Does an automatic first text mean you reply fast enough?
Only the first part. Many of the lead systems agents use can send an automatic text the moment a lead arrives, so the first touch is often fast. The gap is what happens when the lead texts back, and in the weeks after if they do not.
If your team already has an auto-text on, that is good news. This post looks at the next step: the reply, the follow-up and the owner of each lead.
What does the automatic first text actually do?
An automatic first text confirms the inquiry and opens a thread with the lead. Follow Up Boss, for example, lets account owners set up an initial text for new leads on its Lead Flow page (Follow Up Boss product update, January 2025). Other systems have their own versions. Check what yours does: whether it is switched on, which lead sources trigger it, and exactly what it says.
That first message is worth having. But a fixed template is not a conversation. It cannot answer whether there is parking, or whether Sunday works instead of Saturday, and the buyer can usually tell they are talking to a form.
Want to know what to do next with AI? Book your AI Review.
Why do leads go quiet after the first text?
When a buyer replies, they expect a real answer. That reply often lands while the agent is at a showing, driving between listings, or off for the night.
Research on reply times shows how long that wait can be. In Mike DelPrete's 2024 secret-shopper study of more than 25 US brokerages, nearly half of online inquiries (47%) got no answer. The median reply time was 39 minutes and the average was 8 hours and 17 minutes, even though every inquiry was sent during weekday business hours.
An automatic first text can hide this problem. Your system shows the lead as contacted, so it looks handled, while the buyer's question sits unanswered on someone's phone.
What happens to leads who are not ready yet?
Many leads reply with "just looking", or do not reply at all. They are still worth following. A buyer who is six months away today is a buyer next spring, and they will remember who kept in touch without being pushy.
In many setups, long-term follow-up is an email drip, and the personal touches stop when the agent gets busy. Nobody decides to drop the lead. It just slides down the list.
Canadian rules shape this window too. Under Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), an inquiry gives implied consent to send commercial messages for six months from the inquiry (section 10(10)(e)). A plan for those six months, with an easy way to opt out in every message, is worth having. This is general information, not legal advice.
What should happen after the first text?
A complete setup covers the reply and the weeks that follow, not only the first touch:
- The agent who owns the lead is told right away, by text or app alert.
- When the lead replies, someone answers within minutes, or an approved message holds the conversation until the agent can call.
- Follow-ups continue on a schedule, in wording the team approved, until the lead replies or says STOP.
- Every message names the agent and the brokerage.
- The team lead can see which leads went quiet and who owns each one.
Where does AI fit in?
AI can help draft follow-ups that sound like your team rather than a template, and some tools can send them. Used well, it keeps the conversation going while the agent is busy.
Two rules keep it honest. The wording should be approved by the team before anything goes out, and a real, licensed agent should take over as soon as the lead wants to talk. The AI should never pretend to be the agent.
How do you check this on your own team?
Open the system you already use and pull your last 10 new leads. For each one, check:
- When the automatic text went out, and what it said.
- Whether the lead replied, and when a person answered.
- How many follow-ups went out after that, and when they stopped.
- Who owned the lead, and whether that agent knew about the reply.
Questions
Can AI reply to leads for my team?
AI can draft replies and follow-ups, and some tools can send them. The safer setup uses wording your team has approved, names your brokerage, and hands the conversation to a licensed agent as soon as the lead wants to talk.
Do I need new software to fix this?
Often not. Many of the gaps are in the setup: which sources feed your lead system, what the messages say, who owns each lead, and how long follow-up runs. If your team has no lead system at all, that is a separate decision.
If the gap between a lead's reply and a person's answer is hours, or follow-up stops after a few days, book an AI Review. We look at what happens after the first text, and you pick the three jobs you'd most like to take off your plate. It's a short screen share, and you leave with a short written summary of your top three. If your current setup already covers it, we'll tell you.
Sources
Brendon Bellerose, founderToronto, Ontario