Redfin And Zillow Launch New ChatGPT Plugins
Redfin and Zillow have unveiled new plugin features using AI bot ChatGPT, allowing users to employ conversational language to ask the chatbot details about specific listings and the kinds of homes they seek — such as price ranges or bedroom and bathroom counts — in order to fine-tune their search results. The plugins come as AI evolves at a breakneck pace. Real estate professionals have used chatbots to write marketing copy, listing descriptions and blog posts, among other things. Both companies have looked to other verticals such as mortgages, rentals, and home tours as means of diversifying.
How the Plugins Work
A user can enter a detailed request into the chatbot, such as “show me three-bedroom houses with finished basements in Dallas, Texas for under $650,000.” The bot will then respond with listings that match the user’s criteria. “Generative AI is changing the way people search for information,” said David Beitel, CTO at Zillow. The company plans to develop more tech innovations with OpenAI technology in the future. Redfin’s plugin should help create more personalized home searches that go beyond what was previously possible via the company’s websites and apps.
The Future of AI
Both companies have a particularly strong impetus to develop new AI tech and create real estate “super apps” that offer customers a seamless platform handling all real estate needs, including buying, selling, renting and financing. During an earnings call with investors, Zillow CEO Rich Barton said he expects AI to be potentially as transformative as graphical computer interfaces such as Windows and touch screens were in the past.
The launch of ChatGPT and now the new Bing and Bard, have brought AI out of the basement and into the light.
