AI will never replace the power of real connection, indie broker Amy Stockberger writes. But it can clear the clutter, remove the repetition, and give you back the time and energy to focus on what actually builds legacy.
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AI is reclaiming our time, enhancing our client experience and expanding our revenue streams. Our service-first model wasn’t negotiable, so instead of scaling back, we scaled smarter.
At our company, one of our core mottos is: “If you’re not using AI first, you’re being irresponsibly unproductive.” Our entire business is built on serving before, during and forever — clients, agents, staff and our local community. That mission wasn’t going anywhere.
I had zero interest in reducing the white-glove experience that built our reputation. So we made a power move. We invested in an AI consultant to help us automate 60 percent of our business operations without compromising service.
How we created systems using AI
We’ve systematized and streamlined everything, including:
- Transaction management
- Listing coordination
- Agent support
- Sales
- Marketing
- Accounting
- Core operations
That shift has already saved us thousands of hours and is on track to reclaim over $325,000 per year (a whopping 1000+ percent ROI) all while enhancing the human-to-human connection that drives our Lifetime Home Support model, and allows us to nurture and grow prospects into lifetime clients.
The AI assistants powering our ecosystem
We’ve built custom AI Assistants that act like specialized team members without the overhead. Each one removes friction, speeds up execution and protects our brand standard.
Here’s a small glimpse of what’s live inside our system:
- Local market stats assistant: Keeps agents informed about market shifts and helps them craft their weekly “Don’t Fire Me” calls with sellers, utilizing real-time pricing and positioning data.
- Contract verbiage assistant: Built with over 20 years of proven language that has helped me serve thousands of clients and avoid legal pitfalls.
- Contract compliance assistant: Ensures accuracy and consistency in file audits for our staff.
- Offer work-up assistant: Streamlines the process of prepping clean, professional offers.
- Listing assistant: Automates MLS data sheet completion to save time and prevent errors.
- Marketing director assistant: Equipped with strategies for social, YouTube and Google Business, including hooks, captions and digital playbooks.
- List-to-launch assistant: Determines the exact buyer avatar for each listing and builds targeted strategies to get the property in front of the right audience.
- Project-specific assistants: From onboarding vendors to launching our Home and Lifestyle Expo, a lead generation and revenue stream, we’ve built AI support around nearly every major initiative.
Every piece is designed to enhance human service, not replace it. This is essential to helping your team embrace AI and use it to level up, rather than check out.
SAMY: Our 1st 24/7 digital employee
Meet SAMY, our always-on, never-drops-the-ball digital employee currently in beta inside Microsoft Teams.
She is more than a support bot. SAMY is built with a comprehensive understanding of what our agents need to serve at the highest level.
She helps with:
- Real-time training and onboarding
- SOP retrieval and guidance
- On-demand roleplaying to sharpen skills
- Data pulls for transactions, marketing and prep
- Process support for every stage of the deal
- Direct links to tools, templates and resources
She functions like an elite mentor, systems expert and assistant coach all in one, available 24/7. SAMY is changing the game on how we support our agents, and she’s just the beginning.
What’s next on the roadmap
Next up is ACE, our Digital Admin Support Assistant.
While SAMY supports our agents, ACE is being developed to support the heartbeat of our company — our employees. He provides instant access to all SOPs, Looms and internal workflows in a way that is clear, consistent and immediately actionable.
ACE is a digital deskmate. He helps new hires get ramped up, supports daily execution and ensures operational consistency across the team.
With SAMY and ACE in place, every layer of our business — from client-facing to back-end ops — now has a system, a strategy and AI-powered support behind it.
3 non-negotiables for building in-house AI assistants
If you are building your own AI ecosystem in-house, these are the three non-negotiables we follow:
- It must enhance, not compromise, service: AI should never replace the human experience. Every assistant must make it faster, smarter or more consistent.
- It must integrate with existing systems: Don’t scrap what is working. Build AI on top of your current playbooks and frameworks.
- It must buy back time, not create complexity: Every AI tool should simplify and support, not distract or overwhelm.
This is not about playing with trendy tech. It is about future-proofing your business through intentional automation and systemization.
What this actually means
Our job — whether we’re solo agents or scaling companies — is to future-proof our businesses.
If you’re not leveraging AI at a high level, you’re not just falling behind. You’re creating gaps in your service, your speed and your scalability — and others who are using AI well are going to stand out in ways that matter to your clients.
That’s why we’re not just building for ourselves. We’re bringing others with us.
We’ve started running AI workshops for local small businesses to help them implement real, practical solutions. It’s also become a natural entry point to introduce them to our Home Support Team program — one of our key revenue and referral pillars.
I’m a firm believer that you should keep your business as SADD as possible — systematized, automated, delegated and deleted.
We’ve been using AI for over two years now, and while the results are already tangible, we know we’re just getting started. One thing AI will never do is replace the power of real connection. But it can clear the clutter, remove the repetition, and give you back the time and energy to focus on what actually builds legacy — relationships through authentic service.
Amy Stockberger is the founder of Amy Stockberger Real Estate. Connect with Amy on Instagram.
