How technology is disrupting the home buying experience from sales to moving

Publicly-owned company Realogy has just announced a partnership with OJO Labs, Inc. in attempt to bring artificial intelligence to the real estate industry.

According to the partnership, OJO Labs will provide its AI technology to the real estate giant to help real estate agents close more deals and “turn prospects into clients for life.”

OJO is a chatbot that is designed to work in conjunction with real estate agents by cultivating prospects through a mobile messaging platform that answers prospective buyers’ questions and shares personalized listings and market information.

Additionally, the technology simultaneously learns about each prospect’s unique preferences, advising real estate agents when a prospect is nearing a purchasing decision so they can reach out at the perfect moment to provide a human touch and close the deal. In doing so, the technology promises to deliver the highest quality leads and enable agents to use their time more efficiently.

John Berkowitz, Co-founder of OJO Labs, said in a press release, “In the discovery phase of the home buying and selling process, consumers often are not ready to speak to someone yet and don’t want to be sold by third parties looking to inundate the client as a lead.”

For this reason, the AI-powered chatbot initially takes the place of overeager real estate agents and allows them to focus instead on buyers and sellers who are more ready to make a final decision.

Technology such as this, designed to win more deals, has been gaining momentum as an effective sales tool. Qurious is another example of tech for sales representatives that transforms static sales playbooks into dynamic tools that provide real-time analytics and recommendations, using voice-powered AI rather than a chatbot like OJO.

President and CEO of Realogy, John Peyton, is betting on this technology to play an integral part in the company’s future. “We are excited to get OJO and this innovative technology into the hands of our affiliated agents. We hope the results of the program will support our belief that an AI assistant could lead to increased agent productivity and higher conversion rates for online leads,” he stated.

Technology assisting these agents is just the tip of the iceberg for tech in the real estate industry, though. Other tech has been designed to help buyers and sellers after their decision has been made to buy or sell a home.

Move Easy is a company that helps automate the moving process for buyers and sellers upon switching homes, and often works with real estate agencies to make the process as seamless as possible. The company’s platform allows users the opportunity to manage every aspect of the move, including forwarding mail, updating driver’s licences, switching utilities, and finding movers, among many others.

Additionally, the company has developed an instant quote feature to facilitate the moving process and provide customers with the instant gratification they crave. According to a company blog post, “With the implementation of the instant quote, moving companies will see their productivity and customer satisfaction increase immensely.”

Together, tools such as OJO and Move Easy are aiming to radically improve the customer experience for individuals making decisions in the real estate industry.

In an industry that has traditionally been characterized largely by personal interaction, technology seems to be gaining a strong foothold and changing the environment for both real estate agents and their clients.