Every tech company on the planet is powering its services with new, cutting-edge AI innovations - but what does this actually mean? If you aren’t turbo-charged with AI widgets, are you falling behind?
Let’s break down what artificial intelligence can and can’t do for your storage facility!
If you just read the headlines, AI is going to take over every aspect of running a business - what is it actually helpful with?
Bottom Line: AI can help you do more or move faster, but it won’t do things better than a skilled human.
Our industry is unique - we’re local like a restaurant, monthly like Netflix, and needs-based like healthcare, but we operate very differently from all of those.
You’ll see headlines touting everything from breakthroughs and job losses to AI revolutions. Most of that doesn’t apply to self storage.
Someone still has to sweep out the units, someone still has to sign the leases, and someone still has to talk to customers. And for most of the things that AI can do in self storage, a human would do it better.
Pug Pro Tip: Most of the AI hype doesn’t apply to self storage - but there are some things that can be helpful!
Small businesses thrive on their connections. Individual service, personality, and community involvement make your business different from the national brands.
If you outsource your personal touch to AI, why would anyone choose you over a cheaper REIT?
That doesn’t make AI useless, though!
The biggest strength of AI is in allowing you or your managers to do more. Instead of replacing your manager answering the phone, AI can answer the phone when your manager is off the clock.
Smart reporting, AI security surveillance, rate optimization, and other tasks that don’t directly involve your customers can be safely handled by AI.
AI is great at helping you respond to customer emails, respond to reviews, and at writing local content for your website. There are a bunch of options, so you can find a tool that fits your common use cases - just be careful! AI can get stuff wrong, so you need to proofread.
ChatGPT and other AI models are known foremost for their ability to write. Ask them questions and they’ll write out long, complex, accurate-sounding answers - which are often wrong.
They’re like a college student turning in a paper on a book they only read parts of. It sounds smart, but it might mention events that only happened in the movie.
That being said, AI can help you write content for your website, answer emails, and even come up with marketing copy! You just have to know its limitations.
Pug Pro Tip: Everything AI writes needs a proofread! If you send it to a customer, you’re on the hook for the mistakes it might have made.
Customer Communication is the most common way self storage operators use AI Operators can:
Simply navigate to your favorite AI engine (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) and ask it to write the content you need.
Most email platforms, like Gmail, have a built-in AI now, so you can get responses drafted without leaving the email. Simply choose the response prompt that fits your business, and then proofread the email.
If you prefer one of the other AI platforms, you can copy-paste the email you received and ask for a polite response.
Specify how you want to answer the question, too. Tell the AI which tone you want (friendly, professional, casual), as well as any specifics you want the AI to highlight.
If you find a prompt that really works, save it!
Change the details that need changing, but the whole point of AI is to save time. A good saved prompt or two can make AI a real time saver, instead of a way to spend time differently.
Give your favorite AI the review, some context, and ask for a response to the provided review. Then, as always, read through it to make sure everything is right.
For example:
“You run a self storage business. You got this positive review from a customer:”
[Paste the review here.]
“Generate a response to post on our Google Business Profile.”
Pug Pro Tip: Write a summary of your business and save it somewhere handy. Use that to start each conversation, as the AI won’t ‘remember’ your information between sessions.
This is a great way to use AI writing assistance. ChatGPT doesn’t get irritated that a customer is being unfair, and it can keep the tone professional.
To get useful content from an AI, you need to provide a lot of context! When you ask ChatGPT (or others) to write new content, you’ve got to give it enough information to do a good job.
Basic, bland, AI-generated content isn’t going to help you rank with Google. It’s better than a blank page, but that’s about it.
You don’t have to leave it bland, though! Tell the AI specifically about your business. Tell it why people rent with you, what sorts of things people store, and what deals your business offers.
Pug Pro Tip: Write a summary of your business and save it somewhere handy. Use that to start each conversation, as the AI won’t ‘remember’ your information between sessions.
Claude - https://claude.ai - Think of Claude as your friendly digital assistant who's great at writing and answering questions. Need help drafting emails to tenants? Want to create an FAQ section for your website? Claude can help you write clear, professional content in seconds.
ChatGPT - https://chatgpt.com/ - Similar to Claude, but with some different strengths. Great for brainstorming marketing ideas, creating social media posts, or helping you respond to tricky customer situations. It's like having a marketing consultant you can chat with anytime!
Gemini - https://gemini.google.com/ - Google's AI assistant that can help you research local storage trends, analyze competitors, or create content. It's especially good if you already use Google products like Gmail or Drive.
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How Can AI Boost Local SEO for Self Storage?
AI analysis and content generation tools can do a reasonable job of choosing keywords, writing SEO-optimized guides and blogs, and can help you target niche areas you might have missed.
Creative use of AI writing tools can give you a leg up in local SEO, too!
In the past, we’ve recommended that storage operators don’t start a blog because the returns are generally pretty small - and this is still the case. The returns are still small.
But the time and effort required to write is also much smaller now!
Use AI to create content specific to the area you serve. This can be:
If your website talks about the spring farmers market and someone searches “What do I do with my farmers market setup during the week,” they might land on your page!
This is an outlier. You won’t see a ton of rentals coming from having such specific sections on your website. But if you see 1 or 2, and it only took you a few minutes to get the content on the page, that’s worth the effort!
AI can create a list of keywords for your content to target, too. Start with this prompt:
“Generate local SEO keywords for a self storage facility in [city, ST] considering nearby universities, landmarks, and neighborhoods. Our facility is located at [address]. Focus on keywords within 10 miles of our facility.”
This should get you some phrases that people might be searching; ie, “Storage units near Cedar Bluff” or “Schaad Road storage.” Of course, you’ll need to vet these before you plaster them all over your website, but the brainstorming is a good start!
