Your website probably gets far more visitors than enquiries. People browse listings at 10pm, compare areas on a Sunday afternoon, and check a property again at 2am before a viewing. Most of them leave without getting in touch, and you never find out who they were.
Proptech startups are targeting exactly this gap. One UK firm launched this year on the premise that agents pour money into websites only to see almost all visitors leave without becoming clients. Its tool uses AI chat to engage visitors and then hands agents a chat transcript containing 17–18 data points about the person who looked at properties. The NegotiatorThe Negotiator
The appeal is obvious. An AI assistant on your website can answer routine questions instantly (“Is the viewing on Saturday still going ahead?”, “What’s the BER?”, “Is there parking?”), book viewings, register people for property alerts, and ask a few qualifying questions, such as whether they are mortgage-approved or have a home to sell. By Monday morning, your negotiators have a list of warm leads rather than an inbox of unanswered messages.
In Ireland, two responsibilities come with this. First, people must know they’re talking to a machine. Under the EU AI Act, users must be told when they are interacting with an AI system, and that obligation is already live. A clear line at the start of the chat, like “I’m the agency’s virtual assistant”, covers this and sets honest expectations. Compliancehub
Second, GDPR still applies in full. Tell visitors what you’re collecting and why, collect only what you need, make sure your chat provider processes data in line with GDPR, and give people an easy way to reach a human. The Data Protection Commission takes a close interest in how Irish businesses handle personal data, and a chatbot is still a data collection tool.
Get this right and AI becomes a 24/7 receptionist that never misses an enquiry, while your team spends its time on the conversations that lead to instructions and sales.