Will artificial intelligence replace estate agents and what does good well-being really look like?
This week’s Agents MVMT podcast ‘Pass the Syrup’, presented by Ben Madden, features Michelle Gallagher of JDG Estate Agents, Alex Pelosi-Buchanan of Archer & Co, and Adam Coffin of Coapt.
The guests give their views on artificial intelligence and its potential impact on estate agency, as well as discussing well-being in the workplace, and what agents can do to support their mental health.
Guests are also asked to talk about great agents they have worked with, give their feedback on a current Agents Together challenge mentees are facing, and any tips for agents in the current climate.
If you would like to take part in the Agents MVMT initiative, provide a feature or be a guest on the podcast, please contact Ben Madden directly at ben.madden@fineandcountry.com.
Like any other data collection process AI can assist with the basics
But agency is a people business
The two approaches are not compatible
So no need to worry
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I’ve been engaging with Curry’s AI system, some accountant has worked out its OK to cut the plug off a serviceable freezer, remove all the service Currys used to offer and replace it with a seemingly generous bribe to make things right.
The AI system is shockingly stupid, its devoid of intelligence, empathy or understanding, as are the people the AI system hands over to.
Without an understanding of agency and how people interact with agents and how agents have to interact with everyone to communicate with there’s very little chance AI will impact agency other than to remove the very people agency depends on
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The thing is most agents do not interact as we used to, they communicate by e mail which AI can probably do much better.
I have had so many e mails from agents with appalling grammar, spelling and punctuation.
I have also had agents not respond to telephone calls and Rightmove enquires.
AI is not perfect yet but it bis going to get better same as the cars we drive now are much better than Mr. Ford’s first production run.
Anyone who thinks they are protected from AI is putting their head in the sand.
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The benefit of appalling grammar and etcetera is that at least you know it’s a human being…
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One that communicate properly sadly
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There are so many use cases for AI, in all industries, and for anyone to think they will not be affected is deluded. It may not be this year or next but in the not too distant future, the whole property industry will be disrupted, in some form or another. The use of AI and data will allow for huge amounts of automation.
This should be seen as an opportunity and not threat.
I’m interested to know what people think can’t be replaced by AI or at the very least assisted?
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Putting a house on Rightmove maybe 🙂
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Haha good one..!!
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Obviously it can’t go to the property, but it can already write descriptions based purely on the images you give it and enhance those pictures.
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Have you ever been a duty of care and skill estate agent Christian? I have. I have also been a technology service provider to the property industry from the days when the challenge was to get names and addresses onto envelopes. A $6billion firm bought a system I built to prove a point (because of a discussion thread on EAT) and I have two products embedded into another £2,2b firm
My job is to understand the value of emerging technology and products to the property industry. I have a unblemished record of calling it correctly. The products that will make it, those that won’t,
AI in agency is something I was looking at several years back, AI will solve a problem some of the industry has but that will only fix those specific issues IF the domain knowledge of (DCS) estate agency can be applied to the service.
Most good technology solutions never get adopted by the industry because all to often the way a techie thinks tech should work is the polar opposite of how agents need to it work and that’s why the domain knowledge of winning instructions and keeping instructions is so valuable
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Oh Jan, I knew I’d see a comment from you here complaining about the quality of estate agents and how they’re lazy, unintelligent or how the role is just a low-skilled admin job.
The irony though Jan is that you’ve complained about spelling and grammar, yet you’ve spelled words incorrectly in this very post. Maybe you should be concerned that AI can take your role, after all we just see the same comments from you slagging off estate agents and telling everyone how you’re a developer, I’m sure AI can come up with something more original than that.
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I am running 5 sites at the moment I am not a fast typist sadly. There is a huge difference between not knowing punctuation, grammar and a typo.
The fact is what you do is an admin role.
The only element of selling in EA is gaining instructions.
The rest is admin.
That is why most EA staff are young with few qualifications.
You have seen the salary figures for agents – if it is such a high skilled difficult job why is it so poorly paid?
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Hi Jan,
Congratulations, I am currently running over 40 sites across England and Scotland, and I can assure you that what I do is far more than an admin role. I just don’t feel the need to tell all and sundry that I have an important job.
You should know however how much a typo can cost you, maybe just keeping to five sites is a good thing!
