Updated
Updated · Inman · Aug 20
Study Finds 91.5% of Top U.S. Agents Missing From 37,500 AI Searches
Updated
Updated · Inman · Aug 20

Study Finds 91.5% of Top U.S. Agents Missing From 37,500 AI Searches

1 articles · Updated · Inman · Aug 20

Summary

  • Local Falcon found 91.5% of established agents with websites were never named across 37,500 queries in the 100 largest U.S. cities, and only 21.2% of each market’s highest-volume agents appeared on any AI platform.
  • The mismatch stems from how AI search tools source answers: models often cite pages where agents label themselves the “best” in a city rather than production rankings or MLS data.
  • Google Business Profile supplied 36.6% of all citations, ahead of Zillow at 15.9%; Google AI Mode drew 72.5% of its citations from Business Profiles, while ChatGPT leaned heavily on Zillow.
  • Results were highly fragmented across platforms: 82.6% of the 3,757 named agents or teams appeared on only one platform, and just 1.9% were cited by all four platforms with agent-website links.
  • The findings suggest answer engine optimization is becoming critical in real estate, with local page density, maintained profiles and self-authored city pages outweighing raw sales volume in AI visibility.

Insights

Why are the nation's top real estate agents suddenly vanishing from the very AI tools buyers use to find them?
Could a simple website tweak allow a rookie agent to completely outrank a top producer in AI search results?