"AI is here to stay - whether you’re using rent tech providers that check IDs for facial recognition, writing marketing ads with the help of ChatGPT, or using AI-led tools to do 360-degree virtual tours"
- Frankie Malpass - Vouch
A new poll of over 400 letting agents commissioned by Vouch and Goodlord has found that 45% of letting agents now think that AI tools such as ChatGPT will help them in the future. The research also found that a strong majority of agents believe professionals in the sector are open to adopting new technologies.
A further 39% feel neutral about the topic of AI, saying they neither agree nor disagree with the statement that “AI tools will prove beneficial going forward”. Only 16% of agents believe AI will actively hinder the industry.
In England, agents in Greater London (54%) were the most receptive to AI, and agents in the West Midlands (36%) were the least receptive.
Industry open to change and tech adoption
A large majority of agents - 70% - said they believed lettings professionals were open to the adoption of new technology. In addition, 60% of agents believe that the lettings industry should use technology more to improve the customer experience.
Tech terms create confusion
Despite optimism around the adoption of new tech, the survey also revealed an education gap across the industry when it comes to key ‘rent tech’ terms:
A huge 83% of respondents said they weren’t familiar or were only somewhat familiar with the term “Optical Character Recognition (OCR) Technology”.
OCR converts an image of text into a format that is machine-readable. It’s used in lettings technology, for example in referencing, to convert physical documents such as bank statements into readable text
Similarly, only 24% of letting agents were familiar with the term “Identity Document Validation Technology (IDVT)”
IDTV is used as a highly accurate way of authenticating documents. Since 2022, agencies have been allowed to remotely check biometric IDs of UK citizens using an approved IDVT provider (IDSP), instead of the traditional in-person Right to Rent check.
The term that ranked highest for familiarity was “Open Banking”, the technology used to safely verify income and confirm the financial security of prospective tenants. 46% of letting agents confirmed they were familiar with the term, with only 16% unfamiliar.
Frankie Malpass, Product Lead at Vouch, comments: “AI is here to stay - whether you’re using rent tech providers that check IDs for facial recognition, writing marketing ads with the help of ChatGPT, or using AI-led tools to do 360-degree virtual tours.
"The trick for the future is how to use AI to your advantage. It’s therefore great to see just how many letting agents are feeling positive about the advent of everyday AI and are open to adopting new technologies.”
