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Homebuyers and renters can now ditch search filters while using Zillow, thanks to an update in the portal’s artificial intelligence model that enables “simple, everyday” voice prompts to scour listings, the company revealed Wednesday.
The feature is available now on the Zillow iOS and Android mobile apps and will expand to Zillow.com in the near future, executives said in an announcement.
Josh Weisberg | Credit: Zillow
Consumers using Zillow’s mobile app can find homes based on commute, points of interest, affordability and school access with simple voice prompts, such as “Homes [with a] 30 min drive from Millennium Park,” “Apartments near Denver Union Station,” “Austin homes under $400,000,” “Seattle homes under $4,000 monthly,” or “3-bedroom houses near Roosevelt High School.”
“From streamlining the home search to personalizing the user experience, Zillow applies AI in practical ways to help people get home,” Zillow SVP of Artificial Intelligence Josh Weisberg said in a written statement on Wednesday. “Search is one of the bedrocks of our platform, and we’re always improving it to make it easier for users to find homes that meet their unique needs.”
Zillow said it’s the first major residential marketplace to introduce a natural language model to its home search experience. However, the update is part of a larger shift among portals using AI to improve the home search experience. Redfin released its generative AI chatbot ‘Ask Redfin’ that answers homebuyers’ basic listing questions in May, and for a time, Realtor.com tested an AI Dream Home feature as “an inspiration engine” for consumers.
In his first Inman Interview as Zillow’s CEO, Jeremy Wacksman said much of the company’s future banks on “[helping] pioneer and innovate and experiment” with AI to supercharge agents’ productivity and upgrade consumers’ homebuying and selling experiences.
“Any time new technology or a new platform comes, it is very natural to get scared,” he said. “And I’m here to say — and I think Zillow’s strong belief is — AI has the potential to elevate professionals and is not to be feared. It’s to be used.”
