Debate - AI to be the death of buying agents
Let me hear your opinion on this.
With AI becoming more capable every month, I've been wondering whether buyer's agents are the group most at risk of being disrupted.Today, a buyer can tell ChatGPT their preferred location, budget, must-haves, and deal-breakers, and receive a detailed breakdown of available listings, neighbourhood information, commute times, schools, market trends, and even advice on what a fair offer might look like. As these tools continue to improve, what role will the buyer's agent play that AI can't eventually assist with?
There's also the financial side. If the buyer's agent commission, often $10,000 to $20,000, is removed from the transaction, that's money that could potentially increase the buyer's purchasing power or reduce the seller's overall commission costs. In a competitive market, that could become a significant advantage.
It could also shift more responsibility back onto listing agents. Instead of relying heavily on buyer's agents to bring purchasers, listing agents would need to actively market and sell their own listings rather than simply placing them on MLS and waiting for another agent to do the work.
From a transaction perspective, having fewer parties involved could also streamline negotiations. Anyone who has worked in real estate has likely experienced deals becoming more difficult because a buyer's agent introduces unrealistic demands or tries to prove their value, even when both buyer and seller are close to an agreement. With fewer intermediaries, negotiations could become more direct and efficient.
Of course, there are clear counterarguments. Experienced buyer's agents provide negotiation skills, local knowledge, access to off-market opportunities, guidance through inspections and financing, and they help clients avoid costly mistakes. AI can't attend inspections, read personalities in a negotiation, or build trust in the same way a skilled professional can.
That said, if AI continues advancing at its current pace, it's hard not to question whether the traditional role of the buyer's agent will look the same 10 years from now or will they disappear entirely?
I know this can be a sensitive question for some agents, who are heavily buying agents but things change if you like it or not