AI Evaluation Guide for Property Managers: What to Look for in 2025

Artificial intelligence is transforming property management. From automating leasing inquiries to managing maintenance and collections, AI now plays an essential role in how property teams operate.

But with so many new vendors entering the market, how can property managers tell which solutions actually deliver value? This guide outlines what to look for when evaluating AI for property management, how to test it effectively, and what makes the best systems stand out. Common AI misconceptions (and what’s true)

1. Assess Your Needs

Before choosing an AI solution, start by identifying your operational challenges and business goals.

Pinpoint your pain points

Which areas consume the most time or create inefficiencies for your team? It might be tenant screening, maintenance coordination, rent collection, or after-hours communication. Understanding where your staff struggles most will help you focus on tools that make the biggest impact.

Prioritize your goals

Decide what success looks like. Do you want to reduce administrative workload, improve resident satisfaction, or increase portfolio-wide consistency? Clarifying your priorities ensures you select an AI that aligns with your business objectives.

2. Evaluate AI Solutions Carefully

Once you have clear priorities, focus on evaluating the technology itself. The right AI for property management should be practical, easy to use, and compliant.

Domain-specific expertise

Choose an AI that is purpose-built for property management. A tool that understands maintenance workflows, leasing terms, or rent collection will outperform a generic chatbot or automation platform.

Integration with your property management system

Effective AI should connect directly to PMSes, CRMs, and other existing systems. This ensures all communication, payments, and records are tracked automatically within your existing workflows, avoiding duplicate work or data silos. Grow Your Technology Network with Rent Manager’s Available Integrations.

Ease of use

A strong AI solution should not require technical expertise or complex onboardings. Property managers should be able to adjust settings, update templates, and review reports easily.

Scalability

Your AI platform should grow with your business, adapting to new properties, increased resident volume, and more complex workflows as your portfolio expands.

Security and compliance

Ensure that the vendor follows data protection best practices such as encryption, secure authentication, and compliance with privacy regulations. Property management involves sensitive resident information, so security is non-negotiable.

Vendor support

Evaluate the vendor’s track record, customer success and support process. A responsive support team is crucial for resolving issues quickly and keeping automations running smoothly.

3. Test Before Full Implementation

Even the best technology needs validation. A pilot program allows you to see how AI performs in your unique environment before committing fully.

Start small

Begin with a focused use case such as automating maintenance requests or managing rent reminders. This helps your team learn the system and measure its value with minimal disruption.

Gather feedback

Collect feedback from staff and residents who interact with the AI. Their input will reveal whether it is intuitive, effective, and aligned with your goals.

Iterate and refine

Most AI platforms improve over time as you adjust workflows and refine rules. Use early feedback to fine-tune automation before scaling it across your portfolio.

4. Key Technical Criteria to Compare

Beyond features and usability, evaluate how each AI handles workflow depth, data access, reporting, and performance transparency.

Workflow depth and data access

Assess how far the AI goes inside each workflow. Effective systems do more than answer a call or reply to a message. They read and write real time data such as unit inventory, resident profiles, balances, lease terms, work orders, and notes, so they can resolve issues without human involvement when appropriate.

Human oversight and escalation

Look for AI that knows when to pass a conversation to a person. Automation should manage routine communication but escalate urgent or complex cases for staff review.

Reporting and analytics

Data-driven decision-making is the process of using data and analysis instead of intuition to reach decisions. The AI should track engagement, conversion rates, and communication metrics so you can make informed choices. 

Implementation process

Ask each vendor about setup time, required IT involvement, and how long it takes to go live. Strong partners offer structured onboarding and ongoing optimization support.

ROI measurement

Clarify what measurable outcomes you can expect in the first 30 to 90 days. Common results include faster response times, improved payment consistency, and reduced staff workload.

5. The Reality: Choosing AI That Empowers Property Teams

The best AI solutions amplify what teams can do. They help staff save time, reduce operating costs, strengthen cash flow through better collections, and lift lead to lease conversion while keeping workflows simple.

When AI integrates directly into your property management system, provides transparency, and escalates to your team when human judgment is needed, it becomes an operational partner rather than just a tool.

Domos follows these principles. It connects seamlessly with leading property management systems, automates leasing, maintenance, and collections, and provides analytics so managers can see measurable results.

If you are ready to explore AI that empowers your team, see Domos AI in action.