How AI Is Choosing Real Estate Agents (And Most Agents Don’t Even Realise They’re Being Ranked)

by Glenn Twiddle

There’s a shift happening in real estate right now that most agents won’t notice until it’s already cost them listings.

And here’s the wild part:

AI — yes, the same thing people are joking about writing their emails — is already choosing which agents get recommended to sellers.

No sign-up.
No opt-in.
No notification.

You are being scanned, assessed and ranked… quietly… while you’re out there thinking your letterbox drops and weekend opens are the whole game.

And mate (gender neatral mate, of course haha) , I’m telling you — this changes EVERYTHING.

The Silent Shift Happening While Most Agents Are Asleep (sigh…again, this is getting old!!)

Sellers used to ask their mates:

“Who should I list with?”

Then they Googled:

“Top agents in [suburb].”

Now they literally ask:

“ChatGPT, who is the best real estate agent in my suburb?”

And AI answers.
Confidently.
Authoritatively.
Even when it’s wrong.
Even when it’s laughably incomplete.
Even when it leaves out absolute legends who SHOULD be on the list.

That’s not the point.

The point is:

AI already has an opinion.

And the only question is…

Do you show up?

Or is the machine already quietly sending your listings to someone else?

How AI Actually Decides Which Agent to Recommend (This Isn’t Guesswork)

AI doesn’t care about:

How long you’ve been in real estate
How many flyers you printed
How many “Just Listed” signs you’ve installed
How nice you are at opens

It cares about signals.

Real, measurable, digital footprints that indicate whether you are a leader or just another operator in the “sea of sameness.”

Here’s what matters.

1. Digital Authority Signals (Your New Resume)

AI looks for:

articles you’ve written
podcasts you’ve appeared on
interviews
training content
consistent market commentary
anything that proves you’re a serious player

If your competitor has more of this?

Game over.

Even if you’re better at the kitchen table… AI doesn’t know that.
It only knows what it can read.

2. Reputation & Social Proof

AI analyses:

reviews
testimonials
mentions
public praise
case studies

If people talk about you publicly, AI assumes you’re the real deal.

If not?

You’re invisible.

And you know my rule:

“Professionally Invisible” agents starve.
Visible, noisy, attention getting agents dominate.

3. Visibility & Content Footprint

If AI can’t find enough evidence you exist?

It just… doesn’t include you.

No emotion.
No malice.
No bias.
Just data.

If your:

website is thin
social content is random
name isn’t associated with “authority words”
digital footprint looks patchy

AI assumes you’re not the strongest choice.

And it sends opportunities elsewhere.

The Dangerous Part: AI Won’t Tell You When You’ve Been Skipped

Google shows metrics.
Facebook shows analytics.

AI shows… nothing.

There is no alert that says:

“Hey mate, we’ve stopped recommending you.”

You just lose quietly.
Silently.
Before you ever get a chance at the listing presentation.

That’s the new battlefield.

Most agents don’t even know they’re in the fight.

A Simple 5-Minute Experiment That Will Either Excite You or Terrify You

Open ChatGPT and try this:

“Who is the best real estate agent in my suburb?”

“Who is the most recommended agent in [suburb] right now?”

“Which agent in [city] is best for selling a home fast?”

“Who is the top real estate coach for listings and modern marketing?”

The answers will shock you.

Some agents appear.
Most don’t.

Not because they’re bad agents —
but because they’ve left zero usable evidence for AI to read.

You are being judged on data, not talent.

And that should scare every agent who has been coasting on reputation alone.

Why Most Agents Are Vulnerable (And Don’t Even Realise It)

Most agents still think:

“As long as someone Googles me, I’m fine.”

That’s the 2012 mindset.

And many of my clients shove their name and face down the throats of their communities though social media, (and this still works AMAZINGLY) but even though this still works, it is the 2014-2019 mindset and SHOULD be outdated even though agents are, once again, embarrassingly slow to the the party.

Sellers aren’t typing your name anymore.
They’re asking questions.

And here’s the key difference:

When someone types your name into Google, they already know you exist.

But when someone asks AI:

“Who’s the best agent near me?”

AI decides whether you’re even in the conversation.

If you’re not?

You don’t just lose.

You never played.

What You MUST Fix As We Enter 2026

A. What NOT to outsource to AI

Do NOT hand over:

your tone
your personality
your trust-building
your listing conversations
your follow-up messages
your emotional intelligence

If you do, you become a generic bot.

AI will lump you into the “same as everyone else” category.

And that category is death. Remeber despite the fact that AI is GOOD, really good, at these tasks. But if EVERYONE is good, then NO ONE is good !!

B. What AI SHOULD do for you

Use AI to:

clean your CRM
organise your workload
repurpose your social content
upgrade your authority assets
help you publish MORE so AI has more to read
accelerate your visibility

This is how you win the digital arms race.

You + AI = unbeatable.

AI instead of you = unemployed.

The Early Adopters Are About to Become the New Million-Dollar Agents

Every major shift in the last 20 years followed the same pattern:

Internet / Online portals
Facebook ads
Video
Social media
Personal branding

Each time:

the agents who moved early DOMINATED.
The ones who waited… struggled.
The ones who ignored… became extinct.

We are now at that moment again.

Except this time, the acceleration is 100x faster.

And the consequences are bigger.

This isn’t “learn TikTok.”
This is rewrite how listings flow through the ecosystem.

If You Want to Understand This Properly, Hit me Up

I’ve run a few trainings on this topc, so hit me up for a copy:

how AI actually ranks agents
which digital signals give you an unfair advantage
what to fix immediately
the checklist your webmaster needs
myths that are hurting good agents
why personal connection matters more than ever
what must stay human in order for you to win listings

This is not techy.
Not overwhelming.
Anyone can implement it.
Let’s get started before your competiton does

Go the the home page HERE – Real Estate MArketing Coaching – all the contact details at the home page.