As a torrent of new technologies and business models take real estate by storm, it can be difficult to keep up.
Coldwell Banker is aiming to help agents stay in the know by serving up industry and company news through Alexa, Amazon’s voice-activated assistant.
The real estate franchisor has unveiled a new “Skill” — a downloadable voice-activated ability — that can be used with Alexa-compatible devices, such as Amazon Echo and Echo Dot.
Agents can download the “Coldwell Banker Gen Blue News Skill” to their Alexa mobile app through the “Business & Finance” section in the Alexa Skills store.
Then, agents need only issue the command, “Alexa, open Gen Blue News,” and their device will play a weekly 90-second episode.
“Whether it’s insights from a new market report or a how-to guide from a fellow agent on the latest tech product, agents can use the Skill to expand their smart home product use and stay ahead of the curve,” Coldwell Banker said in a statement.
Agents can learn more about subjects mentioned in an episode through the Alexa app.
“For example, if an episode mentions a new consumer survey, the episode summary found on the Alexa app will provide a link to the full survey findings,” Coldwell Banker said.
The first episode will be hosted by Inman News publisher Brad Inman.
The Gen Blue News Skill is geared toward the real estate community but is available to anyone.
Coldwell Banker created the Skill for “tech-savvy agents and brokers who consume news on-the-go.” The Skill was prompted by a June survey of Coldwell Banker brokers that found that eight out of 10 respondents would be interested in a smart home speaker “equipped with Coldwell Banker news and insights,” Coldwell Banker said.
The Skill illustrates the franchisor’s embrace of smart home technology.
In June, Coldwell Banker introduced an Alexa Skill that describes a new luxury listing every week, and it began advertising its technology to consumers, including its “Smart Home Staging Kit” in May.
