Hey AI, find me a three-bedroom, two-bathroom midcentury modern home in Encino for under $3 million dollars.
Sure, here you go …
Wait a minute! Not so fast. Can you really use AI chatbots to find your next home?
According to a 2026 1000Watt Survey, about 51% of buyers do when searching for properties on the market. Another 35% use AI to understand more about the general buying or selling process and 40% turn to AI for information about market conditions.
This data signified a marked shift in consumer behavior, made more interesting last year when it was announced that Zillow became the only real estate app integrated with ChatGPT, so users could presumably search for listings and housing data right from the ChatGPT program. Still, AI search, in my opinion, is really just two sides of the same coin. The information is no different than if a user went directly to Zillow, and the details AI pulls are taken from sources found on the internet. The difference is that now, these data points are more conveniently accessible to consumers but it doesn’t mean you can ask AI if the home price for a just-listed home is correct and expect it to lay out an entire home-buying deal. Here’s my take on what AI search can and can’t do …
Your Handy Search Assistant
AI chatbots and programs can certainly be effective tools for searching available homes in a neighborhood, especially when you can ask a query and get very, very specific responses. The listings you’ll see are starting off points in your home search, just like you were scrolling through a property portal and seeing what’s on the market. You can refine your search by larger backyards, more bedrooms, more square footage … all the easily accessible data that creates a seamless experience when you’re just starting out on your home-buying journey.
Unlike agents who do go to sleep at night (though at times, it seems like we’re working 24-7), an AI chatbot really is available at any hour of the day or night to respond to your questions.
However (and it’s a big however), the answers you receive should never be considered set in stone. This could encompass anything from the price of a home and its square footage to specific property details you ask about and receive.
The behavior is called “AI hallucination” and it’s a common glitch in AI programs whereby a user receives patently wrong information packaged in a confident, authoritative style. If you’ve seen the funny videos about how many “e’s” are in the word “seventeen,” with AI affirming without question that it’s three and not four, you know what I mean. So that’s where the limitations of AI end and the necessity for an experienced real estate professional begins.
What AI Can’t Do
The information gleaned from an AI chatbot or program is readily available data that’s taken from the internet. In other words, it has to exist somewhere for AI to bring it back to you. This means AI can’t (and won’t) know about the rumored development next door to that home for sale, or the fact that the current owners of the estate on the corner renovated every single room last year. It doesn’t know that every day around 5 p.m. there’s a loud garbage truck that comes by or that there’s a proposed boundary change for the school district and that house may no longer be in the school district you want. Does it know about the natural light that flows in through the living room, or the extra room that could be made into an office or a gym? If it’s in the listing description, sure, but otherwise that type of hyper-specific local-market knowledge requires an agent who understands every inch of an area they serve.
This isn’t to say you should abandon AI if you’re searching for a home. I love to embrace new technology and believe anything that makes processes easier is a win-win for all. It just means that when you use AI, you should be aware of its limitations and always work with a licensed real estate professional who can utilize their human experience and hard-earned knowledge to assist with the home search, negotiating and on the selling side, pricing of a home.
Remember that 1000Watt survey I told you about earlier? Well, here’s an interesting finding: 54% of consumers expressed concern about the accuracy of AI-generated real estate information. So, while consumers are turning to AI for the start of their home buying or selling process, the middle and end require a trusted real estate agent to provide solid advice and guidance, whether they’re purchasing property or putting their house on the market.
If you have questions about any AI-generated information you received, reach out! I’d be happy to go over what AI got right (and potentially wrong) to help you on your real estate journey!
–
Andrew Manning • REALTOR® • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties • DRE: 00941825 • 818-380-2147 • andrew@andrewmanning.com