Vera Gold Mark (VGM) is active in a very competitive market. As a developer of luxury apartments, which are usually expensive, it must try to attract many potential buyers and thus needs as many sales leads as possible at a reasonable cost. Chatting live with potential customers can be expensive since it requires very knowledgeable and courteous agents available 24/7. VGM has a large inventory of units that must be sold as soon as possible.

VGM decided to use chatbots to supplement or replace expensive manual live chats. These work in the following ways. Buyers may click on the "chat with the robot" button on the company's Facebook page, and receive any information they need. The chat helps VGM promote its available products. When they click, users are able to chat and get information about pricing, delivery dates, construction sites, and much more for VGM projects. Users can also tweet. The chatbots provide answers about the projects. Facebook provides VGM access to potential buyers' profiles (with users' permission), which VGM sales teams can use to refine sales strategies. The system is available 24/7. Voice communication is coming soon (2018).

VGM is now viewed in a very positive way and is considered to be very professional. VGM is getting good reviews for its customer service. The builder is considered more honest and unbiased because it provides written answers and promises to customers. Salespeople at VGM get an increased number of sales leads, and because they know more about prospective customers, they can better align them with units (optimal fit). The system is also able to attract international buyers without increasing cost. Because the system is available 24/7, global buyers can easily evaluate VGM's available condominiums.

The chatbot is also used as a teaching tool for new employees. At the time that this case was written, no financial data were available.
The technology is available to other builders from Kenyt Technologies of India kenyt.com, which provides the smart real estate chatbot.

Questions for Case 
1. List the benefits to VGM.
2. List the benefits to buyers.
3. What is the role of Kenyt Technologies?