Finding an Estate Agent Online - Has AI Made It Harder?

Social media and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – a marriage made in heaven! Depending on your preferred news sources we’re either on the threshold of a bright new world, stor teetering on the precipice of the End of Days.

What does any of that have to do with the private rented sector though?

We’ve written about AI and thePRS previously; new tools which, it is claimed, will make the lives of tenants, landlords and estate agents materially better. Time will tell, however the use of AI to create content is already rampant.

If you’re a regular YouTube or Tiktok user, you may have noticed creators falling over themselves to demonstrate that their content is not regurgitated AI slop, although Google seems largely unconcerned.

This is true of other social media platforms, so with every passing day, more of the content paraded before us is potentially questionable, and possibly of dubious value and veracity.

That being the case, if you are searching for a reputable estate agent specialising in investment properties, how do you fight through the myriad of glossy posts and search results, and find the businesses which are actually worth speaking to?

As property professionals in this very field, this is a question which has been troubling us, so we decided it was worth delving into the subject to find out how to avoid being distracted and finding what you actually need.

In short, is emerging technology actually making finding an estate agent online harder?

Is this really a problem?

Excellent question, well presented! Compared to world hunger? No, obviously not. If you’re trying to find reliable professionals who can genuinely assist and aid you in your investment journey? Yes, it absolutely is.

When finding an estate agent online, there can be difficulties in knowing which content or adverts have genuine value. You have little control over what gets shown to you because of the algorithms. But what is an algorithm?

Simply put, an algorithm is a plan, a set of step-by-step instructions to solve a problem. (per the BBC). They aren’t exclusive to AI, but rather a cornerstone of computer science.

In the context we’re discussing, the importance of algorithms is the control they exert over what you are shown every time you access the web. Nothing we see on social media sites is random.

To fully understand what is being done to us as we browse social media and search the web could take years or drive you mad, possibly both. There’s a good explanation published by Time magazine that’s worth a look.

The short version is the more you like a post, or react to a post in any way, on social media, the more of that kind of content you’ll be served.

So as a landlord, who presumably has an interest in all things PRS, you’ll most likely get loads of content and adverts germane to owning investment properties served up to you. And this brings us to the crux of this piece; how much is real or useful?

Is Artificial Intelligence intelligent?

We’re going to keep this brief because the subject itself is simply too vast and too complex.

A lot of AI is based on LLMs (Large Language Models) and they are at their heart aggregators of existing information. The ‘intelligence’ exists in being able to deliver the information you’re looking for – in this case – finding an estate agent online.

Now, despite the fact that at least one AI returns our own articles as part of its answers, it is increasingly accepted that AI search results can be, err, fanciful.

They can also be geared to what the AI thinks you want, so how searches are phrased matter more than was possibly the case with non-AI-enabled search engines.

The other issue with AI is that it can be used to create things which, honestly, don’t really exist. Now, we don’t know why anyone would cosplay at being an estate agent on the web, but it’s a big and peculiar world!

More likely you might encounter posts which are not entirely accurate, which make the poster look much better than they really are because AI can be good at that. However, those posts may also look deeply professional and attractive.

You might rightly feel that this is a bigger problem on social media, and you’d probably be correct, but the influence of this technology is spreading far and wide.

Winnowing out the chaff

This is possibly the most frustrating aspect of our increasingly online, algorithm driven, AI-enhanced world – can you trust what’s being put before you? What is worth your time and attention? And how do you find trustworthy content?

In our private lives, we can decide whether to believe or disbelieve what we see and read, and for most of us the consequences are unimportant.

In our business lives, that’s not the case. If you’re searching for a new estate agent, the outcome of that search, and the decisions you make as a result, will have very real consequences for you and your business.

Eye-catching, exciting adverts and websites are no longer the reserve of well-financed companies, pretty much anyone can create a professional, engaging site or content, with nothing more than a laptop and limited imagination.

And you’re going to get served this stuff on a regular basis. If they’re doing their job, they’ll capture your attention and eat up your time. They’ll no doubt tell you how terrific they are and how much better your business will be with their help.

