Zillow CEO Doubts Most Home Searches Go to AI
Home buyers may keep browsing listings themselves, which matters for platforms that earn fees from that activity.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Residential
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Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman said on the company's quarterly earnings call that most people will not want AI agents to handle their home searches. The remarks came as Zillow reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $724 million, a 7% rise that fell below the company's own forecast for homebuyers and sellers tracking the market.
Why it matters
Zillow earns much of its money from the home-buying process, including fees tied to partner agents and its mortgage lending business, so how consumers search for homes directly affects those revenue streams. An AI agent that does the searching on a buyer's behalf could shift that activity and potentially reduce the role of the platform itself.
Zillow reported third-quarter revenue of $724 million, up 7% but below its own $745 million to $760 million forecast, and a $158 million net loss driven mostly by settling a shareholder lawsuit over Zillow Offers. Its AI mode drew more than 2.5 million users from March to September, who asked 8.5 million questions.
The players
Zillow Group
Online real estate marketplace whose listings, agent referrals and mortgage lending fees shape how many U.S. households search for and finance homes.
Jeremy Wacksman
Zillow Group chief executive who predicted that most consumers will not want AI agents handling their home searches.
Amazon
Large online retailer that blocked Meta's Muse agent from its shopping site and is litigating against Perplexity's shopping agent.
Meta
Parent company of Facebook and Instagram whose Muse personal AI agent launched in September and was blocked from Amazon's site.
Perplexity
AI company whose Comet browser includes a shopping agent that Amazon is suing over.
The details
Zillow makes most of its money from the home-buying process, meaning fees from partner real estate agents and its mortgage lending business. Those fees depend on people browsing listings and connecting with human agents and loan officers. If an AI agent handles the searching instead, fewer users may see Zillow's own pages, which could weaken the path to those fees. Zillow has already integrated with OpenAI and Google's Gemini and is now working with Anthropic, while Amazon has blocked Meta's Muse agent from its site and is suing Perplexity over the shopping agent in its Comet browser.
Timeline
September: Meta's Muse personal AI agent launched, and Amazon blocked it from shopping on its site less than two weeks later.
August: A federal appeals court overturned an injunction Amazon had won against Perplexity.
March to September: More than 2.5 million people used Zillow's AI mode.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Wacksman made the remarks on Zillow's earnings call.
Money Landscape
The fight over AI shopping agents, including Amazon's block of Meta's Muse and its lawsuit against Perplexity, shows platforms that earn fees from consumer browsing are contesting who controls the front end of purchasing. For real estate, Zillow's 7% revenue growth shows the business still expanding even as it weighs how much of the home-search funnel AI could take over.
If you are planning a home purchase, the way you search listings and connect with agents could change as AI tools become more common, so it is worth comparing sources rather than relying on one platform. Households considering a mortgage should keep in mind that lending fees are part of the home-buying cost, and a conversation with a qualified financial professional can help you weigh those options.
The takeaway
The big money insight is that AI agents could reshape where home-buying fees flow, and Zillow's own CEO expects consumers to resist handing their searches to them. Track how Zillow and other listing platforms describe their AI features in future earnings updates before changing how you search for a home.
Further reading
For broader context on how home sales and pricing are changing, explore the Residential section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by GeekWire.
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