Martin Canchola, co-founder and chief strategy officer at Apartment SEO, said Google still dominates online search, with a 90% market share including Google Lens, Google Local, YouTube and other products.
“With more than 16.4 billion searches performed every day, it’s clear that Google remains the king of search,” Canchola said at the National Apartment Association’s Apartamentalization Conference in New Orleans on June 19.
But artificial intelligence is rapidly entering the scene. For example, ChatGPT alone handles 2.5 billion prompts per day, according to Canchola, and that number continues to grow.
“Google still holds 90% of the market share, so that’s where the biggest network effects are,” Canchola said. “Still, the amount of traffic that these other large language models and AI search engines can generate will continue to increase, so it’s going to be important to stay on top of what that looks like.”
That’s because more and more residents are turning to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or other platforms to search for properties.
“Everyone is on their own journey. [with AI]”It’s going to grow, and they’re going to become more efficient and know more about how to use it,” Canchola said. So we’re going to continue to get more searches, more traffic, more engagement from these platforms. ”
With a few simple steps, multifamily businesses can stand out in AI searches, according to Canchola.
Know the training model
To rank well in search, apartment managers need to know where different AI platforms are looking for information. Unfortunately, according to Canchola, different LLMs prioritize results from different sources.
For example, Canchola said ChatGPT is focused on Yelp. “[Google’s] “Gemini and AI modes take a deep dive into Google business profiles, reviews, distance between businesses and users, top 10 rankings, and even YouTube,” he said.
It’s no surprise that Grok uses X for its LLM training, according to Canchola. “Reddit is, by far, being used by OpenAI and Google because they need to know what the real human experience is,” and how to use that model to train AI to be “more human,” Canchola said.
While AI tools prioritize a variety of sources, there are some universal places where apartment managers need to have a strong active presence.
Yelp, Google Business Profile, Google Maps and Apple Maps “will probably be some of the top lists you really want to look at,” Canchola said, and will be places where AI models “look for positive emotions.”
Customize your website for AI
For apartment managers, the basics remain important when it comes to online searches, including websites. “It starts with a great website that loads quickly, which will help you build domain authority over time,” Canchola says.
“Local Google Business Profiles and all other listings are where there is great opportunity for individual community growth within ILS. [internet listing services]” Canchola said.
But today, Canchola says, apartment managers also need to think about building websites that “AI agents actually like.” For example, Google recently advised that it may be worth incorporating large language text files into your website.
“All of this is starting to come into play, including the AI synopsis that tells the AI agent what to do,” Canchola said.
and Google abolishes Q&A feature Regarding business profiles, Canchola said it’s more important than ever for apartment owners to have frequently asked questions on their site.
If these real estate websites’ FAQs or blog posts address gaps in information, they can be valuable in your search. Anne Baum, vice president of marketing for Towne Properties, told Apartmentalize: “We’ve added an FAQ to address questions found in chat logs and reviews.”
Utilization of videos
Ranking high in search results requires more than just having the right words on your website. “AI really prioritizes video,” Marge Enrique, senior director of marketing at Westhome Property Management, said at Apartmentalize.
Enrique said Gemini especially likes video because of its association with Google and YouTube. “When you publish a video on YouTube, it gets indexed and picked up within five hours, sometimes right away,” Enrique says. “That’s the beauty of the video.”
Video requires a lot of upfront work, but it pays off in the long run. “Once we get the system in place and start publishing videos with very specific themes and prompts, we’re off to the races,” Enrique said. “This is a big deal, especially when you think about Gemini and YouTube.”
The team at Westhome Property Management uploaded images to AI and used an external company to produce a video of one property. “[AI] In fact, we had the ability to show a real person, as if we were filming it, and we created a 20- or 30-second video,” Enrique said.
Creating and posting the video was a multi-step process. But in the end it was worth it for Westthorn. “We went from no searches with AI or AI to 168 users with AI in our engagement rate,” Enrique said.
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