Estate agents are being urged to overhaul their digital strategies as AI-driven search, short-form video and hyper-local content reshape how buyers and sellers engage online.
Latest insight from Nurtur highlights a shift away from traditional search-led marketing towards AI-powered discovery, with agents needing to adapt quickly to remain visible.
Artificial intelligence is already widely used across the sector, but advances in conversational AI, voice tools and AI-generated video are accelerating change. The latest tools can now produce high-quality visual content at scale, enabling agents to create property marketing and educational material more efficiently.
However, the rise of AI search is also creating new challenges around visibility. Emerging strategies such as AI Optimisation (AIO) and Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) are expected to become central, as agents look to ensure their content is picked up and referenced by AI platforms rather than just ranked on traditional search engines.
AI-POWERED CHATBOTS
At the same time, AI-powered chatbots are becoming more prevalent on agency websites, offering 24/7 customer interaction, lead qualification and automated booking for valuations and viewings.
Alongside AI, hyper-local content is emerging as a key battleground. Agents are being encouraged to focus on highly targeted, location-specific content to capture motivated buyers and sellers, reinforcing the importance of local expertise in a digital environment.
VIDEO A CORE REQUIREMENT
Video is also moving from a value-add to a core requirement. Short-form content across platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts is increasingly being used for property tours, local area highlights and educational content designed to capture attention quickly.
Demand for higher-quality visuals, including drone footage and 3D virtual tours, is also rising.
Mobile optimisation remains critical, with the majority of property searches now conducted on smartphones. Features such as QR codes linking directly to listings or booking tools are also gaining traction.
SCALE UP MARKETING
Ben Sellers (main picture), Co-Founder of Starberry, a Nurtur company, says: “Video generators such as Higgsfield and Sora 2 can now turn still images into highly realistic video content, while next-generation image generators like Nano Banana 2 are significantly improving the quality and speed of visual production.
“For estate agents, this presents an opportunity to scale up high-quality property marketing and educational content more efficiently than ever before.”
COMPETITIVE MARKET
And he adds: “AI is fundamentally changing the way people search for information online. Estate agents have traditionally focused on ranking in Google results pages, but increasingly the goal will be to appear within the answers generated by AI.
“That means structuring website content in a way that is clear, authoritative and easy for AI systems to understand and cite.
“Estate agency marketing in 2026 will be defined by three key themes, namely AI, hyper-local expertise and immersive visual content.
“Agents who embrace these trends and invest in their digital presence will be best placed to stand out, capture attention and convert leads in an increasingly competitive market.”
