Leasing Office Hours: RentEngine AI Recap

RentEngine AI handles prospect communication automatically (responding to questions, sending showing links, qualifying renters, and following up) while still allowing your team to control tone, escalation behavior, and workflow.

If you missed our live Q&A session on RentEngine AI, catch up on the session below or scroll down for a recap.

What’s the Difference Between Automation and RentEngine AI?

There are two types of system-generated messages inside RentEngine:

Automated Messages

• Triggered by specific events

• Identical every time

• Configured in Communication Settings

• Example: Scheduled follow-ups after a showing

RentEngine AI Messages

• Identified by thumbs up/down icons on messages in the Command Center

• Respond dynamically to prospect questions

• Pull from your structured account data

Automation moves prospects through predefined workflows while RentEngine AI handles real-time communication.

They work together, but they are not the same.

How Do You Turn On RentEngine AI?

AI settings are available to admins under:

Settings → Communication → RentEngine AI

There are two components:

AI Texting

• Set tone

• Add custom instructions

• Configure active schedule

AI Calls

• Uses the same knowledge base as texting

• Has separate schedule controls

• Allows voice selection (or upload your own voice)

A common setup:

• AI Texting: On 24/7

• AI Calls: After-hours only

This ensures immediate responses without replacing your team’s live call handling.

Where Does RentEngine AI Get Its Answers?

RentEngine AI pulls from three primary knowledge sources:

1. Property Information

2. Snippets

3. Custom Instructions

Why Is Property Information So Important for RentEngine AI?

Approximately 70% of prospect questions relate directly to property-level information.

This includes:

• Rent price

• Beds and baths

• Lease length

• Application fee

• Special offers

• Showing type

• Move-in fees and recurring fees

• Included utilities

• Earliest move-in date

• Earliest showing date

AI checks property settings first.

If the answer exists there, it responds immediately and accurately.

If information is missing, escalation becomes more likely.

How Does RentEngine AI Handle Rental Requirements and Section 8?

Qualification logic is controlled by:

• The Pre-Screening Template attached to the property
  OR

• The Minimum Resident Qualifications override field

If the pre-screening template rejects vouchers, AI communicates that vouchers are not accepted.

If vouchers are not rejected, AI confirms acceptance.

If you want to adjust how income or credit requirements appear, use the Minimum Resident Qualifications field.

Portfolio-wide wording can also be customized.

What Are Snippets and How Should They Be Structured?

Snippets act as your portfolio-wide leasing policy knowledge base.

Common examples:

• Do you accept cosigners?

• Is rent negotiable?

• Do you allow corporate housing?

• Bankruptcy policy

• Credit requirements

Best practices:

• Use a clear question-and-answer format

• Keep each snippet focused on one topic

• Avoid combining multiple policies

If a specific property has an exception, place that in the property’s marketing description, not in snippets.

What Do Custom Instructions Control?

Custom instructions allow behavioral control over AI responses.

They can define:

• Tone and wording

• Sign-offs

• Escalation rules

• Communication style

For example:
Instead of answering rent negotiation questions automatically, you can instruct AI to escalate them.

Avoid:

• Inserting dynamic link variables

• Duplicating information already in property settings

• Creating conflicts between instructions and snippets

Conflicts are a common cause of escalation.

What Happens If RentEngine AI Doesn’t Have the Information?

If AI cannot find the answer in:

• Property information

• Snippets

• Custom instructions

It escalates rather than guessing.

Escalations are useful signals.

Each one should prompt a review:

• Should this be added to property settings?

• Should this become a snippet?

Over time, this significantly reduces escalation volume.

Can RentEngine AI Hallucinate?

Like any modern AI system, hallucinations are possible.

Current reported incorrect-answer rates are under 1%.

Hallucinations are most likely when:

• Information is incomplete

• Conflicts exist

• Policies are unclear

The best prevention strategy:

• Complete property settings

• Structured snippets

• Clear custom instructions

How Do You Report an Incorrect AI Response?

Every AI-generated message includes thumbs up/down icons.

If a response is incorrect:

1. Click thumbs down

2. Review the context shown

3. Submit the report

This triggers engineering review and improves system behavior.

Reporting poor responses is the fastest way to refine performance.

Does RentEngine AI Automatically Send Application Links?

Yes.

If a prospect:

• Indicates readiness to apply

• Completes a showing

AI drafts a response including the correct application link.

Additionally:

• In-person showings auto-close 1 hour after start time

• Self-guided showings auto-close after 1 hour if no feedback is left

• Application link is sent automatically

This ensures high-intent prospects move forward without delay.

How Is RentEngine AI Improving for Multifamily Properties?

Ongoing improvements include:

• Better multifamily unit matching

• Reduced “agreeing unnecessarily” behavior

• More natural response tone

• Dedicated escalation settings

RentEngine AI prioritizes structured data first and escalates over guessing.

What Real Results Are Leasing Teams Seeing With RentEngine AI?

In some portfolios, 20–30% of applications are completed end-to-end without direct team engagement.

That includes:

• Inquiry

• Question handling

• Showing scheduling

• Follow-ups

• Application submission

These are self-driven prospects moving through the funnel entirely via AI.

When Should You Turn RentEngine AI On or Off?

RentEngine AI is optional.

Teams can:

• Enable it portfolio-wide

• Enable it at specific properties

• Adjust schedules

• Turn it off entirely

This flexibility allows AI to match your leasing strategy.

If you have more questions about RentEngine AI or need help setting it up, let us know via the Chat.

Plus, send us your suggestions or questions for our next Leasing Office Hours session!