Artificial intelligence has reached the negotiating table.

A South Florida man this month described how he sold his house using ChatGPT as his real estate agent, a choice he claimed led to meaningful savings. Robert Levine told NBC South Florida he used the chatbot for much of the process, from pulling together marketing materials to pricing.

While AI isn't specifically prohibited in home sale activity, real estate professionals who spoke to National Mortgage News expressed caution in relying on tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Anthropic's Claude to replace a licensed, experienced agent. AI can provide guidance to first-time homebuyers about how the sales process works, but guaranteed savings aren't clear.

"AI cannot factor in emotional attachment as a value to be negotiated, or know which words will resonate with the bereaved widow who needs to sell but is heartbroken to do it," said Anthony Askowitz, broker/owner of The Askowitz Group with Re/max in South Florida. "It is our human connection that can make or break negotiations."

Levine, the ChatGPT user, told NBC he didn't believe AI would replace real estate agents. He did hire a lawyer to review legal documents, according to the report. He did not respond to NMN's questions regarding the savings he realized, but did say he would leverage ChatGPT in a future home sale. 

What Realtors say

The National Association of Realtors did not say whether it, or any Multiple Listing Services, have specific rules governing the use of AI in transactions. The trade group emphasized that AI must comply with applicable licensing and advertising laws, and that it cannot take responsibility for the outcome of a transaction. 

"An attorney reviewing your contract, a lender structuring your loan, and a Realtor advocating for your interests are not optional steps you can skip with AI," said Dan Weisman, director of innovation strategy for NAR, in emailed comments. "They exist because buying a home carries real legal implications and a financial commitment. That does not change because the technology is impressive."

Sources who spoke with NMN acknowledged, and praised, AI's capabilities but largely agreed with NAR. Askowitz, a Realtor who's been with Re/max since 1990 and averages over 100 transactions a year, said he enjoys using AI but has realized its limitations. He shared an anecdote of a colleague asking about a regulation, and AI answering with a state law that was proposed but actually never passed. 

The veteran Realtor also questioned AI's ability to negotiate a sales price, pointing to trade group research showing for-sale-by-owner transactions net lower prices on average versus agent-assisted sales. He also opined on AI's suggested actions for boosting a sales price, such as recommending a certain paint color. 

"Sometimes you can spend $1,000 and make $10,000, but sometimes you can spend $1,000 and not make it back," he said. 

What loan officers say

Loan officers shared similar concerns, mainly that AI can hallucinate and screw up calculations. 

Yet not everyone was skeptical. Jeremy Schachter, a Phoenix-based branch manager with Fairway Independent Mortgage, also had high praise for AI. He described how modern AI-powered underwriting, including the Candor platform Fairway uses, has sped up workflows. But buying a home still needs a human touch, he said. 

"To negotiate a sales price, go through inspection periods, understanding the time frames, the deadlines, what you can negotiate on, what you can't, as a buyer you should definitely use representation with a real estate agent," he said. 

The branch manager also questioned whether the publicly available AIs could have full access to MLS data regarding past sales for comparable properties. ChatGPT does have a Zillow plugin, although the platform itself states it does not have access to full MLS data.

Andrew Postell, a Dallas-area branch manager with CrossCountry, echoed Askowitz's suggestion that for-sale-by-owner deals net buyers smaller sales prices than if they used agents. He was less dismissive however of the threat ChatGPT posed to the industry. 

"I think everybody should be on notice," he said. "You need to absolutely speak to what sets you apart from a computer."

The CrossCountry professional extended the word of caution to LOs, nodding to the advancing AI underwriting in the mortgage space today.

That AI arms race includes a latest salvo by Better Home & Finance, which debuted an integration with ChatGPT it claims can underwrite for third-party originators in as little as 2 minutes. 

Will AI replace real estate professionals?

Industry experts were skeptical that Robert Levine's exercise represents a canary in the coal mine. While some in mortgage have floated the idea of AI bots securing real estate licenses, professionals dismissed the notion. 

"AI takes information from multiple sources to formulate a decision," said Askowitz. "Human beings do not always make decisions based only on facts."

There are also legal barriers to AI bots securing more prominent roles in the sales process. Mortgage licensing requires a person's fingerprints, one of several major barriers to AI being licensed, each of which ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini themselves point out.  

Originators emphasize the financial risks in humans opting to forgo human experts in home sales. Of course there are professionals both skilled and inept at their jobs, Alex MacLagan, owner of MacLagan Home Loans in Highland Park, Illinois said, but a human agent is overall the better bet than AI.

"You can try to be cheap in certain areas," he said. "But then it costs you more in the long run."