The American dream used to involve buying a home. With big companies buying up housing stock and wages stagnant, the new American dream is scrolling through Zillow and drooling over what could have been if we had been born into one of those families with the money. To that end, Zillow has stepped up its AI game to make it easier to find the dream home you’ll never be able to afford.
The popular real estate marketplace integrated some AI tools into its search feature last year, but it recently released a fairly major software update that brings even more options. Users can now use natural language to search for homes or rentals based on commute times or how far they are from schools or other points of interest.
Before this type of AI, people had to use filters to curate a list of suitable residences. Now, you can simply type in “homes a 20-minute drive from Red Hook” and get some great listings. It should also be useful for areas with popular destinations. For example, you can type in “homes near Mall of America” instead of filtering out every Minneapolis-adjacent listing.
Today’s update also lets the AI algorithm search by cost, so you can add a preferred price to the query. The AI-enhanced search already includes the option to look for homes by ideal layout, location, style, and condition. It’s the money and commute stuff that are new.
Like all things related to AI, Zillow’s tool is still a work in progress. It will train itself as it’s being used to “better answer search queries that use natural, human sentences.” You should also be on alert for hallucinations. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. In any case, the update is rolling out now to the iOS and Android apps, with website support coming soon.
The platform has never been hesitant to incorporate technology into its feature set. It introduced 3D virtual home tours a few years ago. More recently, the company integrated FaceTime’s SharePlay feature to allow for cooperative browsing.
The Switch 2 looks functionally the same as the original system, though with a larger display, magnetic Joy-Cons, and a sleeker design. The company also confirmed that the upcoming console will be backwards compatible with Switch games.
Although the reveal confirmed some rumors and gave some interesting details for those who have been paying attention, Nintendo is still keeping its cards close to its chest. We’ll have to wait until a special Nintendo Direct on April 2 for all the interesting details. What’s troubling is that that date is Wednesday and not To-As-Day.