquiry form

• Email us at relationships@podmanagement.co.uk

• Call us on 0333 577 6656                      

We look forward to hearing from you!