Zillow is upgrading its AI-powered search experience by adding the ability for buyers and renters to search for homes in simple, everyday language in even more ways — including by commute time, affordability, schools and nearby points of interest. Through natural language search, Zillow analyzes millions of listings to deliver the most relevant homes or rentals personalized to the user’s preferences.
Zillow is the first and only major residential real estate marketplace to implement this advanced, AI-powered search experience. Starting today, users can skip the filters and search in the Zillow app by simply describing their ideal home, just as they would when talking to a friend. They can specify details such as layout, location and style — and now have new options to search by commute time, affordability, schools and nearby points of interest. Users can also save their searches and have Zillow notify them when new qualifying listings come online.
“From streamlining the home search to personalizing the user experience, Zillow applies AI in practical ways to help people get home,” said Josh Weisberg, senior vice president of artificial intelligence. “Search is one of the bedrocks of our platform, and we’re always improving it to make it easier for users to find homes that meet their unique needs.”
This upgrade is now live on the Zillow app for iOS and Android devices and will be coming soon to Zillow.com. Zillow’s enhanced search takes users’ queries and scans millions of listing details to bring relevant results to the surface. At the same time, the feature is training machine learning models to better respond to search queries that use natural, human-like sentences.
To use this enhanced search, users open the most up-to-date version of the Zillow app and type criteria for a home into the search bar. Users can now find their ideal home or rental by typing prompts such as:
- Commute: “Homes 30 min drive from Millennium Park”
- POI: “Apartments near Denver Union Station”
- Affordability: “Austin homes under $400,000” or “Seattle homes under $4,000 monthly”
- Schools: “three-bedroom houses near Roosevelt High School”
Many of Zillow’s most impactful features are powered by AI and machine learning, including the neural Zestimate valuation, personalized home recommendations and unique AI-powered Showcase listings, each of which gives shoppers a deep understanding of the home virtually before they ever step inside.
