TLDR
- Zillow has launched a fully interactive real estate experience inside ChatGPT, shifting home discovery from traditional search to conversational, task-oriented AI.
- The company worked closely with OpenAI to address fair housing rules, data privacy and listing attribution, creating a compliant framework for real estate apps in AI assistants.
- Zillow is expanding AI across its ecosystem, from consumer tools like Virtual Staging and verified pre-approval to agent-focused features that predict when clients are ready to buy.
Zillow is betting that the future of shopping for homes will begin inside an AI chat window, not a search bar.
The real estate company has launched a new messaging feature inside its app and is deepening its collaboration with OpenAI through a dedicated Zillow app within ChatGPT. The combined moves signal a broader shift toward conversational and agentic AI in real estate, according to Josh Weisberg, Zillow’s senior vice president of AI.
In an interview with The AI Innovator, Weisberg said the ChatGPT integration represents a new “surface area” for home discovery, one that moves buyers from typing into search boxes to navigating with natural language.
Unlike traditional real estate search, the experience pulls users into a dynamic, AI-enabled Zillow canvas that updates in real time as shoppers ask questions and refine preferences.
“We’re going from the current paradigm of searching and clicking … to more of this rich, interactive conversation,” Weisberg said.
ChatGPT users can invoke Zillow explicitly or implicitly inside the AI chatbot, triggering an immersive pane with maps, listings and filters that update through back-and-forth guidance.
A buyer might request homes in West Seattle, for example, then ask for properties within two miles of a high school, then switch to affordability questions – all without jumping out of the conversational thread.
“You click on this, it takes you into this immersive view,” Weisberg said while demonstrating the tool. “You’ve shifted from searching to working through the process and having the present AI capability to help you.”
The approach mirrors broader industry momentum toward agentic AI. Zillow is experimenting with scenarios where AI doesn’t just bring up listings but helps users complete tasks: Estimating affordability, explaining pre-qualification versus pre-approval, offering next steps, or recommending when to contact an agent.
What it’s like to work with OpenAI
Zillow’s ChatGPT app also acts as an on-ramp back to Zillow’s core platform. If a shopper wants to schedule a tour or contact an agent, the experience hands them off seamlessly. Engagement levels have remained steady.
“Engagement is pretty consistent with what we see on Zillow, so we haven’t seen a number change one way or another,” he said of traffic patterns.
The launch comes as companies grapple with declining search traffic and the growing influence of AI assistants on online discovery. Weisberg said he has received calls from executives worried about SEO erosion. Zillow’s view is that businesses must adapt quickly rather than wait out the shift.
“You have to lean into it,” Weisberg advised. “Doing nothing is probably not the right answer.”
He compared the moment to the advent of early iPhone apps, when companies were suddenly asked to design for multiple devices and interfaces. Zillow sees ChatGPT the same way: a new platform that demands a tailored experience. “Different platform, different surface area − a different type of experience,” he said.
Still, real estate adds complications unique to the industry − fair housing rules, listing attribution, and consumer data protections. Weisberg said Zillow worked closely with OpenAI to ensure that customer data is not shared and that prompts comply with industry regulations.
“They don’t want any of our customers’ PII” or personally identifiable information such as names and addresses, he said. “We started off on a really good footing.”
Zillow’s AI ramp
This fall, Zillow introduced the following new tools:
- Virtual staging uses AI to restyle empty rooms to help homebuyers visualize the space in different designs.
- Zillow Home Loans verified pre-approval provides a guided process to the home buyer to verify information.
- Closing dashboard helps homebuyers track title and escrow tasks and services in one place.
- Rentals AI Assist provides information to renters 24/7 about properties, tours and availability.
This summer, Zillow also launched SkyTour,which provides a view from the sky for homebuyers to better see a property’s lot, layout and environment. Its Buyability tool lets buyers know how much house they can afford, and the Rent Affordability Calculator finds homes that fit a renter’s budget.
Beyond the consumer-facing tools, Zillow is also using AI to turbocharge agent productivity. Its Follow Up Boss CRM platform includes features like automated note-taking and “smart messages,” which use behavioral signals to help real estate agents reach out at the right moment.
The AI will inform the agent if the client “is getting much more serious about buying a home,” Weisberg said. The system drafts personalized texts or emails, but only agents can hit send. “The human is always in control.”
Weisberg said the company has been at the forefront of experimentation. “We were one of the first apps that launched on Apple Vision Pro,” he noted. Zillow also was one of the first apps available on the iPad.
Asked what comes next, Weisberg pointed to the rapid evolution of agentic systems. “The inflection point now is going from search, helping me find things with AI, to helping me complete tasks and doing work for me on my behalf, with me always being in the loop,” he said. “That, to me, is the big transition point. The word I hear a lot in the industry is agentic AI.”
Zillow sees itself as more than a real estate search company in that transition. “We are definitely a pioneer,” Weisberg said. “I think of us as the AI company in real estate.”
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