Strata managers don’t run short of expertise. They run short of hours. In our recent Victorian webinar, Alex McCormick from SOCM covered which AI tools managers can use, whether they should use them, and what owners can expect in return. Alex’s message was practical: AI is most useful when it takes on repetitive work and leaves decisions and relationships to the manager.
Why a manager’s day runs out before the work does
A manager can have up to 100 actions land on their desk in a day. At five minutes each, that’s 500 minutes, more than a working day, before any budgeting, meetings or compliance work. Alex was clear this isn’t managers’ or their firms’ fault. Owners corporations are complex assets, even small ones, and every relationship takes time to build.
The manager is the driver, not the engine. AI should handle tasks such as drafting, formatting, and filing, while judgment calls stay with the person.
AI earns its place with minutes, quote comparisons and cashflow
The clearest example was minutes. In a live demo, Alex had AI draft full committee minutes from an agenda and a meeting transcript, work that normally takes a manager hours and often brings disputes over wording and formatting. One attendee, a committee secretary, said they use the same approach with their own template and haven’t had a change request from other committee members since. Strata management firms also win, with more consistent output. Strata managers’ minutes are consistent regardless of who runs the meeting.
The same logic applies to reading large documents. AI can set tenders side by side and flag differences, such as a mix of GST inclusive and exclusive prices. It doesn’t replace the manager reading the quotes. It highlights what to review more closely and presents a clear analysis report for the committee.
AI can also map out a 12 month cashflow so a shortfall shows up months before it arrives. That leaves time to talk to the chair about when levies are issued, or whether the maintenance fund should lend to the administration fund, instead of finding out when invoices have to be put on hold.
What to ask your manager, and where the line sits
If you’re curious about how and when your manager uses AI, Alex suggests owners and committee members should ask where their manager uses it, how much of their emails AI drafts, and what security and data protections are in place.
For anyone using these tools, he advised avoiding free versions and switching off any setting that lets the provider use your data to improve its product. The manager stays responsible for everything AI produces and should read it before it goes out.
Some lines should stay firm. AI shouldn’t summarise legal advice for clients, and decisions like how to present a levy increase to a committee belong to someone who knows the people involved.
As for fees, Alex doesn’t expect AI to make management cheaper. He expects faster responses, quicker annual general meeting documents, more consistent minutes, and managers who are less likely to burn out.
AI isn’t about replacing the manager. Used well, it gives managers their time back for the work that needs a person: advice, judgment and relationships. Whether you’re an owner weighing up your manager’s approach or a manager deciding where to start, the takeaway is the same: begin with repetitive, structured tasks, and keep a person on every decision.
Download the presentation
You can download Alex’s presentation slides from the session here: VIC: AI Tools in Strata.
This post appears in Strata News #815.
Alex McCormick
SOCM
alex@socm.com.au
P: 03 9495 0005
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