To say that multifamily marketers are hyped about using AI to upgrade their apartment's virtual tours would be an understatement.
Attend any conference or browse LinkedIn, and you'll see the buzz everywhere:
"No more having to pay for expensive editing. Upgrade your photos with AI in seconds!"
"Here are the perfect AI prompts for virtual staging your unit photos!"
While relying on AI staging or image adjustments is certainly a tempting opportunity for time-strapped multifamily marketers with limited budgets, there's also pitfalls that can't be ignored.
AI can set online expectations that don't match your apartment's in-person reality. And without careful use of the tool, you risk renters' trust.
We’re not here to quiet the hype—we’re here to help apartment marketers use AI staging and image editing in a way that balances the benefits while keeping a community’s visuals authentic.
Despite what you may read, AI is not a replacement for photographers or videographers. And no matter how you use it, the fact remains: anything AI-enhanced or AI-generated introduces an element of falseness.
Let's clarify something right away—the difference between AI-enhanced and AI-generated images.
AI-enhanced = real images improved with AI
AI-generated = images made entirely by AI
If you take a selfie with your iPhone, for example, you can click a button for AI to enhance your photo, like applying a filter or removing people and objects from the background.
Is that AI-enhanced selfie a real photo? Yes—you took it with your camera. But is it a true representation? Not exactly—but you don’t have to account for authenticity in that moment. You might send the photo to friends, family, or post it on Instagram. You’re just trying to show your best version of yourself in a single moment from the best angle with the best lighting—and we all do it. It’s what social media thrives on.
Now, if you put that selfie—a real photo—into ChatGPT or another AI tool and prompt it to place you in the cast of Friends, what it generates will be completely fabricated. Even if it’s just for fun, you’ve crossed the line of authenticity. The difference is that, in this case, there’s no reputation cost to you.
The line between what’s right and wrong with AI in apartment media is incredibly small—but it matters more than ever because many operators are already crossing that line of authenticity right now.
With apartment media, using AI to generate visuals or staging that completely fabricates the online representation of your apartments comes with serious costs because your photos and videos are no longer based in reality.
Routinely passing off AI-generated media to attract renters to your property under false pretenses creates a bait-and-switch that damages your reputation and bottom line. In apartment leasing, fakeness simply isn’t acceptable.
However, using AI to enhance or virtually stage real photos and videos of your apartments—and making that AI use explicitly clear to renters—is a responsible approach.
Let’s break down some use cases where AI virtual tours and staging are “acceptable” to renters.
You’re probably already using AI to adjust lighting or color balance without realizing it. Many editing tools today—like Canva, Adobe Lightroom, or even your iPhone’s built-in photo editor—have AI capabilities baked in.
Using AI to correct color or lighting doesn’t need disclosure. You’re not changing what’s in the photo itself—you’re just making simple adjustments that help the image “pop.” This is perhaps the most acceptable and applicable use of AI.
When opening a new community or undergoing a major renovation, you need a way for prospects to visualize what the apartments will look like—and start generating early interest.
Used correctly, AI can help create enticing visuals for your “Coming Soon” page or pre-leasing campaign without compromising renters’ trust.
If you already have a rendering from your architect, it’s reasonable to create an AI-enhanced virtual tour from it. Likewise, if you own a similar property, AI can adjust those photos or videos to reflect the finishes or setting of your upcoming project.
In both cases, you’re showing a version of reality that doesn’t yet exist—but when you’re early in a lease-up or major renovation, renters are more likely to understand 'why' you're using AI.
This is perhaps the most common—but also riskiest—use of AI in apartment marketing.
A marketer uploads a real photo of an empty unit into an AI tool, prompts it to add furniture, and hopes it makes the space more inviting to renters.
Is AI-assisted virtual staging unethical? Not necessarily.
But even the best AI tools can make subtle but significant errors that distort reality. Even when you feed it real images, AI might alter essential details or add inconsistent elements that renters will notice.
We’ve seen AI staging unintentionally alter critical details, such as:
These inconsistencies—while small—can still break trust when renters tour in person. And no cleverly-worded prompt AI experts recommend can prevent those inconsistencies from occurring.
