Velocity 2026: Working Smarter Not Harder
As the market shifts, speed and precision matter.
During the “Working Smarter, Not Harder” panel at the 2026 Velocity conference in New Orleans, panelists dove into how new tech and AI-powered services are helping agents and lenders uncover qualified leads faster, automate repetitive workflows, and reduce both onboarding time and days on market.
Attendees learned how predictive analytics, automated outreach, and intelligent data tools can help them prioritize the right prospects and close new clients more efficiently.
The panel included moderator Jeff Russell, Broker-Associate of Russell Realty Group – eXp Realty; Joe Peterson, Founder & CEO of iList Tech; Tom Simon, CEO of Exceleras, LLC; Jay Tsao, Director, Sales & Growth for Pivo Real Estate; and Chakri Uruma, VP at Altisource.
Don’t Adopt AI Just Because It’s Popular
Panelists warned against chasing every new AI tool. Instead, professionals first must identify the biggest pain points in their business, whether that’s marketing, lead generation, document review, or time management, and then choose AI tools that address those specific challenges.
As Peterson put it, “I think doing AI—or using, frankly, any technology—that doesn’t have a purpose or an outcome tied to it, that’s called a distraction.”
“AI is not your enemy. The enemy is the status quo,” Peterson said.
Tsao said it’s about remaining relevant.
“Agents that use AI will still remain relevant and rise to the top. Agents that don’t… will probably go the opposite way,” Tsao noted.
The biggest return on AI is reclaiming time for higher-value work.
Throughout the discussion, panelists said that AI’s greatest benefit is automating repetitive, low-value tasks so professionals can spend more time building relationships, negotiating deals, and serving clients.
AI can draft listing descriptions, manage CRM follow-up, organize emails, analyze documents, create marketing content, and qualify lead, freeing agents and lenders to focus on work that requires human judgment.
“If you lose $100,000, you can make it back. If you lose a hundred hours, it’s gone,” Peterson said.
Visibility in AI-Powered Search is Becoming as Important as Traditional SEO
Consumers are increasingly using AI assistants instead of search engines to find real estate professionals, the panel said. That means agents and lenders need consistent, trustworthy digital profiles across websites, social media, LinkedIn, Zillow, Realtor.com, and other platforms. Creating regular, authentic content and maintaining consistent information across channels will improve the chances of appearing in AI-generated recommendations.
“You don’t have to be the best. You just have to be the most seen,” Simon said.
Human expertise remains the industry’s greatest competitive advantage.
While AI can automate workflows and analyze enormous amounts of data, the panel agreed it cannot replace trust, empathy, negotiation, or relationship-building. The most successful professionals will combine AI-generated insights with contextual judgment, emotional intelligence, and personalized service. Rather than replacing people, AI should amplify their expertise.
“The human-to-human aspects… will never be trumped by AI,” Simon said.
Failing to Adapt to AI Risks Making Professionals Irrelevant
AI adoption is no longer optional, it’s a must, the panelists agreed. Experienced professionals may be especially vulnerable if they rely solely on methods that worked in the past, while other are embracing AI from the beginning. The panel predicted that within the next 12 to 24 months, AI copilots, automated workflows, and AI-assisted search will become standard expectations across real estate and lending, making adaptability a critical competitive advantage.
“Agents that use AI will still remain relevant and rise to the top. Agents that don’t… will probably go the opposite way,” Tsao noted.
“If you don’t adapt, you become invisible,” Uruma said.
