- Echo app helps "give a voice" to listings by allowing buyers and agents to ask Alexa-specific questions about a property.
- Buyer's agents can have Alexa send documentation on the home immediately via email or text.
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AgentNEO, a voice-activated internet software product for real estate agents, has released an update that will allow Amazon’s Echo device to share listing information with buyer’s agents and their clients.
The update allows agents to teach Alexa to respond to a host of questions about a property, such as, “How are the schools in the neighborhood?” or “What is the crime rate?”
While most buyer’s agents will have those answers at the ready, Alexa will also be able to answer the types of questions that buyer’s agents often have to get from the listing agent. These include:
- What is the average electric bill?
- How much does the pool cost each month?
- How much does it cost to heat in the winter?
- How much were the taxes last year?
- What are my public transportation options from here?
- How old are the kitchen appliances?
Listing agents can also ask Alexa to send them documents, such as seller disclosure forms, after which a link to a PDF will be emailed or texted.
Should an agent or buyer ask Alexa a question it can’t answer, the “missed question” is transposed to text, logged in AgentNEO to be answered, and the agent is alerted.
AgentNEO helps its agents gain exposure by creating Google business listings for them and associating them with searches for agents in their ZIP code.
The company pulls listing information from Zillow upon setup, which involves three relatively short steps. It also includes a step-by-step video in its user admin dashboard. AgentNEO includes a printable one-page summary of how to use the Echo. (This is for listing agents to leave as a resource next to the device.)
The company is considering allowing property owners to share more personal messages or details about their home with people viewing it. Listing agents will want to advise or approve what their clients share.
This feature could be of great value to agents who use open houses in very active markets, when it’s not always possible to tend to every visitor. Leaving an Echo in an upstairs room or kitchen can enable the listing agent to be in two places at once.
Currently, only one listing can be active at a time, and questions entered into the software have to be worded carefully to ensure Alexa can share the answers properly.
AgentNEO offers a tutorial on how to best phrase questions, and a few test runs should alleviate any concerns about Alexa tripping over the answers.
The advancing sophistication of AgentNEO and other real estate apps for the VAI may help those who believe that “agentless” showings will become commonplace for traditional brokerages sooner than later.
The new feature is included in the $14.99 monthly subscription.
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