Zoopla's foray into AI-powered property search, this week, feels more like a timid toe-dip than a bold plunge into the future of home hunting.
Their new ‘Smart Tags’ tool, touted as a groundbreaking AI innovation, appears to be little more than a very tiny enhancement to a 25-year-old filter system masquerading as ‘personalisation’.
The addition of six new search criteria - conservatories, cottages, en-suites, kitchen islands, patios, and period properties - hardly constitutes a revolutionary AI experience. It's akin to slapping a fresh coat of paint on an ageing shed and calling it a smart home. True AI-driven search should be capable of understanding and responding to nuanced, natural language queries, not just ticking boxes on a slightly longer list.
This cautious approach from Zoopla, much like Rightmove's recent underwhelming 'area guides', underscores the portals' reluctance to fully embrace AI's potential. It's not difficult to fathom why. The current business model of property portals relies heavily on upselling premium listing positions and broader search results. A genuinely intelligent search function that delivers precisely what buyers want would effectively dismantle this lucrative structure.
However, the tide of technological progress waits for no portal. As AI becomes more integrated into our daily lives, home seekers will increasingly expect - and demand - more sophisticated search capabilities. They'll want to ask for 'a Victorian terrace with a south-facing garden near an outstanding primary school', and receive accurate, tailored results. The days of scrolling through pages of irrelevant listings will soon be behind us.
For estate agents, this shift presents both challenges and opportunities. While AI-powered searches might reduce the volume of leads, they're likely to increase quality. It’s also worth acknowledging that historically, agents have wanted leads that aren’t too specific – just specific enough. These ‘Goldilocks’ leads have been swamped underneath the portals’ drive to prove value by throwing everyone across, meaning that filtering these leads for quality is now a pain for everyone – caused by lack of quality control at the portals’ end.
AI will change this. You can widen or narrow the lead funnel depending on your own business needs. Agents who embrace this and adapt, leveraging AI to showcase their local expertise and provide value beyond basic property matching as well, will thrive in this new landscape.
Zoopla's tentative step into AI search, while underwhelming, at least acknowledges the need for change. But in the rapidly evolving world of property technology, such baby steps will not be enough to keep pace with consumer expectations.
The future of property search is coming, whether the portals are ready or not. Those who truly embrace AI's potential, rather than merely paying lip service to it, will be the ones shaping that future.
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