AI for real estate agents isn’t about sending more messages faster. It’s about knowing who to reach out to, when and what to say.
On this episode of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered — recorded live at Zillow Unlock 2026 — James Dwiggins sits down with Zillow Senior Vice President of Agent Software and Advertising, Cynthia Taylor, to talk about how AI is changing the way agents find, serve and keep clients.
Taylor shares her path from investment banking to Amazon Web Services to Zillow, and what it’s like to build products her own mother, a real estate agent, now uses on her listings.
She breaks down the two ways AI can help agents most: automating busywork, like call notes and transcriptions, and surfacing proactive signals about which clients are ready to act. She also explains Likely to List, which brings Zillow’s seller signals directly into an agent’s Follow Up Boss database.
According to Taylor, 1 in 4 properties tagged Likely to List come to market within 90 days. She shares the story of one agent who used the tag to reach out to two contacts he hadn’t realized were thinking about selling. One replied that they had been about to call him.
On the consumer side, Taylor says buyers and sellers using Zillow AI Mode are more than 3 times as likely to reach out to an agent. They arrive more informed, more confident and ready to move forward. As James points out, more information has never replaced the agent; it has made the agent more valuable.
They also discuss Zillow AI Mode, why consumers using it are more likely to reach out to an agent and how to approach AI without leading with fear. Taylor’s advice for 2027 is to bring your scattered data sources together into one system, so AI has the context it needs to help you.
Highlights
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- The two ways AI can help agents most right now
- How Likely to List brings Zillow seller signals into Follow Up Boss
- Why Smart Messages are driving 4x more replies
- How Zillow AI Mode is sending more informed consumers to agents
- What agents should do now to prepare for 2027
Her one piece of advice for 2027: If you’re texting clients in one place, emailing them in another, and not messaging through your CRM, you’re missing the signals that make AI useful. Start mapping where your data lives and make a plan to bring it all together.
Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered is now exclusively on Inman. Tune in for agent- and team-focused content on Mondays and leadership interviews on Wednesdays each week. Listen on Apple or Spotify.
James Dwiggins is the president of NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
Keith Robinson is the president of strategy at NextHome, Inc. and co-host of Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered.
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The views and opinions expressed on Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered are those of the hosts and guests in their personal capacities and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of AGNT, Inc., eXp Realty, LLC, NextHome, Inc., or any of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, or directors.
