Jason Abrams is trying to balance the scales.
The Keller Williams head of industry and learning has been laser-focused on artificial intelligence and how it can give the Texas-based franchisor’s 161,000 affiliates an edge in a market that’s like a pubescent child trying to get control of their cracking voice and aching joints as they grow toward a new normal.
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“At Mega Camp, we went all in on AI and brought in some of the best speakers in the world to help us understand it, including our friend from Google Gemini, Marcus Sheridan. The second thing we did was write a playbook on artificial intelligence specifically designed for real estate agents,” he excitedly explained. “The next thing we’re doing is on the Millionaire Real Estate Agent podcast. On October 20, we started a three-part AI series featuring Lauren Lucas, who literally raised her profit margin by 36 percent using AI. ”
Although AI is essential to KW’s future, Abrams said an internal review of the franchisor’s top teams provided an important reminder on the real key to growth: relationships.
“The reality is that people right now want human connection and crave high-level consultation from professionals more than ever before, because the rest of society has become so digitalized,” he said. “And AI is just another digital offering.”
What follows is a version of Inman’s conversation with Abrams that has been edited for length and clarity.
Inman: It’s nice to speak with you again, Jason. So, I’ll start this interview the same way I’ve started others. What trend has defined 2025 for you?
Abrams: That’s a really great question. I think for me, 2025 was a paradoxical year, and the paradox was the story of artificial intelligence. All the polls showed that clients wanted to get more human more often with their agents. And so for me, [2025] was these two paradoxical ideas that AI was changing the way that we do business and allowing us to do things faster and using more technology, but on the other hand, getting really human with people, face to face, one to one, that still rules the day.
Everyone’s talking about the formation of an AI bubble, and I think the jury’s still out on that. But I think the idea of an AI bubble comes from the fact that, yes, we like how AI streamlines and optimizes, but we don’t need AI to optimize every part of our lives. I think that’s where people are getting tired. I don’t want to interact with a bot for everything. I want to interact with a person.
I think that’s so sage. The reality is that people right now want human connection and crave high-level consultation from professionals more than ever before, because the rest of society has become so digitalized. And AI is just another digital offering. And so the agents I see having the most success are those firmly planted in both of those camps.
Are there any moments this year, personally or professionally, that were your a-ha moment when it comes to this balance we need to strike when it comes to AI?
I’d say my moment was a mastermind I did with Gary Keller. And right afterwards, somebody sent me an AI-made image of the two of us that made us look like Muppets. And I knew in that moment that this wasn’t going away.
And I guess for the other side, it kind of hit me when I was looking at all of the numbers for our real estate agents across Keller Williams. We constantly assess their business practices to see what trends are emerging, and database-driven referrals and [sales from] past clients are up across almost every major team in the company. And what that tells me is the relationships that they formed, nurtured, and honored are worth more than anything else.
How is Keller Williams helping agents understand how to leverage AI in a more measured and thoughtful way?
We’re doing three things. At Mega Camp, we went all in on AI and brought in some of the best speakers in the world to help us understand it, including our friend from Google Gemini, Marcus Sheridan.
The second thing we did was write a playbook on artificial intelligence specifically designed for real estate agents. And in it, we argued that AI broadly does two things for agents: it helps them get stuff done and generate leads. The first playbook we wrote was all about getting stuff done. We gave out 22 prompts that could immediately help them in their business, and we laid out exactly how to integrate it into their day-to-day business. The second portion of that playbook, which is how to generate leads with AI, will come out [this]week. And our thinking was, ‘Hey, first you have to know how to use it, and once you understand it, we can show you how to get leads out of it.’
The next thing we’re doing is on the Millionaire Real Estate Agent podcast. On October 20, we started a three-part AI series featuring Lauren Lucas, who literally raised her profit margin by 36 percent using AI. On October 27, we’ll have Marcus Sheridan, and on November 3, we’ll have a friend of yours, Mike DelPrete, who will lay out how consumers think about AI.
And then we kicked off a road show. We’re visiting every single Keller Williams region in Q4, and we’re teaching exactly how to get the most out of AI and your database.
When it comes to teaching the relationship-building part of real estate, I’d like to zero in on new agents who started their careers amid a historic sales run and they’re now navigating their first downturn. How do you help those agents go back and build the fundamentals they may have missed when deals were more bountiful?
Well, it’s always been a relationship-driven business, and your business is your database. We know that to be the case. What we’ve done is woven that into the road show, but we’ve also launched a new class called list to last, which lays out, step by step, how to build these relationships and consult people at the highest level. And in 2026, we’re launching a brand-new agent training program. It takes you through building your real estate business from day one, all the way to the course’s promise: 10 signed agreements in the first 120 days you’re in the industry.
And the reason I’m excited about that is because in order to sign 10 agreements, you have to master relationships in a very short period of time. It isn’t about the agreements. That’s simply the number that causes you to do the activity. The activity is: how many people can you connect with at a deep level? We’re not focused on counting contacts, which I think, is an old idea. The real question is: how many of the people that you contacted did you connect with on a human level? That’s where it’s all heading.
I imagine you have to help agents turn off their sales switch. Although consumers understand that they’re relying on an agent to help them make a transaction, no one wants to feel sold to. How are you teaching agents how to make a real connection?
The argument that Gary Keller made in the course is that you’re not salespeople. You are high-level consultants who use sales skills to consult people to make the best decision possible. And I love that way of thinking. I now have that written on my wall. No one wants to be sold, but everyone, everyone across the board, wants to be consulted, and then they want to make the best decisions for them.
And I think that’s one of the reasons that the real estate industry has persisted since 1891. That’s why, in poll after poll after poll after poll, even today, despite all the technology they can use, people still trust and choose to use real estate agents.
I know we’re running low on time, so I’d like to close the conversation on how [the AI] paradox has impacted you as a leader. How has it changed the way you approach your job?
The big a-ha for me was that AI forced me to get incredibly clear on agent intelligence. So if you walk into my office, you’d see a big board, and on one side it says agent intelligence, and on the other side it says artificial intelligence.
And I’m more clear than ever today that everybody’s going to want an AI-empowered real estate agent. But to maximize your potential, you need to know which pieces you’re never going to give up and how AI makes you better at doing those. I’ll give you an example. I think real estate agents, by and large, are fantastic negotiators, but we can use AI to practice specific negotiations. I think real estate agents are great at working with sellers to price houses, but we can use AI to give us data on market trends. I think real estate agents have an incredible eye for housing. But we can use AI for digital staging and suggestions.
So, for me as a leader, I’ve had to get super clear on what superpowers the real estate agent has and how to maximize them with artificial intelligence.
