What does great service actually feel like?
Omotenashi.
It's probably one of my favorite Japanese words. Loosely, it means anticipating what someone needs before they have to ask.
The idea runs deeper than good manners. It describes care offered wholeheartedly, without expecting anything back, where the host has already thought about you before you walked in. You experience it as ease. Nothing you needed required asking for.
You see it at a sushi counter, where the next piece arrives exactly when you're ready for it and nothing had to be said. We've all felt it somewhere.
Where does this already show up in real estate?
In the best agents, constantly, and mostly without them noticing.
Great agents basically do this without even knowing it. They send the document before the client thinks to chase it. They call the lender Thursday because Friday would be too late. They notice a client went quiet after the inspection and pick up the phone. It's the same instinct behind showing up when it counts.
None of that sits on a checklist. It's accumulated instinct, built by going through it enough times to see what's coming.
What would that look like in software?
A great AI transaction assistant should do the same.
Not just waiting for instructions, but recognizing what needs attention next. That's the line between a tool you operate and one that participates. It's the same argument as knowing what to ask next instead of recording what was said.
The bar isn't "did it do what I told it." The bar is "did it catch the thing I hadn't gotten to." Those are different products, and only one of them earns the word assistant.
Doesn't that take something away from the agent?
Just the opposite, and that's the whole point.
Omotenashi is a human art. No software feels a client's hesitation on a call. What software can do is clear the ground, handling the dates and documents and follow-ups, so the agent has attention left for the part only a person can do.
Technology in general should give agents more room to practice great service, not get in the way of it. That's what I want from every tool we build.
That's the ask.
Quick takes
What does omotenashi mean?
Omotenashi is a Japanese idea of hospitality: anticipating what someone needs before they have to ask, offered wholeheartedly and without expecting anything in return. You experience it as ease, because nothing you needed had to be requested.
How does omotenashi apply to real estate agents?
The best agents already work this way without naming it. They send the document before the client asks, call the lender a day early, and notice when a client goes quiet after an inspection. It is accumulated instinct rather than a checklist.
What should an AI transaction assistant do differently?
Judd Hoffman argues it should recognize what needs attention next rather than wait for instructions, and clear the routine ground so the agent has attention left for the judgment only a person can bring.
Sources
- Ask the Next Question: The mechanics of the same idea: an assistant that knows what to ask next rather than recording what was said.
- Show Up When It Counts: On the moments in a transaction where presence matters most, which is where anticipation earns its keep.
Transcript
77 words
Omotenashi. It's probably one of my favorite Japanese words, loosely meaning it means anticipating what someone needs before they have to ask. We've all experienced this. Great real estate agents, they basically do this without even knowing it. A great AI transaction assistant should do the same, not just waiting for instructions, but recognize what needs attention next. Technology in general, everybody, gives agents more room to practice great service, not get in the way of it.
