AI Image Recognition for Tenant Maintenance

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Introducing AI Image Recognition for Tenant Maintenance Reports

At RezX, we build conversational AI to streamline property management. We know that tenants love the convenience of WhatsApp for communication, and when it comes to reporting maintenance issues, WhatsApp and photos go hand in hand.

Our data shows that a staggering 65% of tenants who report an issue with their home via WhatsApp will include at least one photo.

Recognising the power of this visual information, we recently launched a groundbreaking update to our WhatsApp AI: Image Recognition. This new capability transforms the tenant experience, allowing our AI to "see" and understand the problem, leading to faster, more accurate diagnostics.

Let's walk through what this looks like in practice:

Example 1: The Boiler Breakdown

A tenant can start a conversation with our AI by sending text, a photo, or both. In this case, the tenant starts by sending a photo of their boiler display along with a message.

Tenant: "Hi, my heating won't work. I think the boiler's broken." (Sends a photo of the boiler, which shows an error code)

To many property managers, this error code is instantly recognisable. Now, our AI can recognise it too. Instead of a generic response, the AI provides a specific, intelligent next step based on the image.

RezX AI: "I can see your boiler is showing an F-28 error code with a red warning light. Are other gas appliances working?"

This single question is a crucial troubleshooting step. The AI is immediately working to determine if the issue is isolated to the boiler or if it's a problem with the property's gas supply. This saves valuable time for both the tenant and the property manager.

Example 2: The Under-Sink Leak

Let's try another common issue. This time, the tenant reports a leak by sending a photo from under their sink.

Tenant: "Hi, my sink is leaking." (Sends a photo showing a leak from a pipe joint, with a towel on the floor below)

The AI analyses the photo and begins a targeted diagnostic conversation.

RezX AI: "Is water actively leaking, or just when you use the sink?" Tenant: "Just when using the sink." RezX AI: "I can see the leak appears to be coming from the joint marked in your photo. How much water leaks out?" Tenant: "Just a few drops."

Based on the visual evidence, it then suggests a simple action the tenant can take to resolve the issue themselves.

RezX AI: "Okay. Have you tried to tighten the white plastic connection? It can often be hand-tightened."

This is a perfect example of how our AI can guide a tenant to perform a simple fix, potentially resolving the problem on the spot and mitigating the need to send out a contractor.

What's Next? Video Recognition.

This is just the beginning. Our next frontier is video recognition. We see that 8% of maintenance issues are initially reported by tenants using a video instead of photos. We are already working on enabling our AI to analyse these videos for even deeper insights and faster resolutions.

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to revolutionise property management with AI.