So while AI virtual staging can make units feel more inviting online and help you save money on using real furniture, it’s far from foolproof.
The key is clear AI disclosure.
Renters must know these AI-enhanced virtual tours and staging are representations of what’s coming or what could be, not depictions of what’s there now.
Every AI or staged photo should include a watermark or note indicating that it’s been virtually enhanced. And ideally, you should display the real, empty-unit photo next to the staged version.
Unfortunately, this is often neglected by marketers who update their websites and ads to display an AI-enhanced image of a renovation rather than the real image of the current setup.
Without disclosure they're purposefully misleading renters by making an apartment community appear better than it actually is—a clear violation of trust.
Once construction or renovation is complete, you need to update your community's photos and videos so online expectations match real experience. Continuing with AI-enhanced placeholders by that point crosses the line of authenticity.
Imagine you’re marketing an apartment community in the middle of Ohio. You’ve got a great shot of your outdoor pool—but decide it might look even better if it were taken at dusk instead of mid-day.
You read that AI can replace the sky in your photo and decide to give it a try. “Replace the sky in this photo to have a sunset,” you prompt ChatGPT.
What comes back looks beautiful, so you swap the new image onto your website.
Then, a couple of days later, you get the call:
“Do you realize the image of your pool on your homepage has palm trees in it?”
Yeah—palm trees don’t grow in Ohio.
Even small enhancements—like swapping the sky—can lead to AI inventing trees, buildings, or other details that simply don’t exist. Or the AI tool can alter the structure of your property by removing or adding balconies, windows, and other real features for no apparent reason.
When that happens, you’ve crossed into unethical territory because these altered elements misrepresent your community's real appearance and environment.
You care about your visuals—they influence everything from your marketing performance to how prospects perceive your property. So it’s natural to want them to look perfect.
But no property is perfect.
Your photographer might capture a few things you wish weren’t there: an electrical box by the grill area, a storm drain near your entrance, or a patch of aging concrete.
Using AI to erase or remove unappealing permanent fixtures is an unethical way to edit your apartment's photos and videos, even if those details seem minor. If a feature exists in reality, editing them out tells renters something untrue about what they’ll see when they arrive.
It’s one thing to brighten a photo or fix lighting. It’s another to digitally alter the truth.
One of the biggest problems with AI staging is that it defaults to "luxury everything."
Say you operate a B- or C-class community with older finishes and more affordable rent. AI doesn’t care—if you ask it to stage your units, it'll throw in designer furniture, lighting, and high-end appliances that don’t reflect reality.
We’ve even seen AI create furniture or decor that doesn’t exist anywhere in the real world.
Even if you disclose AI use, this kind of staging can feel disingenuous. Renters notice when a photo doesn’t align with your community's rent range or what they'd expect to see in-person.
Avoid AI staging that overpromises. If it's absolutely essential that you use AI to virtually stage empty unit photos, instruct it to use furniture, lighting, and styling that reflect your real renter persona. It’s better to be authentic and trustworthy than to look “perfect” but fake.
Despite all the buzz about AI, be careful about how—and when—you apply it to your apartment’s virtual tours and staging.
Use AI sparingly and purposefully—such as when you’re opening a new community or undergoing a major renovation. In those moments, it’s acceptable to use digitally created or enhanced visuals to help renters visualize what’s coming before it’s ready.
Whenever you use AI, though, transparency is non-negotiable. Always watermark or clearly disclose AI use so renters understand that what they’re seeing isn’t an exact representation of your community’s reality.
Go one step further: display the AI-enhanced photo next to the original. Renters deserve that level of clarity, and it shows integrity.
AI tools aren’t perfect, so review everything they produce before publishing. A single error—like palm trees appearing in the middle of Ohio—can damage credibility far more than it helps presentation.
And finally—though it almost goes without saying—the best virtual tours are always the real ones. Nothing beats genuine, professional photos and videos of your actual apartments.
That’s where we come in. RentVision’s Virtual Tours showcase every floorplan, amenity, and exterior with authenticity—helping renters see exactly what they’ll experience in person, and giving them the confidence to lease without having to drive to the property.