Short answer
People who want to buy or sell a home now ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity whom to hire as an agent. The AI returns a short list of names, and a strong Google ranking does not guarantee a place on it. The goal is a clear, consistent, well-evidenced identity that AI can recommend.
Highlights
- According to a Realtor.com survey, 82% of US adults interested in a home move use AI for real estate information.
- In one study, only 1.3% of licensed agents were named in AI answers.
- Experts say the first step is free: ask AI yourself and study why competitors appear.
2 min readAuthor: UNIT Journal EditorEditor-in-chief: Uğur Deniz İlhan
For years US real estate agents focused on climbing Google's rankings. Now a buyer can put the same question to ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity and receive a short list of names. HousingWire explored the shift with executives from Rechat and AgentEdgeAI.
How often do buyers turn to AI?
According to a Realtor.com survey cited by HousingWire, 82% of US adults interested in buying or selling a home were using AI for real estate insights in August 2025. Of respondents, 67% used ChatGPT and 54% used Gemini.
In the same survey, respondents ranked agents as the most accurate source of housing-market information. AI therefore matters most at the discovery and research stage, without removing the value of an agent.
Which agents does AI recommend?
In a withNotable study referenced by HousingWire, only 1.3% of licensed agents in ten US markets were named in AI answers. Of those named, 88.7% appeared on only one of the three platforms.
Mike Stensrud of AgentEdgeAI says one agent with strong reviews and many transactions showed up on one platform and on none of the other five lists. A good Google ranking does not mean a place in AI recommendations.
What should agents and offices do?
- Test it yourself: ask AI the questions your clients would ask, such as who the leading agent is for a given neighbourhood.
- Look at the sites of the agents who do appear and work out what they do differently.
- Turn your website from a shop window into a hub that answers questions with neighbourhood and street-level information.
- Keep your name, address, phone number and brokerage identical across your website, Google profile and listing-portal profiles.
- Build a system that asks clients for reviews regularly; reviews are outside evidence of your expertise.
- Ask the same questions again after a while.
Frequently asked
- Do agents need to stop doing SEO to be visible in AI?
- No. According to the experts, the aim is to give AI the evidence to see the credibility you already have; publishing knowledge on your own site and staying consistent on outside profiles are part of that.
Sources
- HousingWire ·
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