WAV Group founding partner and RE Technology Chief Executive Officer, Victor Lund, traveled to Paris again this year to share insights on the evolution of technology in America. His talk highlighted how systems automation is relieving Realtors of many routine tasks. This process is called Artificial Intelligence, which is the process of having machines do the work that humans normally do.

Marketing Automation is the main area where Artificial Intelligence has taken hold in a significant way in real estate. Machines have automated digital marketing for agents. New listings or updated listings that are reflected in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are automatically pushed out to every agent and broker website in the MLS automatically though a program called IDX or Internet Data Exchange. That creates an enormous amount of marketing distribution. Compounding that digital exposure is automated listing alerts.

Consumers who have saved their search or saved a favorite listing in the MLS or on any IDX powered website are automatically notified when a new or updated listing matches their saved criteria. It is very similar to the hot sheet that agents refer to every day to watch the market. Another enormous AI application is listing syndication. The MLS or the broker’s website vendor will also push listings out to major consumer portals like Homesnap, Zillow, Realtor.com, Homes.com and other consumer facing portals. That is a whole lot of marketing driven though AI.

Another area of marketing automation using AI is done by software developers like Amarki, Imprev, and MarketLeader. These solutions will trigger marketing automation for agents by creating virtual tours, postcards, flyers, social media posts, and other natural marketing assets for the agent. Again, when a machine recognizes an event like a new listing or updated listing, it automatically generates all of these materials and emails them to the agent for approval and distribution.

During his time at the conference, Lund was introduced to an exciting European start-up called Meero. Meero is Europe’s leading professional photography solution provider. They provide 24 hour turn around on professional photography orders including optimizing the photos for color, clarity, and light. The company raised $75 Million from investors in July to expand into the US Market in 2019. They have set up an office in Manhattan and we look forward to seeing their service become available here next year.