Real estate firms in the UK and UAE are rushing to adopt AI, but many are applying it in the wrong areas while ignoring the part of the business where AI actually delivers the fastest financial return. The biggest gap is AI for inbound and outbound calls. When implemented correctly, AI voice agents solve the speed, scale and follow-up problems that cost agencies instructions every day. When implemented poorly, they create new problems and miss the opportunity entirely.
Below are the three most common mistakes property companies are making with AI, backed by real market data, followed by the best way to fix each one.
Many agencies buy AI tools for document drafting, valuation emails or social media posts, but leave their most valuable customer touchpoint unmanaged. Missed calls remain one of the biggest sources of lost revenue.
Independent analysis shows UK estate agents lose an estimated £119 million per year because inbound calls go unanswered and leads are not followed up quickly.
In the UAE, the problem is multiplied. Buyers—especially international ones—submit enquiries across portals like Property Finder, Bayut and WhatsApp simultaneously. If the phone rings out or a WhatsApp lead waits too long, the buyer moves on within minutes.
The solution:
Deploy AI voice agents that answer instantly, qualify enquiries and route serious callers to the right negotiator. This single change eliminates the majority of lost leads and stabilises the pipeline without extra staff.
Agencies still depend on negotiators to recontact leads, chase old enquiries, and follow up on viewing interest. In reality, negotiators spend most of their day on viewings, WhatsApp conversations and admin tasks. Outbound calling becomes inconsistent.
A Homeflow analysis of UK agencies found that 39 percent of home sellers never received a response after enquiring, and the average response time was 229 minutes. Source: https://www.homeflow.co.uk/posts/39-of-home-sellers-wait-for-an-estate-agents-response
In Dubai, where buyers expect immediate digital interaction, slow outbound follow-up is the fastest way to lose high-value clients.
The solution:
Use AI outbound calling to contact every new enquiry within seconds of submission. AI agents can call immediately, qualify budget and intent, and book viewings automatically. This creates the kind of speed that human teams alone cannot achieve.
Many agencies assume that adding a chatbot to their website qualifies as “AI adoption”. In property sales, chat rarely replaces calls. High-value buyers want fast, clear communication—not forms or generic scripted responses.
Data from SquadStack’s real estate analysis shows that AI phone agents respond to leads in under five seconds, compared with industry-wide averages of 12 hours or more for human follow-up.
Voice beats chat for one reason. It resolves intent instantly. It books viewings. It converts. Source: https://www.squadstack.ai/voicebot/ai-agent-for-real-estate
The solution:
Shift AI investment from chat widgets to full AI voice systems that handle both inbound and outbound calls. Voice AI works across portals, phone lines and WhatsApp Business API. With clear scripts and human escalation paths, it consistently outperforms both chatbots and manual calling teams.
