Smooth transition: The most important thing you can do to ensure a smooth transition is check your bandwidth. AI uses a lot of compute no matter what vendor you work with and if you haven't upgraded, it's probably time. The upgrade will help property values and tenant satisfaction as well.

Evaluating ROI: there's always a visible return on investment in an AI surveillance platform, but how much of an ROI varies widely, largely based on several factors: the vendor's willingness to use your existing camera infrastructure, the sophistication of the AI in proactively stopping crime thus improving client retention rates and the capacity to swap out costly on-prem guards for virtual guarding. Check for these in narrowing your list of AI providers.

Fostering a culture of tech innovation among team & a culture of tech adoption: Computer vision is still basically the youngest AI brainchild, so this is your opportunity to be a thought leader in Proptech. Seriously, nothing is off limits. Be willing to propose features that you think would help your business, and equally, ask vendors for specific examples where they've customized for a client.

Navigating data issues and privacy: Always make sure your data - and your security keys - always belong to your company, not the provider.

AI is a hot topic everywhere. The advent of Chat GPT has turned a little light on in everyone's brain this year: while we've heard for years about the negatives of AI, we've only just been introduced to the positives and they're frankly exciting.

The Big Picture

There was something powerful and unique about a room full of women discussing the adoption of AI surveillance at the spaces where we work as professionals, possibly live, as well as raise our families. AI Surveillance offers the opportunity for real-time security: the ability to stop theft, damage, and violence in its tracks. And if you're a woman, that's a moon landing.

As women, we are raised from a tender age to consider what we wear, how and when we venture out, who we talk to, even who we offer a smile. We are raised with such incessant attention to this lone issue that it can't help but pervade our psyches, as well as engender a more stringent line at what constitutes "safety" on a property. The opportunity to walk safely across an empty parking lot at night *not* clutching your keys and darting your eyes, is a powerful and alluring promise. Working on properties in the past, I personally know this feeling all too well.

AI in general is proving to be an indispensable tool for multifamily operators and on-site staff, as it not only bolsters security but also streamlines operations, improves resident satisfaction, and ultimately ushers in a new era of efficiency and safety in the multifamily housing industry. Seize the moment, now is the time to leverage AI technology in the multifamily housing sector.