Multifamily Unpacked

In this episode of The Report, Alex Howe, SVP Marketing + Growth, Funnel and Tyler Christiansen, CEO, Funnel share the results of a study they commissioned to answer a simple question: how does Funnel's AI stack up against the biggest names in the industry? 

In the spirit of the world's best teams competing at the highest level, they put Funnel's voice and chat AI to the test — independently, blindly, and against competitors' best examples.

Funnel won every single matchup. The more interesting story is why — and what it signals about where multifamily AI is headed.

The setup:

By the numbers:

Four themes renters mentioned often

In this episode of The Report, Alex Howe, SVP Marketing + Growth, Funnel and Tyler Christiansen, CEO, Funnel share the results of a study they commissioned to answer a simple question: how does Funnel's AI stack up against the biggest names in the industry? 

In the spirit of the world's best teams competing at the highest level, they put Funnel's voice and chat AI to the test — independently, blindly, and against competitors' best examples.

Funnel won every single matchup. The more interesting story is why — and what it signals about where multifamily AI is headed.

The setup:

• An independent research firm ran six blind, head-to-head studies in April and May

• 169 real American renters tested Funnel’s chat and voice AI against three major competitors: two legacy property management platforms and a self-described "AI leader" in multifamily

• Renters had 30 minutes and a broad mandate: schedule a tour, ask about pet policies, and interrupt the voice AI mid-sentence to see how it responded

By the numbers:

• Funnel won all six head-to-head matchups

• Nearly 3 in 4 renters preferred Funnel's chat AI; 2 in 3 preferred Funnel's voice AI

• 81% said Funnel felt more knowledgeable in chat; 67% said the same in voice

• In chat AI, Funnel outperformed the competition by 6-27% in renter satisfaction and 7-52% in human-likeness.

• In voice AI, Funnel outperformed the competition by 5-10% in renter satisfaction and 4-27% in human-likeness.

Four themes renters mentioned often

• Warmth. Competitors were described as "abrupt," "formal," and — my personal favorite — "the audio version of a brochure."

• Transparency. Funnel answered questions about fees, breed restrictions, and community specifics directly in the conversation. Competitors sent renters to links. Renters noticed, and they didn't like it.

• The ability to actually listen. In voice, renters could interrupt Funnel, pause, change direction — and Funnel kept up. Competitors talked over them. That was the single biggest complaint in the voice study.

• Anticipation. Funnel volunteered relevant details before renters had to ask. It felt like the AI was thinking ahead, not just responding.

Fresh off Forum 2026, Alex Howe, SVP of Marketing and Growth and Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, break down the biggest ideas, conversations, and moments from this year’s event. They cover what stood out from sessions with Clay Bavor, Jay Parsons, Kristy Simonett, Mia Hamm, and others, along with what operators should be paying attention to right now around AI, market conditions, leadership, and change. 

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

In this episode, Alex Howe, SVP Marketing + Growth, at Funnel talks with Tyler Christiansen, CEO, Funnel about what RETTC Tech Executive Summit revealed, and why execution beats hype. They break down the first rent payment inside ChatGPT with BH Management, what “agentic AI” really requires (guardrails, auditability, trust), and why operators can’t automate their way out of a broken operating model. They close on the workforce and policy realities shaping the year ahead and the playbook that’s emerging: standardize the work, then automate what’s repeatable, and keep humans focused on the moments that actually need judgment and care.

If you enjoyed this conversation, you’ll love Forum. Register today. 

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

In this episode of Multifamily Unpacked, Nikki Hand, Chief Product Officer and Chief Customer Officer at Funnel, shares how specialization, centralization, and human-centered AI are reshaping multifamily operations. Nikki reflects on Funnel’s evolution since 2020, the industry’s shift to the new operating model, and why AI works best as a teammate, not a replacement. 

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

If you enjoyed learning about centralization, AI, and what the new operating model means for the future of multifamily, you'd love Forum. Register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

In this episode, Tesho Akindele — former MLS forward turned developer and community-builder at Camp North End in Charlotte, NC — joins us to share how reading Walkable City inspired his mission to design neighborhoods where people can truly live, work, and connect on foot. That vision led him to help transform a fenced-off industrial site into a thriving, mixed-use community. Along the way, he unpacks zoning, NIMBY challenges, and how technology helps deliver hospitality at Camp North End. Let’s kick it off.

What you’ll learn: 

If you enjoyed this episode, you'd love Forum. Register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

Recorded right after NMHC Annual, this episode looks past the noise to what’s actually shaping multifamily right now. Alex Howe, SVP Marketing + Growth at Funnel, and Tyler Christiansen, CEO of Funnel, unpack how sustained cost pressure is driving real operating decisions, why early AI hype cooled, and where AI is finally delivering value inside centralized workflows. They break down what the recent coverage reveals about competing visions for AI, explore how capital consolidation and policy signals are influencing operator behavior, and close with why ZRS Management’s decision to standardize on Funnel across 110,000+ units is a signal worth paying attention to.

Forum registration is filling up, register today. https://meet.funnelleasing.com/forum-2026-registration

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

Rather than chasing novelty, Mallory Sheibley, Lead Product Manager - AI at Funnel, is focused on building something more difficult and more durable; AI that improves outcomes in a people-first, highly regulated industry without stripping away judgment, trust, or accountability.

In this episode we cover: 

What AI is actually for: Reducing repetitive work so teams can focus on judgment, empathy, and relationships.

Building AI for high-trust, regulated work: Clear guardrails and human review are what make AI usable at scale.

Why “self-learning” AI is mostly a myth: Autonomous learning sounds efficient but introduces risk without oversight.

Perfecting the handoff, the hardest design problem in AI: Knowing when the system should act and when it should step aside.

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

In this rebroadcast of the Apartment Jedi podcast, Funnel CEO Tyler Christiansen joins host Andrew Bowen for a wide-angle look at the operating-model shift reshaping multifamily. They cover where centralization and specialization actually stand today, how AI is evolving from simple automation to agentic systems, and why brand power is finally emerging as a real economic lever in rental housing.

Tyler breaks down what he’s seeing across REITs, large fee managers, and early-stage adopters: which operating behaviors are sticking, where friction remains, and how the next generation of workflows will change staffing, service levels, and resident expectations. He also explains why winners and losers will separate faster than most expect — and what operators should be preparing for now.

You’ll learn:

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too. 

This episode is a rebroadcast of The Rent Roll and brings together two of the clearest thinkers in rental housing.

First up is your host, Jay Parsons, economist, advisor, and creator of The Rent Roll, a top-ranked podcast known for breaking down market trends, operator realities, and the forces shaping rental housing.

He’s joined by Tyler Christensen, CEO of Funnel, who works directly with the industry’s largest operators to help translate this moment — AI adoption, centralization, and new operating models — into practical changes for teams and workflows.

You’ll learn: 

To stay up-to-date follow Funnel on Linkedin and connect with Tyler there, too.