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In December 2024, business professor Raghabendra KC, business management and communication studies double major Alec Kriegbaum ’24, and Dr. Charles Ebert ’13 published the honors thesis work “Chatbots Selling Condos: Generative Artificial Intelligence in Real Estate” in the Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness. Kriegbaum collaborated with his thesis supervisor, Raghabendra KC ’13, and fellow alum Ebert ’13, making this a Rollins alum trifecta.

The Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness is a double blind peer reviewed journal that publishes thought-provoking, in-depth articles that cover the marketing arena and the interface between marketing and firm competitiveness. The journal only accepts anywhere from 13 percent to 19 percent of submitted research for publication.

In “Chatbots Selling Condos,” the trio discusses the influence of generative artificial intelligence on long-standing practices in the real estate industry through interviews between principal researcher Kriegbaum and real estate professionals. Kriegbaum transcribed each of the 13 interviews to identify common themes and sentiments. Additionally, the paper leveraged a novel methodological approach by independently verifying the researcher-identified themes with ChatGPT analysis in a separate step.

The analysis noted that real estate professionals are aware of AI technology and use it for its efficiency in creating marketing material, but many professionals question the ethics of using AI without verifiable sources and disclosures. Interviewees also discussed the need for human input when using artificial intelligence and the variance in AI adoption within the real estate industry across generations.

• Business Management |
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• Raghabendra KC