Zillow CEO Doubts Buyers Want AI Home Searches

Zillow Group's chief executive says most people will not want AI agents handling their house hunting, as the company reports third-quarter results.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Residential

Zillow CEO Doubts Buyers Want AI Home Searches

Live Poll

Would you let an AI agent handle your home search for you?

Zillow Group CEO Jeremy Wacksman predicted that most people will not want AI agents to handle home searches, in prepared remarks on the company's quarterly earnings call. Zillow reported third-quarter revenue of $724 million, rising 7% but falling below its own forecast.

Why it matters

Zillow makes most of its money from the home-buying process, including partner agent fees and mortgage lending, so AI agents that do the searching could potentially cut the company out of that process. The comments come as Amazon has blocked outside AI shopping agents and is litigating against Perplexity.

Zillow reported third-quarter revenue of $724 million, up 7% but below its own forecast of $745 million to $760 million, and a $158 million net loss, mostly tied to settling a shareholder lawsuit over Zillow Offers. More than 2.5 million people used its AI mode from March to September, asking 8.5 million questions.

The players

Zillow Group

Zillow Group is a real estate marketplace company operating the Zillow platform for home listings, agent connections and mortgage lending.

Jeremy Wacksman

Jeremy Wacksman is the chief executive of Zillow Group, leading the company's home listings, agent and mortgage businesses.

Amazon

Amazon is a global e-commerce and cloud computing company that blocked Meta's Muse agent and is suing Perplexity over its shopping agent.

The details

Wacksman made the case in prepared remarks on Wednesday's earnings call, arguing that home buying is a process people want to navigate themselves. About 80% of Zillow's traffic comes directly to the site, and the company has integrated with OpenAI and Google's Gemini and is now working with Anthropic.

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's Comet shopping agent.
March to September: More than 2.5 million people used Zillow's AI mode.
Wednesday, November 4, 2026: Wacksman made his remarks on the earnings call.

Market Landscape

Amazon blocked Meta's Muse agent from shopping on its site less than two weeks after its September launch and is suing Perplexity over the shopping agent in its Comet browser. Zillow's comments reflect the same tension, as large platforms weigh whether outside AI agents will route consumers away from their own services.

If you search for a home online, Zillow's AI mode is available to all signed-in users, and its listings and agent connections remain the core way the platform works. Wacksman's comments suggest buyers will still be browsing and contacting human agents directly rather than delegating the search to an AI.

The takeaway

Whether AI agents become a common way to shop for homes will determine how much power platforms like Zillow keep over the buying process. Buyers should watch whether their agents and lenders remain involved as the tools change.