Gen AI Helps Our Staff Delight Our Clients
As the senior vice president of strategy and digital initiatives at RXR, a $20 billion vertically integrated real estate investment manager, Andrew Min has a sweeping view of how the industry is evolving. From residential towers to office complexes, from industrial infrastructure to hospitality-infused living spaces, RXR touches nearly every facet of the built environment. But what sets RXR apart isn’t just the portfolio—it’s how the company is deploying generative AI to enhance its operations and, more importantly, to empower its people, as he shared in his interview with me.
Building From the Ground Up
In an industry often late to embrace digital transformation, RXR began laying its technological foundation long before generative AI captured headlines. “We embraced early on the idea that if we wanted to be systematic in our decision-making, we needed clean, purposeful data and the tools to derive insights from it,” Min explained. That clarity of intent—paired with a practical approach to identifying real problems before choosing tools—enabled RXR to avoid the “hammer looking for a nail” trap that ensnares many organizations exploring Gen AI.
Instead of pursuing a vague innovation agenda, RXR built a tightly integrated data ecosystem aligned with business needs. It collected only the data necessary to solve defined use cases, then expanded from there. This disciplined approach now powers a range of AI applications that are deeply embedded into operations and culture.
Personalizing Hospitality at Scale
RXR’s use of Gen AI goes beyond automation—it’s about cultivating human connection at scale. Take their residential buildings. “Residents feel loyal when they feel known,” said Min. In practice, that means remembering birthdays, pet anniversaries, and preferences—not easy when managing hundreds of units.
To meet that challenge, RXR started by creating a lightweight CRM infused with Gen AI. The system prompts staff about meaningful dates and suggests personalized gestures. If a resident once appreciated a sugar-free gift, the tool remembers and adapts future suggestions accordingly. This isn’t about digital replacements—it’s about augmenting frontline staff with memory and context, enabling moments of real delight.
RXR’s proprietary messaging platform provides another layer of intelligence. A natural language processing engine analyzes thousands of daily resident messages, scoring sentiment and identifying recurring topics. When sentiment at a building trends negative, the AI flags issues—like parking complaints or potential water leaks—often before staff can detect them onsite. That insight enables timely interventions and transparent communication that strengthens trust.
Driving Performance Through Data
Beyond resident experience, RXR uses predictive algorithms to boost financial performance. A key metric? Renewal rates. “Renewals are a proxy for satisfaction,” Min said. One analysis found that residents who used certain amenities—like a hidden “speakeasy” event space—were exponentially more likely to renew. Others showed only modest correlation.
These insights now inform capital expenditure decisions and resident programming. At a downtown Brooklyn property, where fitness enthusiasts abound, RXR doubled down on wellness-focused events rather than spending blindly on one-size-fits-all upgrades. “It’s not about spending more,” said Min. “It’s about spending smarter.”
Gen AI also helps maintain tenant satisfaction even when service delays occur. For example, if a work order remains open for too long, the system prompts staff to proactively message the resident, explaining the delay and reaffirming attention to their issue. It’s not just about closing tickets—it’s about preserving trust.
Empowering Staff, Not Replacing Them
Min is quick to stress that RXR’s goal is not automation for its own sake. “We’ve never believed that the primary purpose of AI is to replace jobs,” he said. “We believe it frees our people to do what they do best—make thoughtful decisions and build relationships.”
To that end, RXR has invested in AI-powered training tools that simulate live instruction. These avatar-led modules are interactive and engaging, leading to higher staff retention of material and greater satisfaction. Even visual materials for internal and external use are now enhanced using generative image and video tools.
In a more technical domain, RXR built an in-house Gen AI tool to streamline investor due diligence. It searches and reasons through past questionnaire responses, recommends answers, and cites sources—turning hours or days of manual work into minutes of informed review.
Measuring What Matters
For all the excitement around AI, RXR remains grounded in results. Every initiative begins with a business problem and ends with a measurable outcome. In evaluating Gen AI success, the company considers final KPIs like renewals, intermediate metrics such as sentiment scores, and, importantly, on-the-ground staff feedback.
