Topher Stephenson | CRE AI, Ops, Marketing

How can you master AI in CRE when everything's changing so fast? We've built a solution for that. Here's what we're doing👇 I've been showing AI tips & tactics CRE pros for over 2 years in the form of presentations, newsletters and social media posts, and I get similar feedback across the board: "Those are cool examples and I want to use AI but I have NO idea where to start." "I need a place where I can learn to do this stuff from start to finish" "I took an AI course but it felt out of date by the time I finished it." "I'm using AI but I keep getting lost and I have SO MANY QUESTIONS." So I've teamed up with Jonathan Buckelew (VP of Asset Management at PEAK) and Nadine Ezzie (CRE Attorney, AI Consultant, former tech exec) to build the comprehensive platform where you can learn to master AI for CRE, using the same formats WE'VE used to learn to leverage tech in our industry. ⚡ Weekly step-by-step video lessons, showing you how to streamline your CRE workflows from start to finish using AI & automations. ✋ LIVE training sessions so you can get real time feedback from us and your peers as you build out AI X CRE automations. 🚀 On-demand Q&A: All your AI questions - Answered, by CRE professionals using this technology every day in the field, and helping others do the same. This is NOT some pre-recorded course that'll be out of date as soon as you finish it. As AI continues to evolve and progress, so will our lessons, keeping you on the cutting edge every step of the way. 🔴 🔴 To do this right, we can only let 150 CRE pros in on the initial offering. And we already have 71 people signed up 👀 👀 If you're in the Commercial Real Estate Industry and want to take your AI skills to the next level, you can claim your spot at CRE AI Studio at the link in the comments 👇 I hope we'll see you in the studio!

I’ve really enjoyed, and have been impressed with OpenClaw. But something nice about Claude Dispatch is that it just works completely predictably and at no point do you feel the urge to smash your phone against a wall.

@HottleJared Ironically this tweet reads like I wrote it with AI but I was really just in a hurry lol

@TopherNOW This is my experience as well. Feel very behind until I realize my peers are still using it just to write listing descriptions and rewrite emails. 😂

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the speed AI is moving. But I attended a large gathering, AI kept coming up: No one had used deep research No one had heard of a skill MCP: No clue If you’re using it to do something useful in your business, you’re probably ahead of most.

@DallasAptGP Impressive setup. Do you have others in your firm on Claude Code?

We built a system where Claude knows our entire company before I type a word. Three operating companies. 50+ properties. Full context on every session. Three tools. Any small business can build this. Most business owners use AI the same way every time. Open Claude. Re-explain the business. Re-explain the team. Re-explain the numbers. Then ask the question. You're onboarding the same employee every morning. We fixed this. Claude now knows the full operation before I type a word. Start with your most important company knowledge. Turn each topic into its own markdown file. Markdown is simple text that AI reads clean. Think about what you re-explain over and over. How your business makes money. Your org chart and who owns what. Your pricing. Key metrics for each team member. Your sales process. Your brand voice. One topic per file. Keep them short. Put everything in Obsidian. It's free. Files stay on your computer. Nothing goes to the cloud. Think of it as a filing cabinet on your own hard drive that AI can search in milliseconds. Here's what makes it work. Every file connects to related files through tagged links called wikilinks. When you ask Claude about a specific client, it doesn't just find the client file. It pulls every project, contract, invoice, and note tied to that client. One question. Full picture. Then connect Claude Code. It works like the regular Claude desktop app with one difference. It has the keys to your filing cabinet. Claude Code reads files right off your computer. No uploads. No cloud. No file size limits. Your financials, client data, and internal strategy never leave your machine. For business owners who won't put sensitive data on someone else's server, this solves the problem. Most people I know spend $100 to $200 a month on Claude. If you're already paying that, you should be getting more out of it than a chatbot that forgets who you are every session. Some of you already use Claude Projects. Good. That puts you ahead of most people. Projects let you upload files and give Claude a custom instruction set. For small tasks, it works. If you have a handful of documents and a clear use case, Projects is the right starting point. But it has a ceiling. Upload limits cap how much context you can load. Your files live on Anthropic's servers. And every project is its own silo. Your sales project doesn't talk to your ops project. Your finance files don't connect to your team files. The Obsidian setup removes all three limits. No upload cap. Files stay on your machine. And every file links to every related file across your whole company. The last piece is one instruction file. It tells Claude how your company works, what role it plays, and how to navigate the knowledge base. Think of it as the onboarding doc you'd hand a senior executive on day one. Except this executive never forgets it. Once it's built, every session starts with full context. Claude knows your team. Your numbers. Your processes. You skip the setup. You go straight to the work. Three tools. Obsidian (free). Claude Code (you're already paying for it). One instruction file. If you run a business and you're still re-explaining yourself to AI every session, you're leaving speed on the table.