Ahrefs - https://ahrefs.com/writing-tools - This tool helps you know where your website rankswhen locals search for "self storage near me." It shows what people are searching for and helps you make sure your website appears in those searches.
Frase - https://www.frase.io/ - Research what storage customers are searching for online and create content that answers their questions.
Surfer - https://surferseo.com/ - Imagine having a friendly expert who tells you exactly how to make your self storage website show up when people search online! That's what Surfer SEO does. It analyzes what's working for top-ranking websites in your area and gives you a simple checklist of things to fix on your own site.
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Chatbots can answer customer questions, help close sales, and solve problems without having to get a manager involved - but be careful, as they may not always give the answer you hoped for.
Chatbots can be incredibly useful - or kind of annoying. If a lead is browsing your website and wants to know what size storage unit they need, an AI chatbot can be very helpful!
Unless it gives the wrong answer. Or doesn’t understand the question. Or offers the lead a discount you don’t offer.
You need to be careful with the technology you add, but you don’t need be too scared either. A little AI helper in the corner can answer a lot of questions that a storage newbie might have (do I need to bring my own lock? When is your facility open? Do I have to sign up for a year-long lease?)
Some AI helpers, such as swivl, can even integrate with your PMS! This enables the AI to send customers their gate codes, answer questions about a bill, and more.
Chatbots should sound conversational, not robotic. Your chatbot should be able to:
▪ Answer common questions about unit sizes, prices, and availability
▪ Collect contact information for follow-up
▪ Schedule tours or reserve units
▪ Transfer to a human when it can't answer a question
Make sure that your chatbot AI can reach human help if needed. An AI that gets stuck or confused is worse than having nothing at all.
Swivl - https://www.tryswivl.com/ - Swivl is really leading the way in this category. There will probably be other options that pop up soon, but for now Swivl is the go-to!
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AI can monitor your cameras, keep track of individuals, and even initiate a response to an incident. There are bigger tools, like autonomous security robots, but for most operators that would be overkill.
New surveillance camera systems can incorporate Artificial Intelligence to improve their functionality in a few different ways.
Number one, high-tech security cameras can implement facial recognition and keep track of who is on your property when. This makes it easy to tell who was nearby when a storage unit was broken into, or who was behind the wheel when a bollard got flattened.
Some cameras also have threat detection systems that can tell the difference between a burglar sneaking under the fence and a raccoon doing the same. This helps prevent false alarms and makes your surveillance system more reliable.
These systems can also offer customizable alerts, so you can decide what the system should do under certain circumstances.
The last (and coolest) major AI innovation for self storage security is automated drone flyovers! These are expensive and not widespread, but just imagine a hive of security drones that can be sent out on scheduled routes or follow suspicious activity around your facility.
Maybe not practical for most facility owners today, but keep an eye out for some companies to take the idea and run with it!
Spot AI - https://www.spot.ai/ - Video analysis and cameras. These can upgrade your security offerings without needing a complete facility overhaul. Make sure you’re advertising any security upgrades you pay for!
Knightscope - https://knightscope.com/ - Next-level security for those who really want to go above and beyond! They even offer autonomous security bots, in case you ever wanted your own robocop.
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AI software can analyze hundreds of factors and set an “optimal” rate for each individual unit.
New software options can help optimize your rates without needing to pour over a spreadsheet every month! These algorithms can analyze hundreds of parameters, including unit type, competition, season, and other marketing conditions to determine the best price point for your business.
This may not be necessary for small operators, but if you’ve got more than a few facilities, you could see a dramatic increase in overall revenue.
Of course, you’ll still need to keep an eye on the AI and be able to defend your rates to customers. The AI is mostly helpful in making quick tweaks to specific units at a granularity you can’t match with your busy schedule.
Prorize - https://www.prorize.com/ - Storage-specific software to analyze the market, predict customer behavior, and optimize rates for your storage units.
Veritec - https://www.veritecsolutions.com/self-storage/ - Self storage pricing analytics that can implement value/convenience pricing, set rates for individual customers, and set starting rates for each unit type.
AI can be very helpful in a lot of different ways - but your customers don’t want to interact with a robot. They’re storing important items with you (otherwise, they wouldn’t be storing).
They want someone they can trust to watch out for them.
Check out the reviews for any storage facility. 90% of them are about the management and the service. Steel boxes are easy to find - the difference comes in the people.
Even when you’re using AI, make sure it uses the right tone for your business, talks about things your customers care about, and provides specific steps to help your customer get where they’re going.
Use AI to write content, but go through and add your own language to it. Have AI answer questions, but make sure the greeting it uses reflects your business! (example: Hey there! Welcome to PugStorage!)
Be a human first - then let AI help you be human in more places, faster!
First off, check out our [AI Prompt Database]! We’ve included all the prompts discussed here, as well as dozens more.
Next, here are some ways you can start taking advantage of AI in just a few days.
The first time through might take you a bit longer, but if you save your prompts and refine them, this could be a super-simple way to keep your brand going.
AI can definitely be helpful for a self storage operator - but exactly how helpful depends on what you need done.
These tools are incredibly good at what they do, but they can’t replace a good manager. Your tenants, generally, want a human who can help them.
But the AI services can be a great addition to your management team. AI can answer the phone when your manager is away, or keep an eye on the cameras when everyone else is asleep. AI can answer simple questions for people who don’t want to talk on the phone (which is a lot of younger folks!).
Make sure you’re always checking AI outputs, though. You don’t want to be on the hook if your robot starts spouting nonsense.
Want more? Check out some of these posts:
At StoragePug, we build self storage websites that make it easy for new customers to find you and easy for them to rent from you.
