← All articles
How-toAugust 12, 20265 min read

4 AI workflows top agents run on autopilot, and how to set each one up

A practical setup guide for the four automations doing the heaviest lifting in 2026, from database mining to predictive direct mail.

Lauren C.By Lauren C.Contributing Writer
4 AI workflows top agents run on autopilot, and how to set each one up

Before you build anything

Our agentic prospecting overview covers why these four strategies work. This guide covers the how: the actual setup for each workflow, in the order the steps happen. Pick the one that matches your biggest leak and build that first. Nobody needs all four in month one.

Workflow 1: Database mining with Lofty's Homeowner Agent

Lofty's Homeowner Agent is an add-on to its CRM that mines your existing contacts for future sellers and nurtures them autonomously. Lofty claims a 45% email open rate in week one against a roughly 19% industry average, because the outreach is property reports, not newsletters.

  1. Activate the module. Homeowner Agent is native to Lofty, so there is no external tool or data sync. It is an add-on, so expect it on your quote rather than in the base price.
  2. Clean your pipeline stages first. Structure pipelines around the journey (new, attempting contact, nurture, warm, hot) rather than static labels like "sphere." The AI moves contacts between stages, so the stages need to mean something.
  3. Let enrichment run. The agent pulls estimated value, equity position, years of ownership, and occupancy status for every homeowner contact, then classifies each as Likely Seller, Absentee Owner, Pre-Foreclosure, or Long-Term Nurture. Classifications update as conditions change.
  4. Set active hours. Configure the AI's sending window to your market's time zone so a "your home value" text never lands at 3am. This lives in the Office AI Sales Agent settings.
  5. Turn on hand-off escalation. When a contact requests a CMA, asks for a valuation, or starts repeatedly viewing sold listings, the agent pauses automation, flags the lead, and alerts you to call. This toggle is the whole point: the AI nurtures, you close.

Workflow 2: Behavioral targeting on your IDX site

This workflow turns your home-search website into a behavioral intelligence layer. BoldTrail (the former kvCORE) is the best-known dedicated option, and Ylopo does a managed version of the same thing with its remarketing and Identity Graph.

  1. Get the IDX site live first. Connect your MLS credentials and coverage area, and install the mobile app so behavioral alerts reach you in the field.
  2. Enable behavioral lead scoring. The system ranks prospects on property views, login frequency, saved searches, and email opens. This score, not recency, becomes your call list order.
  3. Clone the default campaigns before editing. In BoldTrail, broker-level smart campaigns are locked, so clone them into editable copies and make sure the cloned campaign is toggled active.
  4. Build behavior-to-message rules. Viewed the same listing three times: send a personalized text about that house. Saved a search with a pool: send similar and off-market matches. First-time-buyer price band: start the first-timer sequence. The rule is always the same shape: specific behavior, specific response.
  5. Share the signal with your team. Pipe lead behavior notes to your ISA, transaction coordinator, and lender so the follow-up call references what the lead actually did.

Workflow 3: 60-second lead qualification with an AI voice agent

This is the most technical build of the four, wiring Retell AI to your lead sources through Make so every new lead gets a qualifying conversation within a minute. Retell is pay-as-you-go: $0.07 to $0.31 per minute of AI calling, $10 in free credits to start, and phone numbers at $2/mo.

  1. Create the voice agent. Sign up, create an agent, and pick a natural voice engine. Write a 3 to 4 sentence system prompt covering who the agent is, who it represents, and its opening line.
  2. Script the conversation nodes. Mirror a good human ISA: greeting, rapport, qualification questions, calendar check, close. Keep each node short, the AI handles the transitions.
  3. Define the data it must capture. Location, budget, financing readiness, timeline, and motivation, in the lead's own words. These become structured fields on the call transcript.
  4. Buy a local number. A standard local number through Retell runs about $2/mo. You can also route an existing office number via custom telephony if you have SIP infrastructure.
  5. Bridge it with Make. Create a Make scenario starting with a webhook that receives Retell's end-of-call payload: transcript, recording link, and the extracted fields.
  6. Add live calendar booking. Connect a scheduling tool like Cal.com so the agent can check availability mid-call and book the appointment while the lead is still on the line.
  7. Sync everything to your CRM. The final Make modules push the qualification data, transcript summary, and recording link onto the contact record, so you walk into every appointment already briefed.

Workflow 4: Predictive direct mail with SmartZip

SmartZip scores every home in your farm territory and automates the direct mail so your budget only reaches the homeowners most likely to list.

  1. Claim your territory. Define target neighborhoods or ZIP codes, and the platform scores every home from tax records, ownership length, and consumer data.
  2. Set up campaign branding once. In account settings, load your headshot, logo, business details, and disclaimer text. Every mail piece pulls from this profile automatically.
  3. Pick your creative. Choose postcard, handwritten-style note, or just-listed layouts from the template library and apply your branding profile.
  4. Put a QR code on everything. Link mail pieces to a landing page offering an automated home valuation or market report. That page is your lead capture, so test the form before approving the run.
  5. Schedule the year, not the week. Set a recurring mail cadence up to a year out. SmartZip only bills when a batch exports for printing, and you can edit or pull properties from future batches until the print deadline at no cost.

The one rule across all four

Automation without a hand-off plan just annoys people faster. Every workflow above ends the same way: the AI detects intent, stops talking, and hands the human a briefed, warm conversation.

Start with one workflow, run it for 90 days, and measure conversations created, not messages sent. If you are not sure which fits your business, ask Nova for a stack matched to your budget, or start with our 10 best AI tools guide for the wider picture.