Friend, not foe: AI is the best co-pilot for real estate agents

AI won’t replace real estate agents; it will empower them to be better

The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought with it a mix of excitement and uncertainty. For many real estate agents, there may be concerns about how AI could change our industry or even make their roles obsolete. But rather than seeing AI as a threat, we should think of it as a powerful tool that can help you work smarter, not harder.?

When used correctly, AI can streamline your workflow, enhance your decision-making and even increase your earning potential. It’s not about replacing you as an agent; it’s about empowering you to do your job better, faster and more efficiently.

To prove my point, everything you’ve read up until now was generated in about 30 seconds using AI, whereas it would have taken me at least five minutes to conceptualize and write on my own. Here are some additional reasons (written by a human, not artificial intelligence) why agents should use AI to supercharge their productivity.

Work smarter, not harder

Despite what the reality TV shows would like us to believe, your day-to-day often involves more than just glamorous home tours and fancy client lunches. In the real world, a significant portion of your time is spent managing paperwork, updating listings, negotiating (a deal for your buyer or seller and also your commission), responding to messages, and coordinating with buyers, sellers and other parties involved in the transaction.?

These responsibilities, while essential, can be incredibly time-consuming. Now, AI technology empowers you to complete these tasks in minutes rather than hours.

• Quickly respond to messages from buyers and sellers: AI virtual assistants can help you ensure that clients get the answers they need in just minutes. From market updates to proactively anticipating your clients’ questions about listings and transactions, you can use AI to send messages faster and streamline your expenses as a business owner.
• Automate paperwork: You can use AI to help populate fields in contracts, forms and disclosures with known information about the property, buyer and seller. This can help to reduce human error and the need to manually enter repetitive information.
• Identify and analyze comps: AI tools can pull from the MLS to provide a list of comparable properties based on location, amenities, size, etc. This can help you quickly generate market reports in less time.
• Schedule showings, walkthroughs and closings: AI-powered tools can help you manage appointments, send reminders and even reschedule meetings if necessary.
• Enrich your listings: Do you ever wish you could touch up a still photo to create a more engaging visual for your listings? AI features can enhance photography and even turn still images into videos to make your visuals more enticing. Tools like Zillow Showcase help optimize your listings, creating an immersive experience for buyers and driving more business to you.

When you streamline these responsibilities, you can increase your overall efficiency, creating more space for activities that drive productivity in your business. Then, you can spend more time focusing on the things that really matter, like your buyers and sellers.

Build stronger personal relationships with clients

Professionals across multiple industries have always feared that AI will make their roles obsolete and eliminate jobs. We disagree because AI will never replace the “human touch” that leads to a more personal customer connection.?

Utilize AI and Zillow as your tech experts and partners so you can do what you do best: directly serve buyers and sellers in your market, sympathize with their emotional needs and advocate for their best interests.?

Buyers and sellers value this level of personalized service. According to the Zillow Group Consumer Housing Trends Report 2024, more than half of buyers said their agent was the most helpful resource in their home-buying process. Only one-third said a real estate website or app was the most resourceful.?

So, while your clients are also using technology to gather information and education about the real estate market and specific properties they want to buy or sell, people still want to work directly with an agent. When you use AI to assist with your administrative tasks and optimize your day-to-day workflows, you’re empowered to be more present and engaged with your clients.

AI-powered tools help reduce friction for your buyers and sellers, but at the end of the day, it’s still an incredibly complex and stressful transaction. When you’re there to answer questions, consult on offers, and reduce general pain points, it creates a more pleasant experience for your clients and can help you sell more homes.?

It’s a win-win for everyone involved.

Zillow uses AI to empower buyers, sellers and agents

AI isn’t new to Zillow; we’ve been using this technology for more than a decade to provide transparency and to add value for buyers, sellers, renters and agents.

You’re probably most familiar with our Zestimate? tool, which is a starting point in determining a home’s value. Since launching it almost 20 years ago, we’ve continually updated this feature with AI-powered models that allow it to quickly adapt to market trends and gain even more accuracy.

We also utilize AI for features like natural language search and personalization, which customize home search results to display more properties that buyers may like based on their unique preferences and interests. Features like interactive floor plans and Zillow Showcase enable immersive, AI-powered virtual home tours and floor-plan generation, redefining how buyers explore properties remotely.

For agents, we’ve recently introduced AI call summarization through Follow Up Boss. This feature generates summaries of, and next steps in, your conversations with customers, allowing you to focus on delivering what only you can — the human component.

When we empower buyers and sellers with technology that provides insights into their buying power, market conditions and potential floor plans, it enables them to make more informed decisions. For agents, this means you’re working with more qualified leads — buyers and sellers who are better prepared and more confident in their choices — potentially leading to higher conversion rates and smoother transactions.

AI is the future for real estate agents

AI is here to complement the human aspects of your work, not replace it. When you engage with AI tools and products, you’re increasing your ability to connect with buyers and sellers on a more personal level, building relationships and creating an experience that goes well beyond the transaction.

This technology is only going to get bigger and better, and Zillow will continue to encourage all agents to use AI to create the best possible experience and to exceed your customers’ expectations.