New Research Reveals Where AI Works in Maintenance and Where It Costs Renewals

Independent study of multifamily residents, commissioned by HappyCo, reveals 11-point renewal gap when AI is the primary service channel and the moments automation can’t replace

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HappyCo today released "Beyond the Bot: What Residents Really Want From AI in Maintenance," independent research examining how AI interactions – chatbots or voice agents – shape the maintenance experience and influence renewal intent.

Surveying multifamily residents across North America, the report reveals that while 82% prefer to interact with a human first when an urgent maintenance issue arises, 67% are comfortable using AI for general questions – pointing to a hybrid approach where deployment strategy matters as much as the technology itself.

“Multifamily might be betting big on AI, but are residents sold?” said Ben Nowacky, President at HappyCo. “That’s not a rhetorical question — and the industry has had plenty of opinions, but very little resident-backed data behind it. So we went straight to the source.”

Resident comfort with AI drops as urgency rises

The findings arrive as the industry debates the pace and scope of AI adoption. Recent surveys of multifamily executives show confidence that automation is improving resident satisfaction – but those studies measure operator perception, not resident experience.

Residents are more selective than those surveys suggest. While 67% are comfortable using AI for general questions, that drops to 53% for routine maintenance, 36% for rent and billing inquiries, and just 30% for reporting emergencies – and in this survey, 51% of issues residents reported qualified as emergencies.

Even among residents who have used chatbots or voice agents for maintenance before, 74% still prefer a human first in emergencies. The full report breaks down comfort levels across five interaction types and reveals why empathy – not efficiency – drives resident perception of service quality.

The renewal gap that satisfaction scores miss

Process satisfaction scores are nearly identical whether residents interact with humans or AI. Renewal intent is not. Residents with access to human support are 11 percentage points more likely to renew their lease than those at properties where AI is the primary channel – a gap that can translate to hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual turnover costs for a 1,000-unit portfolio.

The research points to a deployment model where AI handles backend operations – smart routing, predictive scheduling, automated triage – while humans remain available for emergencies and complex issues. With occupancy under pressure and concessions climbing, protecting renewals requires more than efficiency gains alone.

"Operators don't have to choose between efficiency and experience,” added Nowacky. “This research shows exactly where AI delivers value and where human availability protects the bottom line."

To access the full research report, including demographic analysis, anecdotal resident insights, and data across five interaction types, visit happy.co/ai-report.

About HappyCo

HappyCo is a multifamily operations platform serving over 5.5 million units. The platform connects inspections, maintenance, and resident experience into a single system of record – giving operators the tools to deploy AI where it drives efficiency while keeping humans available for the moments that protect renewals. HappyCo is SOC 2 Type II certified. Learn more at happy.co.

Research Methodology

This independent research surveyed multifamily residents across North America in May 2025. All respondents currently rent and submitted at least one maintenance request in the past year. HappyCo commissioned this research; Freed Vance Research Group conducted data collection and analysis.