“Our property teams are extraordinarily good at predicting whether a resident will renew,” Min noted. Their intuition, validated through data, adds a human dimension to performance evaluation. Surveys and qualitative feedback further shape the iteration process. This approach ensures that AI is not abstract—it’s a tool to improve lived experiences for both clients and employees.
A Culture of Confidence and Collaboration
Unlike organizations where AI adoption stirs anxiety, RXR’s long-standing digital focus has bred confidence. “Because our teams have already seen how technology makes their jobs better—not redundant—they’re far more willing to engage,” Min explained. The company’s development approach helps too. Rather than pushing top-down solutions, Min’s team embeds with operational teams to co-develop tools that solve specific problems. The result is a shared sense of ownership and enthusiasm.
The growing use of Gen AI in daily life also helps normalize its role at work. As Min put it, “Just like people came to expect mobile features in real estate after using them to shop and travel, they now come to expect intelligent tools that assist them at work.”
As RXR accelerates its AI adoption, it remains equally focused on governance. A company-wide technology committee, chaired by the firm’s Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer, ensures alignment across departments. A dedicated AI subcommittee vets use cases, with rigorous cybersecurity and compliance protocols in place. “It’s not just a policy on paper,” Min said. “It’s embedded in how we operate.”
Looking Ahead: The Age of the Empowered Employee
Where does RXR go from here? Min sees two major trends on the horizon. First, cross-departmental AI tools that can ask better questions—shifting from analysis to proactive inquiry. Second, the rise of “citizen developers” enabled by low-code and no-code platforms. “We’re excited to empower our people to solve their own problems,” he said. Domain-specific needs will still require his team’s expertise, but general-purpose tools will broaden access and accelerate innovation.
As AI continues to evolve, RXR’s approach offers a compelling model—not just for real estate, but for any industry navigating the balance between technology and human touch. By anchoring every AI initiative in purpose, participation, and performance, RXR is not chasing trends. It’s building a future where people, empowered by intelligent systems, deliver exceptional experiences—again and again.
Key Take-Away
AI tools are used to personalize experiences—like remembering resident preferences and milestones—empowering staff to deliver thoughtful, human-centric service. Share on XImage credit: ThisIsEngineering/pexels
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky was lauded as “Office Whisperer” and “Hybrid Expert” by The New York Times for helping leaders use hybrid work to improve retention and productivity while cutting costs. He serves as the CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts. Dr. Gleb wrote the first book on returning to the office and leading hybrid teams after the pandemic, his best-seller Returning to the Office and Leading Hybrid and Remote Teams: A Manual on Benchmarking to Best Practices for Competitive Advantage (Intentional Insights, 2021). He authored seven books in total, and is best know for his global bestseller, Never Go With Your Gut: How Pioneering Leaders Make the Best Decisions and Avoid Business Disasters (Career Press, 2019). His cutting-edge thought leadership was featured in over 650 articles and 550 interviews in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Inc. Magazine, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, Time, Business Insider, Fortune, and elsewhere. His writing was translated into Chinese, Korean, German, Russian, Polish, Spanish, French, and other languages. His expertise comes from over 20 years of consulting, coaching, and speaking and training for Fortune 500 companies from Aflac to Xerox. It also comes from over 15 years in academia as a behavioral scientist, with 8 years as a lecturer at UNC-Chapel Hill and 7 years as a professor at Ohio State. A proud Ukrainian American, Dr. Gleb lives in Columbus, Ohio. In his free time, he makes sure to spend abundant quality time with his wife to avoid his personal life turning into a disaster. Contact him at Gleb[at]DisasterAvoidanceExperts[dot]com, follow him on LinkedIn @dr-gleb-tsipursky, Twitter @gleb_tsipursky, Instagram @dr_gleb_tsipursky, Facebook @DrGlebTsipursky, Medium @dr_gleb_tsipursky, YouTube, and RSS, and get a free copy of the Assessment on Dangerous Judgment Errors in the Workplace by signing up for the free Wise Decision Maker Course at https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/newsletter/.