You want to break down all barriers between prospective customers and your real estate business.
Not only that, but you need to quickly engage those leads. Their attention span is measured in seconds.
If you don’t give them what they want immediately, they will find someone who will.
That is where chat software and chatbots come into play.
You’ve seen them on websites. They are far more appealing to website visitors than navigating to the contact page or picking up the phone.
It’s not just chatbots for your website. Facebook business pages can use third-party chatbots with their Messenger on their page to engage buyer and seller leads there.
In the instant gratification culture of the future, a real estate chatbot or live agent chat feature will likely be necessary to keep up with the tech future of real estate.
Fortunately, with the rise of artificial intelligence, you don’t even need to be glued to your computer waiting for customers to chat with you. Individual real estate agents and small teams now have the tools to take advantage of offering chat features on their websites.
Read my thoughts and reviews of the best real estate chatbots and chat software for real estate agents!
Top Chatbots Software for Real Estate
Apartment Ocean
View Other Real Estate Chat Solutions Apartment Ocean is an AI chatbot that integrates into your website and will answer and engage your customers while on
Facebook Messenger Chat
Facebook is in beta on a website chatbot based on Messenger. In fact, it is the Messenger application. Folks can chat with your business on your website just like they can on your Facebook business page. Messenger has its own ecosystem of support and software, companies like Chatfuel and Manychat that help you create sophisticated marketing bots to help put your lead gen on auto-pilot.
Formilla
Formilla is a customizable chat service that includes a mobile app. When customers contact you, it is like getting a text in real time. There are smart messages, but it does not lean heavily on AI, allowing you to control the message and authenticity. Consider Formilla if you want a more personal, easy-to-use, and hands-on customer chat experience.
HelloAlex
AS OF 2019, HELLOALEX HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. THE FINAL CONTENT AVAILABLE ON THIS PRODUCT IS LEFT BELOW. HelloAlex does a lot more than engage customers in
LiveChat
LiveChat is a popular chat software choice and has a robust backend. It is an ideal choice for businesses that need an enterprise tool to provide their team of agents or ISAs.
ReadyChat
ReadyChat is a great way to outsource your chat duties to a human. With their 24/7 concierge, you can be sure that you'll always have help on hand when you need it.
VideoPal
GO TO SITE View Other Real Estate Chat Solutions VideoPal is a unique concept. It is not really a chat software. Instead, it shows a video
Zendesk
Zendesk's website chat and messaging system is a great way to interact with customers and keep them updated on your progress. Their chat app allows you to quickly and easily connect with website visitors, and the tracking and routing features make it easy to keep customers informed of your progress.
Other Real Estate Chat Options
Other real estate or general business chat software include:
- Apartment Ocean
- Automabots
- Freshdesk Messaging (formerly Freshchat)
- HomeHawk
- Rechat
Some live chat services are more oriented toward customer service roles, which doesn’t generally apply to the needs of most real estate brokers. I’ve generally omitted those.
ISA Tools
Many inside sales agent (ISA) tools include chatbot features you can integrate into your real estate website while connecting visitors with live chat agents in real-time. These services are ideal for busy agents and will connect or sometimes even nurture qualified leads for you. They’ll then give you a warm handoff.
Some example ISA services with chat features designed for the real estate professional include:
- Smart Alto
- Structurely
CRMs
Other software may also have chat tools.
For example, LionDesk has Live Assist courtesy of Structurely for an AI chat option.
Live vs AI Chatbot
A tough decision when integrating chat into your website is choosing between AI chatbots and live chat software.
It can be tough to surrender control of your potential clients’ first contact with your brand. There is a risk of losing authenticity when integrating AI, while a live person has a better shot at connecting with that buyer or seller but can be more expensive.
And if using a live person, do you route inquiries to yourself or outsource it? When using a company with live ISAs like ReadyChat, their focus is asking qualifying questions and setting the appointment. If routed directly to you, you risk not being present and losing the trust of the consumer.
It ultimately comes down to expectation management. Don’t let the consumer think they are getting a human when it’s an AI. As long as they know it’s an AI and it is serving them what they want, they should stay happy!
Final word
The real estate chatbot and live chat is still a small but growing part of the real estate industry.
Especially if your website is an important pillar of your business, you need to ensure you are maximizing your conversion. Real estate sites won’t get nearly the volume of website visitors as Zillow, and a solid chat is one of the best, least disruptive ways to convert and better serve buyers and sellers. The leads generated via chat are often hot leads, people engaging with you and your brand, and I can say personally some of the best leads I earn on my own site.
