Showing requests come in when you are already showing homes
A buyer sees a listing at 8pm and wants a showing on Saturday morning. A seller asks how the listing process runs while you are driving between appointments. A prospect calls during an open house and gets voicemail. Your phone rings when you cannot answer it, and a voicemail you return hours later is a slower start than a request already written up.
An AI receptionist answers those calls. It is the real estate version of our AI assistant: it answers your phone line, website chat and texts with the answers you approve, takes the showing request and writes up the details for you. It does not replace you. It takes the first conversation so the next step is booked, not left in voicemail.
What happens with a showing request
- The caller names the property, the street or the area they want to see.
- The assistant asks for a name, a phone number or email, whether they already work with another agent, and the days and times that suit them.
- If your calendar connects, it offers open showing times. If it does not, it takes the times the caller gives.
- You or your team get a summary: who, which property, the times, and any question that was outside your approved answers.
- The caller gets a confirmation by text or email, if you set that up with their consent.
Buyer and seller questions, answered the same way
Buyers ask how the process works, how to see listings and which areas you serve. Sellers ask what you need from them, how the listing process runs and what happens next. The assistant answers those from the list you write. It does not give a home value, promise a sale price or quote a commission unless you publish that answer.
A caller who asks for a valuation, an offer, a negotiation or a contract question hears a clear reply that you or your team will follow up. The assistant logs the details for you. It does not decide those questions.
Fair housing: the same answers for every caller
For a sales agent, three parts of the federal Fair Housing Act matter most on the phone. It bars any statement about the sale of a dwelling that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin (42 U.S.C. 3604(c)). It bars telling someone, on one of those grounds, that a home is not available for inspection or sale when it is (3604(d)). And the U.S. Department of Justice names steering, such as directing buyers to certain areas based on race, as a form of discrimination it pursues. A reply your assistant gives a buyer is a statement made for you, so we set it up with these limits:
- One showing process for every buyer. Availability and showing times come from your calendar or your approved list, never from anything the caller says about themselves.
- Area questions get documented facts. Asked “is this a good neighborhood for us?”, the assistant does not describe who lives there or whether an area suits a kind of family. It gives approved facts such as price, size, taxes you publish and distance to transit, and passes the rest of the question to you.
- No screening. It does not ask about or react to protected characteristics, and it does not decide who should see a home.
- Accommodation requests go to a person. A buyer who asks for an accessibility change at a showing, or to bring an assistance animal, is passed to you. The assistant does not decide it.
State and local rules can add protected groups. Ask your own counsel to review the answer list before launch. This is not legal advice.
AI disclosure and texting consent
The assistant says it is an AI assistant at the start of a call or chat. Texting a buyer or seller needs their consent under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). We set up opt-in and STOP handling. A business texting number needs carrier registration (A2P 10DLC), which is extra.
Where you stay in charge
Offers, contracts, pricing, negotiation, disclosures and complaints always go to you. The assistant does not give legal, tax or financial advice. It takes the call, checks what the caller needs and tells them the next step.
What it costs and what is not included
Setup is from $900 and takes 2-3 weeks. Phone answering is from $299/month (about 300 minutes), and website chat and messaging is from $199/month. The first month is included in setup.
Not included in any price: domain and hosting, new photography, third-party software subscriptions such as your CRM or calendar (billed at cost), SMS carrier registration (A2P 10DLC) and message fees, and AI usage above the plan allowance.
Who it fits, and who should keep a person on the phone
It fits agents who miss calls while showing, at open houses or in the evening, and want showing requests booked without retyping a voicemail. It is a weak fit if you take only a few calls a month and already answer them, or if you want the assistant to price homes or negotiate. It will not do either.
If you would rather set up phone answering yourself, PhoneAnswer is our self-serve AI receptionist. CallReply is our done-for-you AI phone agent. A free demo is a good place to compare them with a setup built for your showings.
How to start
Ask for a free demo: 30-minute call; demo shared within 3 business days. Or call 617-991-9912. Our AI assistant answers the phone and passes your request to the team.
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