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GenAI-Powered HOA Covenant Analysis with Azure AI Search

Azure-AI-Search
3 min read

Client

A large property management company.

Challenge

The client manages thousands of HOAs, each with its own set of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) documents. These legal documents, often lengthy and complex, govern resident behavior and property usage within each community. Accessing and understanding specific rules within these documents was time-consuming and inefficient for both residents and HOA staff, leading to frustration and potential disputes. By leveraging Azure AI Search, the system ensures quick retrieval of relevant covenant details, reducing frustration and potential disputes

Approach

First Line Software proposed a Proof of Concept (PoC) for a GenAI-powered solution to address this challenge. The PoC focused on:

  • Data Ingestion: Ingesting a portion of CC&R documents to test and refine the data import process.
  • Generative AI Enrichment: Utilizing Azure Document Intelligence to extract text from the PDFs and Azure Open AI to analyze and structure the extracted information.
  • API Development: Creating a documented API for QA testing and future integration with the client’s website and internal systems.

Solution

The PoC demonstrated a system that could:

  • Efficiently process and analyze CC&R documents: The GenAI successfully extracted key information and organized it for easy access.
  • Provide natural language-based search: Users could ask questions in plain English, such as “Can I build a fence in my backyard?” or “What are the rules for pet ownership?”, and receive accurate answers based on the CC&Rs.
  • Address to HOA mapping: Before answering the question, the smart assistant asks the user their address, defines, what HOA this address belongs to and gives an answer based on the corresponding CC&R. That lets users type their address into the chatbot if they don’t know their HOA’s name. The system will automatically figure out their HOA and give them the right information.
  • Offer scalability for future enhancements: The architecture allowed for future expansion to include additional data sources, improved GenAI models, and more sophisticated user interfaces.
Azure-AI-Search-HOA-answer-based-on-the-corresponding-CC&R


Document Ingestion and Processing:

  • HOA documents in PDF format are uploaded to the system
  • These PDFs are stored in Blob storage
  • The OCR (Optical Character Recognition) module extracts text from the PDFs
  • The extracted text is split into smaller, manageable chunks
  • These chunks are converted to vector embeddings and stored in Vector storage
  • The processed data is indexed in Azure AI Search for efficient retrieval

User Interaction Flow:

  • A user interacts with the Assistant UI
  • The UI sends the user’s query to the Assistant API Service via HTTP
  • The query is processed by the Semantic Kernel

Query Processing and Response Generation:

  • The Semantic Kernel provides storage and retrieval of the context of the conversation with the user after each response and coordinates ai agents solving specialized tasks according to the context
  • The Semantic Kernel coordinates with three specialized agents:
    • The Address Agent verifies property addresses using an external Address validation API
    • The Search Agent queries Azure AI Search to find relevant information from the processed HOA documents
    • The Conversational Agent (LLM) leverages Azure Open AI to understand queries and generate natural language responses by adhering to a given behavior and using special protective prompt

Response Delivery:

  • The generated response is sent back to the Assistant UI
  • Powered by Azure AI Search, information is shown to the user in a conversational format with precise, context-aware responses tailored to their specific HOA
  • The Microsoft AI Chat Protocol governs the entire interaction flow

This creates a seamless experience where users can ask natural language questions about HOA documents, and the system will validate their property address, search through processed documents, and deliver relevant, contextualized answers using AI capabilities.

Key Benefits

  • Improved efficiency and accuracy: Azure AI Search enables lightning-fast access to relevant HOA documents, allowing residents and staff to find answers in seconds.
  • Reduced disputes and legal risks: A clearer understanding of community rules leads to better compliance.
  • Enhanced resident satisfaction: Easier access to information improves the overall living experience.
  • Future-proof solution: The scalable architecture allows the system to evolve with the client’s needs and advancements in GenAI technology.

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