The excuse used to be “I never read it.” Now it is worse.

For years the line was, “My client never read the agreement, and somehow thinks that's a good excuse.” You knew how to handle that. You sat them down and read it together.

Here is the new version. Your client still has not read the agreement. But they asked AI what it means. And they even asked without uploading the agreement and without mentioning the state they are in. Not that uploading the agreement makes it much better. The bot, never one to disappoint, handed back a confident answer about “real estate” in general. Now your client is anchored to it.

It is in every part of the real estate transaction. It is in the buying and selling process, brokerage engagements, contracts, amendments, notices, and closing issues. Anywhere a person can sign without reading or act without independent thinking, they can now also misunderstand at scale, with bolded subsections, legal code citations, and footnotes.

Agents cannot ignore it. You are no longer only negotiating with your client and for your client. You are now negotiating with, and against, a robo-advisor. A third voice is in the room. It never read the document, does not know your state, holds no license, carries no liability, will not be at the closing table, and is engineered to tell your client what they want to hear. You have to out-prepare it.

How to spot it. The tells are consistent once you know them:

A clause that does not exist. They cite a paragraph or a number with total confidence. It is not in the form you actually use, or it belongs to a form year that retired editions ago.

Suspiciously jurisdiction-free language. “Generally, in most states, a buyer can…” Your client did not sign “most states.” They signed a specific document in one state.

A right with no home. They are certain they can cancel, walk, or owe nothing, but cannot point to where that right exists in the agreement they signed, because it lives in the chatbot's fan fiction about real estate, somewhere between Paragraph Made-Up and Subsection Wishful Thinking.

The chatbot format. Numbered, analogized, bolded, bulleted and em-dashed to the hilt. Hi - I see you there "thinking longer for a better answer."

How to be prepared. A few responses to keep in your pocket.

The delivery for these is over the top on purpose. The information underneath is real:

“I love that AI has opinions. Did you give it the agreement you actually signed, or did it improvise?”

“AI holds no license and no liability, and it will not stand next to you at closing. I will, and I read the whole thing, including the sentence after the one it quoted.”

“Your bot answered a great question about real estate in general. Our deal in this state and you signed this document. Let’s look at what you agreed to.”

How to handle it (the gracious version)

Here are some more professional options, written so it works no matter where the client got their information. Sometimes you have a strong suspicion but do not really know the source. It could be a chatbot. It could be that they phoned a friend, a cousin who flipped one house in 2009, or a confident coworker. The response is the same: let’s look at what you actually signed, in your actual state.

Acknowledge and anchor. “I love that you’re looking into this. The best thing we can do is read the exact words in the agreement you signed, here in [state], and make sure your understanding matches what is on the page. Let’s go through it together.”

When they cite a right or a rule that may not be there. “That is a common belief, and it is good that you are asking questions. Can you show me where in your agreement you are seeing that? I want to make sure we are on the same page.”

The jurisdiction reframe. “A lot of real estate advice out there was written for other states, and the rules really do change at the state line. Let’s make sure we are discussing how it works in [state], rather than generally.”

Position yourself as the one who read it. “Part of what you hired me for is to read every line of this and stand behind it. Let me walk you through some of the language.”

Before they act on it. “Before we make a move based on that, let’s confirm it in the agreement.”

The close that keeps the relationship. “You are smart to ask questions. Please keep asking them. If I do not have the answer, I will find you the right person to ask.”

Feel free to comment with your examples. Paste the confident-but-wrong advicewhether it came from a bot or a human. Strip the names, addresses, and numbers. Keep the chaos.

Share this with your colleagues so they send theirs too.

REALsmart Reminder: Your client brought backup. It has the confidence of a seasoned professional and the credentials of a toaster set on burn. You cannot unplug it, but you can be the only one in the room with a license, a pulse, and a seat at the closing table.

Cheryl Conner King

Founder & Instructor

REALsmart Real Estate School

Attorney | REALTOR® | CE Instructor

📍 Based in Georgia | Teaching Statewide