AI tools are helping real estate professionals save time, streamline workflows and improve efficiency, but what you enter into an AI chatbot can create serious risks to your brokerage, panelists warned during the NAR Tech & Innovation–sponsored session, “Protecting Clients and Yourself in the Age of AI,” on Saturday during NAR NXT in New Orleans.
More agents are turning to AI for everyday tasks. The most common uses include writing listing descriptions, creating social media posting, drafting emails and follow-ups, preparing market summaries, personalizing marketing content, reviewing and summarizing documents, and developing client education materials, such as FAQs and guides, according to the 2026 REALTORS® Technology Report.
“AI is a great tool, and it can help real estate agents build efficiencies,” said Jon Waclawski, NAR’s general counsel and senior vice president of Legal. “But AI is not licensed.” Unlike the technology, agents and brokers face professional and licensing risks when using AI, he emphasized. Waclawski urged brokerages to establish clear guidelines for appropriate AI use, particularly when it comes to activities that require a real estate license.
Related: Faster, Cheaper, Riskier? What Brokers Should Know Before Putting AI to Work
Protect Confidential Client Information
Sharon Love-Bates, NAR’s director of emerging technology, cautioned practitioners to think carefully about the information they share with AI tools. Love-Bates outlined several safeguards for protecting sensitive information:
- Use approved AI tools. Only enter client transaction or proprietary brokerage data into tools that have been vetted and approved for business use.
- Share the minimum necessary. Limit information entered into AI systems to what's essential for the task.
- Check privacy and training settings. Consumer and commercial AI plans may have different policies governing data retention, access and model training. Don't assume a paid subscription automatically guarantees confidentiality.
- Keep confidential records out of unvetted tools. That includes financial records, settlement statements, access codes, confidential transaction documents and MLS data beyond what MLS rules and licensing agreements permit.
Your AI Conversations Could Resurface
Waclawski warned that information entered into AI chatbots may be discoverable later on.
Dave Herman, senior vice president of product and AI innovation at Realtor.com encouraged practitioners to ask technology vendors several questions before adopting their AI tool, like how long is submitted data retained and whether conversations can be later searched or retrieved? Does the provider use the information you enter to train AI models? And will the AI provider access, sell or monetize the information?
Know Where to Draw the Line
That doesn't mean agents should avoid AI altogether. Ines Hegedus-Garcia, managing partner at Avanti Way Realty, highlighted its AI benefits to automate repetitive administrative tasks, create marketing content and help brokerages operate more efficiently. But while her brokerage has adopted it heavily for various tasks, she said AI is never a replacement for professional judgment and the responsibilities of a licensed real estate practitioner.
For example, she pointed to the importance of such oversight when using AI to generate listing descriptions. Hegedus-Garcia said her brokerage continually monitors AI-generated content for potential fair housing violations.
Love-Bates echoed those concerns, warning that AI-generated property descriptions can inadvertently include language that suggests a preference for certain groups of people or add in a description of a neighborhood’s racial, ethnic or religious makeup. She urged agents to beware of phrases like:
- “Perfect for a young professional couple”
- “Great neighborhood for families with children”
- “Quiet, mature community”
- “Walking distance to [specific house of worship].”
Love-Bates advises agents to carefully review AI-generated descriptions to ensure they focus on the property rather than the people who might live there. Also, be extra vigilant that the property’s details are captured correctly, since AI hallucinations can often invent amenities or misrepresent features.
Set Clear Rules for Your Brokerage
As AI becomes increasingly integrated into everyday real estate workflows, panelists urged brokerages to set clear policies governing which tools agents can use, what information they can share and when human oversight is required.
“We’re at a really interesting time in the real estate industry,” Waclawski said, noting the lack of established legal precedents in defining what practitioners can do with AI. Until regulators provide greater clarity, he urged agents to take a cautious, defensible approach.
NAR has developed a customizable AI policy template for brokers who want to create standards for responsible AI use, including protecting confidential client and brokerage information.