I know it’s an extra cost but there’s benefits to paying for Chat+ whatever your LLM of choice is. I keep busting the limits on Claude but now my OpenClaw can use my Chat account all it wants as it’s otherwise mostly unused, instead of paying for API credits. Plus it’s still my go to for writing prompts for other advanced AI features or tools

2026 will always be the year I committed to a lot of Q1 travel and accidentally missed most of the northeast winter weather. Oops.

@Kevinkrone Do you use Starlink?

@TopherNOW At 5 dollars per day I think the starlink mini would save you both in security and convenience. Depending on travel days and ability to reevaluate with their mini dish

Serious question for the internet: Does premium internet access at hotels actually exist? I've tried to upgrade in the middle of a stay multiple times and have been told there's nothing to upgrade to.

@paulswaney3 I’d really be fine with enough cheese to share my screen on a Teams meeting

This is the extra cheese problem How do you know if you’re getting extra cheese

You're not just using AI. “You are building out your team.” That's how Student Housing broker, @adamstatonsmith, framed OpenClaw on yesterday's live session in CRE AI Studio His system breaks into 5 agents, helping with everything from: • Chief of Staff (triage + priorities) • Research (market intel + comps) • Database (enrichment + seller flags) • Recruiting (who to hire + why) • Call Prep (telling him who to call, and why now) Adam's biggest takeaway from the past 60 days: OpenClaw breaks… and you learn by fixing it. That’s the unlock. Check out the full session at creaistudio.com (7 day free trials still available)

@adamstatonsmith Thanks for maxing out our attendee capacity on a live session for the first time 🤣

I am leading our office in listings/escrows/BOV’s. I don’t think that’s coincidental. AI is a cheat code for real estate. Thanks for having me on Topher

I don’t drive much and just filled my car for the first time in a while. Hot damn I see what you’ve all been complaining about now.

@dmfenton Bought a new one a month ago and realized like a day outside the return window it’s not enough 🥲

I’m going to need a bigger MacBook

@adamstatonsmith @laureneobreza That was without a doubt, one of the best yet.

@laureneobreza @TopherNOW keep testing, keep breaking, keep exploring. be curious. it will get you further than you expect.

Going live with @adamstatonsmith to talk all things OpenClaw at 1PM EST today. He’s built an AI prospecting workflow that: • Pulls 500+ signals to database properties & owners • Scores owners by seller intent • Generates a daily outreach list We’ll dig into: • How he set it up, and how he's using it • What OpenClaw can and can't do yet • Prospecting + outreach workflows that actually move the needle • Live Q&A Join us at creaistudio.com (Free 7 day pass at that link)

@msrodtn @JakehellerAI Appreciate the kind words Michael

It’s been encouraging to see @TopherNOW @JakehellerAI share their CRE AI workflows. Been silently watching for a few weeks as we’ve been building our work projects - thanks for the inspo to start posting!

Been tinkering for a few hours… we’re unlocking insane capabilities with this. 🤯 Soon, we’ll be able to have our agent look through any market we give it and find parcels that match our exact criteria - including feasibility, demographics, zoning & ordinances, etc. Overlaying real time traffic, Placer data, FEMA zones, Census tract & ARCgis figures, and so much more. 20-40hrs worth of single site selection work sped up into a few hours. And the best part is, it’ll continue learning how to identity sites through our eyes with in-depth feedback loops baked in. The goal: triple our national single tenant development projects in 1yr. The race is on ⏰ #retwit

Chatting this morning with @TopherNOW on all things OpenClaw and how it has transformed my Brokerage career

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to speak on AI in CRE at the econic company's Retail Summit. Feels awesome to be in a room of people who are hungry to leverage technology, especially in a region that’s been shaping innovation for decades. This was an incredible conference, from the speakers & insights, to the attendees and even the venue (the Computer History Museum). Huge thanks to Carol Chung, James Chung, and Josh Shumsky for having me, and for putting on such an outstanding event!