The future of multifamily AI takes flight nowThe AI that acts: Clay Bavor on why the current AI wave will flip multifamily operations on its head
When Clay Bavor talks AI, he’s not pitching fantasy. He’s outlining the inevitable. The Sierra co-founder and former head of Google Labs took the stage at Forum 2025 to explain why agentic AI—AI that doesn’t just respond but acts—is the next great operational unlock for multifamily operators.
Here at Fenix, we are entirely obsessed with one thing—building the best standalone AI solution for multifamily. That’s where our exclusive partnership with Sierra comes in, and why we choose to work with one of the top 50 AI companies IN THE WORLD.
Inception, but make it operational
“I’ve been obsessed with computers all of my life. And over the past five years, I feel like I’ve been seeing science fiction books come alive in the real world,” Bavor said.
He recalled testing an early large language model: “We asked it to describe the 2008 financial crisis using movie references. Without skipping a beat, it said, ‘It was like Inception, except instead of dreams within dreams, it was debt within debt.’”
That moment? The spark that led to Sierra—and the dawn of a new operating paradigm.
Less chatbot, more executor
“Think less chatbot, more autonomous co-pilot,” Bavor explained when referencing the Sierra, and what this partnership means for the future of multifamily operations.
That’s the difference between AI that just answers and AI that actually gets things done: Schedules tours. Handles multilingual convos. Sends renewal nudges. Follows up when a renter ghosts you—without ghosting them first.
Stand alone AI solutions allow operators to take the first step in their centralization journey by unburdening their teams with repetitive tasks. Instead of being burried in follow-up team members can focus on customer service creating both a better renter/resident experience as well as a better team experience.
“Making a human connection…or taking time to lead a guided tour and share anecdotes—that’s useful,” said Bavor. “What isn’t useful: Spending five minutes manually scheduling the 73rd tour of the day.”
“Making a human connection…or taking time to lead a guided tour and share anecdotes—that’s useful. What isn’t useful: Spending five minutes manually scheduling the 73rd tour of the day.”
—Clay Bavor, co-founder, Sierra
Agentic AI doesn’t replace your leasing team. It makes sure their time isn’t wasted.
Built to handle renters, weird pets, and weirder questions
Multifamily is messy. Every floor plan, fee, and pet policy is a test of logic. And renters? They’re unpredictable in the best (and ask anyone who has ever worked on-site sometimes the worst) ways.
“What if the renter has a family, or a pet iguana? What unit works best for them? What policies apply?” Bavor asked. “AI should be able to answer those questions conversationally—and accurately.”
Spoiler: Fenix does.
Real results (and a fake guy named Duncan)
Sierra’s agentic AI already runs point for brands like SiriusXM and Chubbies. (Chubbies with their slightly irreverent brand even built a persona named Duncan Smothers—don’t ask how they came up with the name, we don’t know either.)
In multifamily, that kind of personality-meets-performance AI means:
- Reduced contact center overhead
- Faster response times
- Renter interactions that actually feel… personal
- Teams that are free to focus on high-value customer service
- Better team and renter experiences
“At about the 70% resolution rate, we’ve seen companies reduce contact center hours by 50%,” said Bavor. This allows them to reconfigure how they staff and the priorities they assign their teams.
“At about the 70% resolution rate, we’ve seen companies reduce contact center hours by 50%.”
—Clay Bavor
Always-on, even during chaos
Peak leasing season causing stress? Hurricane wipes out your call center? No problem.
“One of our customers had their entire scheduling team go offline during a hurricane. The AI picked up and kept scheduling deliveries without missing a beat,” Bavor said.
Fenix doesn’t call in sick.
Doesn’t take PTO.
Doesn’t break a sweat.
You only pay for outcomes (not “AI fees”)
We don’t believe in fluff fees. We believe in optional resolution-based pricing for the leaders of this industry who are curious about only paying for work that actually gets done.
“You’re hiring software to do a job. If it doesn’t complete the task, you don’t pay,” said Bavor “That’s how aligned incentives should work.”
“You’re hiring software to do a job. If it doesn’t complete the task, you don’t pay. That’s how aligned incentives should work.”
—Clay Bavor
That’s how Fenix customers have the option to pay too. If the agent doesn’t convert, schedule, answer, or resolve? You don’t pay. Simple. Want to learn more on resolution-based pricing, go here.
Authentication: identity meets intelligence
Other AI solutions: “Hi, can you tell me your name, email, lease term, dog’s birthday, mother’s maiden name, and shoe size?”
Let’s skip that. Agentic AI should know who it’s talking to—and tailor the conversation.
“We use token-based authentication or ask a few verification questions, then provide answers specific to that individual,” said Bavor.
Fenix goes even further, real personalization, in 20+ languages. Mandarin? French? Spanish? You got it.
Referring to a recent Fenix client leveraging the Sierra partnership Bavor shared: “The agent recently scheduled an appointment in Mandarin. Most of you don’t staff Mandarin agents 24/7. AI can do that.”
“The agent recently scheduled an appointment in Mandarin. Most of you don’t staff Mandarin agents 24/7. AI can do that.”
—Clay Bavor, co-founder, Sierra
What’s hype and what’s real?
“AI is overhyped… and also massively underhyped.”
—Clay Bavor, co-founder, Sierra
What did he mean by that?
- Overhyped: AI as a silver bullet.
- Underhyped: AI is the quiet workhorse that rewires operations while you sleep.
“Imagine a PhD in every field of knowledge just showed up and is ready to do research, write, or assist,” said Bavor. “That’s what it feels like right now in AI.”
The future of multifamily AI takes flight now
Fenix is the standalone AI solution multifamily leaders demand: It can make your teams day-to-day streamlined, allows them to focus on high-value work, and gives your renters a natural conversational customer experience. Plus, it’s a path forward to the new operating model and a full suite of Renter Management Software that is fully integrated to work with the Fenix suite.
What we believe:
AI should act, not wait for prompts.
Operators deserve outcomes, not empty dashboards.
Renters deserve better than ghosted leads and hold music while yelling “representative.”
If you are tired of hearing “it’s coming” and ready to hear “it’s live” from your AI partner, then Fenix is for you. (And it’s already showing up to work.)