AI Is Saving Agents Time, and 3 More Big Takeaways From Unlock 2025

What does the perfect real estate team look like? How can agents double their transactions? What should they do to build their brands?

At Unlock 2025, agents were looking for that incremental edge they could bring home and start using right away. Here’s a rundown of some of the biggest takeaways.

1. Agents are saving time with artificial intelligence

Earlier this year, Follow Up Boss built an AI feature that can draft talking points and email copy based on client call transcripts. The original plan was for that to be ready in 2026, but a few agents saw an early version of the feature and requested it immediately. Zillow’s product team changed course and shipped it in four days. Since then, over 6.2 million messages have been sent using the tech, saving agents a ton of time communicating with clients. 

Other practical examples came up in conversation throughout the week: automated client browsing insights, tour scheduling, AI assistants. Agents and consumers can see Zillow listings directly in ChatGPT. One team leader told me he now uses AI every day to edit social media videos.

There was cautious optimism around AI at last year’s Unlock, but some agents were still unsure how to use it. Now, it’s easier to get concrete value from AI on a regular basis.

2. Teams of all sizes can win (with this ingredient)

There’s no perfect blueprint for success, but there does seem to be a common factor among top-performing teams: leading with data.

Across a half-dozen sessions about leadership, agents spoke about making data part of their culture through everything from public leaderboards to hiring practices to one-on-one check-ins. The consensus seemed to be that adopting a data-driven mindset could be uncomfortable at first; expect some agents to push back. But eventually you’ll be better off with a clear way to hold agents accountable and guide decisions.

For example, one team leader said agents on her team receive a grade every week in a public spreadsheet on the number of tasks they completed. Green means they’re ready for more leads, while red indicates they have to finish their existing tasks before they get new business. After a few consecutive weeks in the red, it signals the agent may not be a great fit.

No matter the size of the team, that kind of structure can deliver long-term consistency and results. The team leader even said the new policy helped turn around her business.

3. Gen Z is here — brand yourself accordingly

Millennials, step aside. Gen Z now accounts for 18% of buyers, according to new Zillow research. That number should only increase in the years to come as they advance in their careers and start families. 

A third of buyers first found their agent online, which tops referrals, and half of buyers hired the first agent they contacted. In today’s crowded market, your brand is your superpower, especially when trying to reach consumers who grew up online. 

But just going through the motions online isn’t enough. John Deschner, Head of Brand at the marketing agency Maximum Effort, recommended looking for the overlap in your interests and your clients’ interests, whether that’s food, sports, interior design, etc. What are you passionate about, and how does it connect to your market? That overlap can help you show your expertise in the community. 

To reach Gen Z, agents may want to focus their brand on simplifying the homebuying process. Gen Z buyers reported higher levels of stress than any other generation we surveyed.

4. We can all embrace responsible innovation

There’s been a lot of noise in recent years trying to push for business models that don’t always put consumers first. The takeaway at Unlock was simple: Doing things that benefit consumers will ultimately benefit agents too.

In his opening keynote, Zillow CEO Jeremy Wacksman revealed another interesting AI project: We built and open-sourced a tool that is intended to help other AI developers abide by fair housing regulations, which could make it easier for agents to stay compliant. And when Wacksman spoke about the importance of listing transparency, many agents in the room applauded.

Fairness and transparency were core concepts throughout the week. If you had a dollar for every time someone mentioned either word during Unlock, you’d probably have enough money to stay at the Fontainebleau Hotel for a month. That’s a good sign, suggesting that agents remain focused on helping buyers and sellers above all else.

New technology will keep changing real estate, but it’s up to agents and partners like Zillow to adopt that change responsibly.