Building on our thesis of how artificial intelligence presents a generational opportunity for real estate, we outlined 6 different use cases for generative AI and real estate tech in TechCrunch earlier today.
But before we get into those 6 use cases, it would be remiss to not write about search on the internet.
It was another big day for AI today, as Microsoft released its new version of Bing, powered by ChatGPT 4.0. While the current experience on new Bing is limited, and there’s a waitlist, the feature that will garner the most eyeballs is the option to start a chat in the toolbar. This feature is a shift from how we currently find things on the internet - chat makes search conversational, aspires to offer complete answers, and at times, looks to ignite a creative spark.
Starting with search is strategic on Microsoft’s part. It reflects confidence and ambition in its own abilities and in ChatGPT, to take on its chief counterpart, Alphabet. Nadella alluded to Microsoft’s aspirations best when he said, “AI will fundamentally change every software category, starting with the largest category of all – search.”
We hold similar views when it comes to how AI has the ability to change major categories in real estate tech: from residential listings to real estate brokerages, mortgage marketplaces, renters’ and homeowners’ insurance, construction estimates, and bids, to determining sustainable touchpoints in the entire construction value chain.
Technology entrepreneurs have a unique advantage to start a real estate tech company in AI today. The built world is not on big tech’s radar (yet), and most incumbents have had a challenging last 2 years, where layoffs and losses abounded.
You can find the article here on TechCrunch. It is behind a paywall, and after a week or so, I will be sharing the piece on Subtack / Medium.
Meanwhile, if you were wondering what the cola wars of 2023 might look like, I will leave you with this screenshot. Earlier today I downloaded Bing and set it as my default search browser to skip the waitlist. Google did not like that too much.
See you next week,
Kunal