Warning About ChatGPT/Zillow Integration

Are you a Person or a Lead?

There are huge benefits from integrating listing search into chat, but here is one warning about ChatGPT/Zillow integration; When it comes time to schedule a showing you might ask are you a person or a lead?

There was a famous scene in Glengarry Glen Ross where a trite band of real estate people were complaining about the quality of the leads they were being given by their sales manager. They wanted the good leads - the pink stack of cards wrapped in a gold bow and held aloft by Alec Baldwin’s character as some kind of holy grail.

What is a lead?

A lead is actually a human being who exhibits some likelihood of buying whatever it is that a salesperson might be schlocking. To me it has always seemed to be in bad taste and a poor business decision to frame people in this way. It seems to strip away both the humanity of the prospective buyer as well as the salesperson who would naturally treat these “leads” not as people they might form a connection with, but merely as a means to a commission-based end. Gross!

I don’t want to be anyone’s lead. Do you? Let’s come back to that.

ChatGPT/Zillow Integration

I DO like ChatGPT and I like Zillow. Both of these companies have figured out how to provide value to the public. And now they are working together and providing even more value. You can ask Chat for homes meeting a certain set of parameters and it can open Zillow right inside the platform and show them to you. I think this is a step forward in home search. What I have never liked about many online real estate platforms is that when you click to schedule a showing, most of them don’t connect you with the listing agent or even an agent who is vetted as being good at what they do. Their business models involve selling “leads”. So who might show up at the house to open the door for you after clicking the button to schedule? The best and the brightest? Or the highest bidder?

Sidenote about Homes.com

Homes.com is an exception to this. They connect you with the listing agent so that at least if you have questions, you will get someone who knows the house.

How to Find a Realtor the Right Way

When the important time comes to choose an agent, maybe we shouldn’t forfeit discretion to the luck of the draw. There are smarter ways to hire a Realtor. Instead:

• Ask around. The best agents get their business from referrals, not flashy ads.
• Research. Platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and even plain ol’ Google can help you dig into reviews and sales history.
• Look for a pattern of trust. Good agents are consistent. They earn repeat clients and long-term credibility.

Bottom Line

You’re not a “lead.” You’re a person about to make one of the most important financial decisions of your life.

So please try to find someone to work with who sees you that way.

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