Interview
Tags:
Land Management

TLD 057 - How Landmen Should Be Thinking About AI in 2026 with Jerris Johnson

Date Published:
February 5, 2026
Guests
Jerris Johnson
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Two years after AI entered the conversation, the real question is what’s actually working in the field and what’s still hype. Jerris Johnson returns to share ground-level insight on how AI is being used in land management today, from runsheet generation to document review.

This conversation cuts through marketing noise to focus on practical use cases, real implementation challenges, and why measuring keystrokes matters more than flashy promises.

What You’ll Learn

  • How AI expectations have evolved from "it can do nothing" to "it should do everything"
  • Real applications working today in title analysis and land administration
  • Why the "keystrokes saved" approach leads to measurable results
  • Practical steps for building your own AI workflows without enterprise subscriptions
  • The constraint-based thinking that makes AI implementation successful

Time Stamps

  • 01:10 - Welcome Back, Jerris Johnson!
  • 01:58 - The Evolution of AI in Two Years
  • 02:50 - Challenges and Misconceptions in AI Adoption
  • 05:48 - Real-World Applications of AI in Land Management
  • 14:49 - Future Prospects and Practical Challenges
  • 27:43 - Exploring AI Tools for Professionals
  • 29:11 - The Importance of Identifying Constraints
  • 30:38 - Leveraging AI for Workflow Efficiency
  • 34:19 - Challenges in AI Adoption
  • 43:26 - Future of AI in Business

Snippets from the Episode

  • "We can never use the word 'never' again. Today we're talking about desk work, but even out in the field, humanoid robots are going to be a thing." - Jerris Johnson
  • "A really healthy metric to think about is keystrokes. How many keystrokes are you doing on a daily basis? Does AI allow you to reduce those keystrokes? That kind of thinking will help to see how AI helps." - Jerris Johnson
  • "The AI is an intern. It's an infinitely knowledgeable intern, but it's only able to do what you want as well as you describe what you want." - Khalil Benalioulhaj
  • "We're not faced with this 'death by subscription' concept, which is a real challenge to implementation across a grand scale." - Brent Broussard
  • "Put on the brakes a little bit. I know I told you to try it, but now we've got to be patient. We've got to let the technology catch up to our dreams." - Jerris Johnson

Key Takeaways

  • Focus on Enhancement, Not Replacement
  • Use the "Keystrokes Saved" Success Metric
  • Treat AI Like Training an Infinitely Knowledgeable Intern
  • Identify Your Workflow Constraints Before Adding AI
  • Start Manual, Then Scale, Avoid Enterprise Tool Dependency
  • Balance Enthusiasm with Reasonable Expectations

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Resources

More From Our Guests

More from Our Hosts

  • Connect with Brent on LinkedIn
  • Connect with Khalil on LinkedIn

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