The more of these links, stories and reels you click on, the more you’ll be served until, if you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself overloaded and quite possibly screaming into the abyss.

The killer is that you may not have actually learned very much about potential agents or their charges, although you may conclude that you’ve learned a lot about algorithms, sponsored links and the nature of the internet!

So, with the much-vaunted information super-highway driving all of this – stuff – towards you, how do you find the agent you’re looking for?

Time to roll those sleeves up

We reckon you’re way ahead of us here, in part because many of you will already have waded through this particular morass before.

Check membership of redress schemes. All estate agents who deal with residential properties must be a member of either The Property Ombudsman (TPO) scheme, or the Property Redress Scheme (PRS).

Additionally, membership of Propertymark is an indicator of professional intent.

Ask for evidence of recently sold properties. Some agents will promise inflated values to win your business, but the key metric is what they have actually sold similar properties for in the recent past.

Look at the quality of their marketing materials, not just the shiny advertisement designed to get your attention.

Are their property photographs of a high quality? Is there any evidence of image manipulation intended to give a better impression of a property than is justified by reality?

Are their property particulars well-written and informative? These days it’s increasingly common to see AI used to generate written content, but a good agent will ensure that it is accurate, well-composed and attractive. That takes time.

Who’s paying for their services? They should be upfront about who is paying for their services – buyer or seller – and what those charges are. Any agent (or indeed business) should have no problem explaining what they charge and for what.

We offered our thoughts on the subject; “Should you use an estate agent?”

The fundamentals never really change. Reputation still counts, word-of-mouth is still worth consideration. Locality and local knowledge is a major benefit as the rental market varies enormously from one region to another.

Advice from the property pros

Finding an estate agent online should be simple. The internet, and the online world in general, is a boon to businesses but it is far from being a panacea for all ills.

Few of us pay for the information we find online, and as the trope has it, if you aren’t paying for the product, you’re the product. Consequently the environment itself rewards and reinforces engagement above all else.

As a result, your simple search will deliver a cornucopia of results. Given the forces which drive the internet, you are almost certainly going to have to dig behind the shiny algorithm-served suggestions to actually find out if an agent is right for you.

In that respect, nothing has really changed. An estate agent can deliver, but if you find them personally off-putting, you may prefer to put your business elsewhere, but neither AI nor those glittering posts can tell you that.

The sheer volume of information delivered via the web in all its forms is a recognised problem, and not one that’s always easy to cope with. Being as specific as you can with searches can help, but like a casino, the machine isn’t really your friend.

You may wish to use search engines which do not use AI and which should be less prone to serving you promoted content in the first place.

Accordingly, landlords and investors are thrown back on their own initiative and judgement. No matter how alluring, how shiny, how attention-grabbing online content is, only you can make the decision that’s right for you.

In summary…

Algorithm-driven results and content can suggest avenues to explore, but like so much in business, making the right decisions boils down to knowing what you want and what’s right for you and your circumstances.

Can the web help you find what you’re looking for? Of course it can, but it can also deliver so much information that it can occasionally feel like any decision is impossible, and it does so in a manner which can be distracting and unfocussed.

We believe strongly in furnishing our clients with the information they require, informed by their circumstances and needs. Like you, we can also find the online world overwhelming and distracting (hence this article!).

We’re not Luddites, in the sense that the term has become used, but sometimes the information you really need is specific and possibly locale-specific, and the internet can only get you part of the way to the information you need.

At best, it can hopefully steer you towards people and businesses who can supply the knowledge and advice you’re seeking. Beyond that, we still need to rely on our own, natural, intelligence rather than the silicon-based version.

The algorithm may be ubiquitous these days, but it isn’t the only way to find the answers you’re seeking. If we can help, please get in touch and speak to a couple of real humans!

Thanks for reading!

Written by Ross MacDonald, Director of Sales & Cofounder of Portolio

Get in touch on 07388 361 564 or email to [email protected]