{"id":54586,"date":"2026-05-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=54586"},"modified":"2026-05-13T14:53:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T21:53:30","slug":"mckinsey-ai-webinar-march-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/mckinsey-ai-webinar-march-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"McKinsey Webinar recap: Combine AI with human touch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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What\u2019s the key to making artificial intelligence an asset for property management? Incorporate it incrementally and maintain the human side of the business. Making AI work optimally for real estate organizations was the focus of a recent webinar<\/a> sponsored by McKinsey that described how agentic AI, which performs business operations with minimal human oversight, can reshape real estate\u2019s operating model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When used optimally, AI can resolve the repetitive intake of work orders, manual schedule coordination and slow responses that frustrate building occupants and other stakeholders. That’s according to Alex Wolkomir, a partner at McKinsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI now driving action forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

AI has progressed beyond describing and analyzing data and into the agentic era, which encompasses moving beyond a predetermined set of pathways or rules to intelligently driving action forward. In this stage, an AI-enabled operating system will leverage \u201cshared workflows, data and controls, not isolated tools that create sprawl across the company,\u201d Wolkomir said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many organizations, he added, become mired in AI \u201cpilot program purgatory\u201d characterized by ill-defined tools, workflow ownership, systems integration and learning loops. The work may get \u201cshinier\u201d in such cases, Wolkomir noted, but what should matter is capturing gains by focusing on domains. These are defined as connected workflows like facilities maintenance, leasing and renewals, asset management and construction, which generate such gains as new leases signed, work hours saved or equipment breaks avoided.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build trust with human connection<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And even while remedying \u201cmessy\u201d handoffs and high-volume tasks with visible performance consequences, AI systems should be designed so human moments \u201cdon\u2019t get lost in a world of automation,\u201d Wolkomir said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as AI increasingly helps drive workflows, human thoughts and judgments remain essential in key areas such as tradeoffs, escalations, negotiations, decisions involving substantial amounts of money and relationships that sustain trust and brand credibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most successful AI adopters, Wolkomir noted, are those that \u201cdo not use AI to remove people, but to return human time to moments that build trust and value\u201d among customers, building occupants, investors and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf every tenant interaction, every leasing conversation or other experience feels generic, flat and undifferentiated, that\u2019s not progress, it\u2019s automation without distinction,\u201d Wolkomir said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI implementation building blocks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tips for a successful AI business implementation, outlined in the webinar by Wolkomir and his McKinsey colleague Ankit Kapoor, include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n