Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series on how agents earn recommendations and referrals from AI. Read part one here and part two here.
When a prospective buyer or seller asks someone they trust to recommend a real estate agent, you want your name to be the first one mentioned.
What happens when that trustworthy source is AI?
As consumers are increasingly relying on ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini or other general-purpose LLMs for everyday advice, many in the industry say that getting your name in AI queries is vital to grow your business.
RISMedia asked multiple AI models to recommend the top agent in particular markets that are currently rated as “hot.” Our journalists then reached out to these agents and asked how they managed to earn those recommendations, and find out if it is having significant impacts on their business.
Hitting your numbers
John Turner says it started with a housing slump, and an interest in real estate data.
“When our market turned back in 2022, I started pulling data every week just trying to see what’s going on with the market—never really did that before in my career,” he said.
The Turner Victory Team in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, has always relied on traditional word-of-mouth and attraction for leads. Currently with 10 team members, Turner says he stumbled into AI as a source of referrals—before taking off running.
“I just find the data fascinating…and AI makes it so easy now,” he says. “So between that and the other thing, it’s just trying to put out great information for potential clients. And AI likes that.”
After building some internal tools to better process this data he had, Turner says he just kept going, focused on mostly foundational upgrades—a website redesign, data reports for prospective clients, audits and consistent content creation.
Eventually, what Turner describes as a tremendous amount of work paid off.
“There was one weekend we had two phone calls, and both people said, ‘We found you online,’ and we don’t pay for online leads. I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty cool.’ From that point…the number of leads that we’ve had come in has grown every month.
Getting there
Turner has no background in tech or data analysis, he says. Everything he did was a product of learning on the go, and leveraging AI tools that he claims make a lot of this work more accessible.
“If you’re curious, AI will help you out,” Turner says, “if you start asking it really good questions.”
One thing Turner says he discovered quickly is that AI loves unique, local data, and that regurgitating stats or analyses that are available from other (usually more established) sources won’t get your name mentioned by AI models.
“All this data that we’re looking at, we’re getting it from the MLS—but then we’re also looking at it in a little bit different way,” he says. “We put our spin on a few little things.”
The rest of the project really came from “passion” and an interest in learning and programming on his own—and a lot of time and energy, even using those AI tools.
“I don’t think even our team understands how much time I’ve put into it,” Turner laughs. “It’s a passion of mine, so it’s really, I don’t feel like I’m working, but to do it the way that I’ve done it, it takes a lot of work.”
The team structure itself is also something that is useful to building credibility with AI, Turner notes, because of the way reviews and transactions are processed.
“I do think the team aspect helps that portion of it. And that’s not all that the LLMs look at, but they do want to verify that you actually do business out there,” he says.
Consistency is also something that most real estate professionals already know is imperative in the business, but Turner says it also became an important element of getting in front of AI.
Besides regular audits, Turner says he makes videos and accompanying blog posts on specific real estate topics, almost entirely in order to build authority with AI.
“I tell people all the time it’s more for AI than it is for (you),” he laughs. “I mean, I love when people look at it and they tell me, ‘Hey, I liked your video.’ But it really is to pick up for AI.”
Audits are important to stay on top of changes in AI algorithms and models, Turner says, as he conducts weekly searches to see where and how he is showing up.
But he freely acknowledges that the future is hard to predict, especially with at least one AI model (ChatGPT) moving toward paid ads.
“So who knows? But I know right now that I’m enjoying it. This has been fun for me. I mean, as much time as I spend on it, it’s just a fun project and it’s benefiting my team,” Turner says. “But I’m constantly just trying to look to see what’s out there to try to stay as in front of it as I can.”
Seeing it both ways
Turner also acknowledges that he came into the AI era with a lot of trust and history, drawn from three decades of experience and a bevy of strong stats.
He also stops short of characterizing AI recommendations or visibility as a necessity for real estate professionals.
“Our team has always thrived on relationships, and that’s really where our business comes from. I’ll throw the caveat in there—if you want to be someone that is cited by AI, that’s great, but really what’s the best thing for your business?” Turner asks. “You don’t need to just throw everything away that you’re doing.”
After spending so many hours with AI tools, Turner also cautions that the technology itself is far from perfect, recalling a time when the model he was working with told him it was late in the evening and he needed to take a break—at around 4 p.m.
“It knows my time zone and everything, and it missed it by four hours,” he says. “I think the more you use AI, the more you appreciate it, but you also realize that it hallucinates quite a bit.”
The time it took to build his own AI authority is also prohibitive for many busy agents, he notes.
Turner still recommends agents take the time to make sure their online presence is relatively consistent across social media and the internet, and then “stick your name in ChatGPT” and make sure whatever comes out is professional and accurate.
Anyone who wants can “take it deeper” and start finding ways to reach clients through AI. But he also points out that real estate has always supported a vast array of business models and approaches to the business, and argues that AI is not about to change that.
“If something’s working for you, keep doing it and don’t let the hype of AI put fear in you, or anything like that. Just do what works for you,” Turner says.
