Artificial intelligence has quickly become the backbone of many real estate technologies, powering CRMs, marketing tools, operational software and more. But can AI eventually help consumers buy and sell homes with no human support? 

While some companies are pursuing a fully AI-powered transaction, others — like WithJoy.AI — are taking a “best of both worlds” approach. The recently launched brokerage, which is piloting its offering in Washington state, aims to offload much of a human buyer agent’s work to an AI agent — “Joy” — but also provides real people to help buyers get to the finish line.

AI for the nuts and bolts, humans for hand-holding

A 2024 report from T3 Sixty found that a staggering 80% of an agent’s tasks can be handled by AI, leaving agents to focus on the “fine tuning” — and, says WithJoy Co-founder and CEO Dave Clark, the “scary” stuff.

WithJoy currently specializes in the buy-side of the transaction, leveraging tech where possible to assist both consumers and agents after deciding a fully automated approach wasn’t viable.  

“Our initial vision when we started working on this over a year ago was that we’re going to create a purely AI real estate agent,” said Clark. 

“We very quickly realized that, regulatorily speaking, you actually can’t do that. So, instead, we got kind of the best of both worlds. You still have the human presence to do the part of the job that tech really won’t be able to, like being someone who’s going to hold your hand and walk you through the scary aspects that people are going to be less likely to just trust a purely digital interface.”

The company helps buyers zero in on a home using natural language search, and when a buyer is ready to move forward, WithJoy can help draft an “AI-backed offer” that is approved by an agent before it goes in front of a client.

A substitute for an agent’s local market expertise? 

In WithJoy’s model, there’s a local agent available for buyers who have questions — but that may not always be the case as this type of technology expands.

“My biggest concern is actually for the clients, many of whom will be tempted to forgo contracting with a local, more expensive agent who provides a higher level of service than an AI, or a remote agent-plus-AI team,” said Sebastian Frey, broker associate at Compass Silicon Valley in Los Gatos, California.  

“I always consider one of my primary jobs as a buyer’s agent to help a buyer avoid making a horrible mistake, and I can see a lot of buyers not fully understanding what they’re getting into if they rely solely on AI to help them close the deal, or relying on an AI-empowered agent hundreds of miles away who has zero experience with the intricacies of the local market they’re buying in.”

But, Frey acknowledges, experienced buyers and investors who know the ins and outs of real estate may welcome a more hands-off, AI-driven option. “In fact, many will wholeheartedly embrace it,” Frey predicts. And they might also value the cost savings — WithJoy says buyers using their system can receive a rebate of up to 70% of the buy-side commission.

What lies ahead

Many agents are already embracing AI tools in their everyday work, letting the tech handle time-consuming tasks like writing up CMAs or listing descriptions so an agent can simply review them rather than create them from scratch.

Tech-forward brokerages like Real, Compass and Keller Williams have created proprietary AI tools for their agents, as have third-party proptech companies and startups, and MLSs are jumping on the AI bandwagon as well.

It’s clear that the technology is not only here to stay, but rapidly advancing — and in an AI future, real estate professionals who don’t embrace it will likely get left behind.