What happens when clients start searching with AI?

A few years ago, if someone wanted to find a real estate agent, they’d open Google and type something like “best agent near me”.

That still happens. But it’s no longer the whole picture.

More and more, buyers and sellers are asking questions in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity.

The kind you’d ask your mate over coffee (or a cheeky beveragino).

“I’m thinking about selling in Bronte. Who should I talk to?”

“Which agency has the best reputation locally?”

“Is Agency A better than Agency B?”

And here’s the uncomfortable bit…

Those tools are leading people to decisions before your phone even rings.

AI search isn’t Google with a new coat of paint

Traditional search is blunt.

You type something short. Google throws back links. You click around and piece it together yourself.

AI search works differently.

People ask full questions.

The AI pulls information from multiple places, stiches it together, and gives a single answer that sounds confident.

Almost like a recommendation.

That answer doesn’t come from one source.

It comes from a mix of:

• Agency websites
• Review platforms
• Property portals
• Trusted aggregators
• Public data the model already knows

Which means if your presence is thin, inconsistent, or outed across those places, you’re invisible in ways you haven’t noticed yet.

Reputation is doing more work than you think

During our Reputation 2.0 session with Birdeye, one thing became clear pretty quickly.

Reviews aren't just social proof anymore.

They’re raw material for AI.

Large language models (LLM) look at:

• Star ratings
• Volume of reviews
• How recent they are
• What people actually say in them
• Whether you respond, and how you respond

The last one catches people out.

If an agency has 200 reviews but never replies, the AI doesn’t see “popular”. It sees “unresponsive”.

That changes how it describes you.

If you reply to everything, even the awkward ones, it signals care.

Not perfection. Care.

And that tone shows up in AI answers.

One platform is not enough

This is where a lot of agencies fall flat.

They go all in on one platform, stick a fork in it and call it done.

Google. RateMyAgent. Pick your favourite.

The problem is AI doesn’t pick favourites.

It pulls from everywhere.

If you only exist properly in one place, you’re giving the AI half the story and hoping it fills in the gaps kindly.

Sometimes it does. Often it doesn’t.

A broader presence across platforms gives AI more confidence in who you are and what you’re good at.

Automation matters because humans are busy

Most agents are not forgetting to ask for reviews because they don’t care.

They’re forgetting because they’re flat out.

That’s why automation matters.

The smartest agencies take review requests out of human hands and tie them to moments that already feel like a win.

When a property goes unconditional.

When a lease is signed.

When a deal is done and everyone’s still feeling good about it.

Automated review requests mean:

• Better timing
• More consistency
• Less awkward chasing
• More reviews without extra effort

It’s not flashy. It just works.

The two AI searches that matter the most

From what we’re seeing, AI search in real estate falls into two buckets.

The first is discovery.

“I’m thinking about selling. Who should I consider?”

This is early stage.

The client hasn’t picked anyone yet. They’re forming a shortlist based on reputation signals.

The second is comparison.

“I’m deciding between Agency A and Agency B. Which one is better?”

At this point, the AI is laying agencies side by side.

Reviews, sentiment, responsiveness, local presence.

ALL of it matters.

If your agency doesn’t show strongly here, someone else gets the call.

Your website still matters. Just in a different way

Here’s some good news.

You don’t need to burn your SEO playbook.

A lot of basics still apply.

AI looks for clear answers to real questions.

That’s why FAQ sections work so well on your agency website.

No fluffy marketing questions. Real ones.

“How do you price a property?”

“What should I look for in an agent?”

“How long does it usually take to sell in this suburb?”

Q: Write the question the way a human would ask it.

A: Answer it like a human would explain it.

That’s gold for AI.

What good actually looks like

People always ask, “How many reviews do I need?”

There’s no magic number. But there are some solid guideposts.

Star rating matters more than volume at first.

Below four stars, visibility drops fast. Aim for 4.5 or higher.

And volume depends on competition.

A handy benchmark is to look at your top two or three local competitors and aim to be around 30% ahead of time.

Consistency matters too.

10 reviews in one month and nothing for six months looks odd. Steady beats spiky.

And respond to everything. Yes, even the annoying ones.

This isn’t a future problem

Right now, AI search is still a smaller slice of overall search behaviour.

Around 5% by most estimates.

But it’s growing fast. Some forecasts put it closer to 30% within the next couple of years.

That’s not a distant horizon. That’s your next business plan.

The agencies who start treating reputation as infrastructure, not marketing, will be fine.

The ones who don’t will wonder why fewer people are calling, even though they’re doing “everything right”.

Where to go from here

If this feels a bit uncomfortable, that’s probably a good sign.

Start simple:

• Look at where your reviews actually live
• Check if you respond to all of them
• See how your agency appears when you ask an AI tool about your local market

If you want to dive deeper, you can watch the full Reputation 2.0 session on-demand here.

And if reviews are an area you want to tighten up, Birdeye has some good resources worth a look here.

Because like it or not, AI is already part of how clients decide who to trust.

Better to know what it’s