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Agent Neo is a voice-activated real estate information app for Amazon Echo.
Platforms: Amazon Echo; mobile-optimized notifications
Ideal for: Early adopters; agents looking to diversify marketing outreach
Top selling points
- Agent-matching skill
- Home valuation capability
- Books showings
- Companion mobile app
Top concerns
As with all voice-activated apps for smart home devices, the technology is very immature and remains somewhat slow. However, competition will only help.
What you should know
Agent Neo, currently available only for the Echo, is seeking beta testers, and will not charge agents to be connected to a market.
It is the latest real estate services app for Amazon Echo, the Alexa-voiced internet appliance. Consumers with an Amazon Echo, Dot or Show can use Agent Neo to find a property, book a showing or receive home valuations.
After asking Alexa to open Agent Neo, she’ll ask users if they want to buy, sell or book a showing.
The app works market-wide, so consumers can tell Alexa to schedule a showing of any available listing. Once the address and times are confirmed, buyer agents who have partnered with Agent Neo for that market will be recommended to the user.
“I can connect you with Lynn Hill, who is a Realtor and can show the house to you. Would you like to hear the contact information?”
Agents are alerted to new leads and appointment details, while users are sent a visual profile of the agent through the mobile app.
The app inquires about loan pre-approval along the way; as of now, users who haven’t been pre-approved just get passed on to the agent, but a future update will suggest the buyer contact one of the agent’s preferred lending partners.
What stands out to me about Agent Neo is the home valuation skill, which uses Zillow Group’s Zestimate.
However, the app smartly pushes the user beyond the Zestimate and back into the connected agent’s lead pool by saying: “If you would like a more accurate valuation based on comps and recent sales, contact your Realtor, Lynn Hill.”
I was also impressed by the natural flow of vocal interaction with Agent Neo. The user doesn’t have to first ask Alexa to open the app. Instead, the command is more fluid: “Alexa, tell Agent Neo to find my home value.”
Additionally, you don’t have to tell Alexa your address because Agent Neo has it stored.
There’s a user-friendly flow to the discourse with Agent Neo that I haven’t heard in competitive apps. (That’s not to say the race has a clear leader yet.)
Voice-activated real estate apps will need to focus on providing as much information as possible in very few interactions to really take off, but they’re getting there. Agent Neo is one example of the slow but evident evolution.
If you’re wondering about the future of this tech, Wall Street has dubbed this market segment the “voice-activated internet” (VAI), and Amazon’s contribution to the VAI market could result in revenues up to $10 billion by 2020.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe.
