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A Christie’s International Real Estate franchise in Portugal has built an artificial intelligence-powered bot that it’s billing as the world’s first AI real estate agent. And it just hit a major milestone: $100 million in sales since landing the job.
Created by Porta da Frente Christie’s, a Christie’s-affiliated brokerage in Portugal with offices in Cascais and Lisbon, among other cities, the bot has been working overtime since launching last year in tandem with eSelf AI technolgy, a platform developed by an Israeli startup that enhances large language models with visual capabilities — like bots mimicking real estate agents.
João Cília | Porta da Frente Christie’s CEO
“We have more than 5,000 properties currently in our portfolio,” Porta de Frente Christie’s CEO João Cília told Fox Business. “It is impossible for a physical person to know all of the information regarding these 5,000 properties, but it’s not impossible for an AI agent to do so. So you as a customer are going to get, probably and most likely, much better service right away.”
The AI agent significantly streamlines the home search process, allowing buyers to input their home preferences such as location, budget, and number of bedrooms, and receive tailored listings at a fast pace, take virtual property tours and access 24/7 hour support, even with time zone limitations.
The view from a computer terminal as a homebuyer takes a virtual tour alongside an AI real estate agent.
By removing barriers and improving efficiency, the AI real estate agent enhances the overall homebuying experience while reducing the workload for traditional agents, according to Cília.
Cília predicts that large-scale adoption will result in churn, with some human agents being replaced, which will reduce operational costs. However, the shift also raises questions about the future role of traditional real estate agents in an increasingly tech-driven world.
The firm also predicted two other major trends over the next two years, according to Estate Agent Today: a rise in for sale by owner transactions that threaten to reduce reliance on traditional agents and the expansion of self-employed company models.
“With AI-driven solutions advancing rapidly, the future of estate agencies is set for major transformation,” the Christie’s affiliate said in a statement to the UK-based news outlet. “Whether through direct customer interactions, automated lead nurturing or data-driven insights, AI is becoming an integral part of the property industry. Agencies that fail to adapt risk being left behind.”