I never seem to understand your negativity towards estate agents, it is a job where a large pool of knowledge is needed and yes you don’t need a degree to become an estate agent, but the amount of varied information you need to be aware of and the skill level to be able to articulate this information in a professional manner is more than you could learn from any degree.
I started off as a “low skilled estate agent” with no qualifications and am now in a much higher role, but I wouldn’t be here without the grounding that estate agency gave me.
Sales jobs are always heavily incentivised with a strong commission structure Jan, you should know this being in the developer world.
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When AI can match the perfect buyer to the perfect property, persuade them to view, arrange an appointment, pick up the keys, jump in a car, open a front door with a smile and proceed to be properly knowledgeable about a property and the plans of an owner, negotiate a sale and then look after it until completion, then maybe, just maybe, it might be possible for AI to replace an estate agent.
I admit that not all agents can do the above.
If you’ve ever met one who can’t then perhaps they’re having a bad day/ week/ month. Or perhaps they’ve only just started in the industry and are a bit green. Either they’ll pick it up or I would suggest that they won’t last long in the industry.
AI at this stage is not Artificial Intelligence in the “Turing Machine” sense (even that is now considered an outdated measure).
Instead “AI” today is an LLM or Large Language Model.
The programmers have trained a dumb system to record the best answers to questions by repeated iterations of failure & success with very little human intervention.
Calling it AI is pure hyperbole but the marketing guys will not be dissuaded.
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AI is not intelligent. It can only do what it is programmed to do. Throw a curve ball in and you are back to old fashioned human intervention. Too many people have been watching science fiction, we are not in the 23rd century. Technology helps, does not replace. Story is a non-starter for agents to be worried. Anyone who has been an estate agent knows that every sale is different because it has different people involved. (can’t resist this next comment) Add in ‘Conveyancing’ AI all comes to a grinding halt as they refuse to co-operate somewhere in the chain of events.
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The army are working on AI combat troops – have already been tested.
Some operations are now carried out by AI robots.
If that is possible it will eventually be possible to do many jobs than now require people.
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They already have a robot that’s building houses. Be careful of what you ask for.
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There is little doubt that AI will become an increasingly useful tool for estate agents in my view.
I saw this quote the other day and I entirely agree with it…
“Estate agents will not be replaced by AI – they will be replaced by estate agents that use AI”
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I’d challenge that and the person who said it Simon, it sounds like something said by someone flogging an AI system or someone who’s joining in with a group-think chat about emerging tech.
Take your Katy as an example, she is the benchmark of estate agency, a role model of how to be and what to do, can you see her being remotely challenged let alone replaced by a plastic shoe/shiny suit agent who buys themselves an AI system? I can’t
AI systems cannot do what agents need them to do which is why it takes so very very long to implement them.
I’ve been watching one for the past 18 months- it’s no further forward now than when it was first brought to my attention. I know why- they don’t.
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Having read a few of the comments I think people are missing the point here. AI isn’t going to replace estate agency, and what we have at the moment is the first iterations of a LLM.
What we are going to see in the not too distant future is the first iterations of an AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) which is completely different to a LLM. I imagine it will be custom built for whatever application it is applied to, and it will understand, learn and apply high cognitive abilities to perform tasks.
If we put that into estate agency practice and look at how it could be integrated into our systems, then I foresee it being able to take calls, talk about properties, book in valuations and viewings, perform routine tasks in lettings such as safety certificate renewals, drafting agreements and arranging diaries etc etc You will still need staff, albeit not as many, and you will still need to conduct viewings in person – but I fully anticipate that administration roles over a whole sector will start to be replaced by AGM.
What I do see happening however is more people doing it themselves, especially landlords.
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The only bit of future technology that will makes waves in revolutionising the industry is viewings in virtual reality, actually possibly anything you care to think of wanting to buy without leaving your home. We already have it in 2d and some floorplans in 3d but 4D is the way ahead. Headphones on (that’s so old fashioned), sit in the arm chair and you are either in the new home or sitting in an F1 chasing Lewis Hamilton (that is already here in a crude form). The ability to generate, quality reproduction and outlet is years off, but may come one day. Voice recognition is already with us. “Computer download 1 Acacia Avenue”, virtual agent included to sell and answer questions. Maybe for my great grandchildren?
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Does the Robot accompany the viewing? I bet we can train the AI to do the canvassing as well!!!
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