Automating my own desk

The problem. Settling real estate transactions meant checking every file against long SOPs by hand, with money on the line.

What I did. I was the only person on my team using AI every day. I fed ChatGPT our SOPs and transaction documents so it could draft the first pass of each review, used it to double-check settlement math, and built custom GPTs for the repeat work. I kept pushing for the team to use it too.

What changed. In April 2025 I was the company's top ChatGPT user. The next month I was promoted to Principal on the automation team, about ten months after I started.

What I learned. Even with it working at the next desk, most people didn't pick it up on their own. A tool needs a rollout, not just a launch. That's why everything I've built since starts with testing alongside real users.