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An AI phone agent for real estate agents: showings while you're showing

The best leads ring while you're in someone's kitchen with your phone on silent. What an AI on your line should say to them, and what it must leave alone.

By the CosVoice team · · 5 minute read

The call from outside the house

Somebody is standing outside your listing on Maple, reading your number off the sign. They've got maybe ten minutes of curiosity in them. You're across town, walking a couple through a kitchen with your phone on silent, which is where it should be.

An AI phone agent picks that call up. It answers as your assistant, tells the caller what you've given it about the property, asks a few questions about what they're looking for, offers the showing windows you've allowed, and writes it all down for you. It does the same for portal inquiries once they turn into phone calls. What it won't do is talk about who lives in the neighborhood, hand out a lockbox code, or pretend to be you.

What sign callers ask

Price. Beds and baths. Is it still available? What are the HOA fees? When's the open house? Can I see it today? Nearly all of it is on the listing sheet, which is why these calls are so maddening to miss.

You paste the sheet for each active listing into the line's instructions, along with anything callers always ask that isn't on it (which way the yard faces, how old the roof is, whether the basement is finished). The line answers from that and doesn't improvise. When a listing goes under contract you change one line, and callers hear that it's pending and are asked whether they'd like to hear about similar homes.

Qualifying without being pushy

A sign caller doesn't owe you their finances. Ask too much, too early, and they hang up and ring the agent on the next sign.

So the line keeps it light and asks in conversation. Are you working with an agent already? Which areas are you looking in? What's your timing? Have you spoken to a lender yet? A budget, if they offer one. If someone would rather not say, it moves on and still takes the showing request. Pre-approval is a yes or a no, never a demand for paperwork.

You get the answers in the written summary, so you know before you call back whether this is a buyer ready for Saturday or a neighbor who was curious about the price.

Showing windows

You set the windows. Weekdays after 4, Saturdays 10 to 2, a day's notice for anything occupied. The line offers times from those and takes the caller's choice as a request.

CosVoice doesn't connect to showing or scheduling software, so you confirm the time in the calendar or tool you already use, after checking with the seller if you need to. If your own AI assistant manages your calendar, it can put the showing in. Either way the caller is told they'll get a confirmation, and they aren't left believing a time is fixed when the seller hasn't agreed.

It describes the property, never the neighbors

You know this part from your licensing course. We'll say once that it's general information and not legal advice, and that you should check the fair housing rules where you work.

Callers ask things like: is it a safe area? Is it good for families? What sort of people live on the street? A trained agent doesn't answer those, and neither should anything that answers your phone. Put it in the instructions in plain words. The line describes the property and the facts you've supplied: square footage, lot size, the year the roof was done, the distance to the train station, the name of the school district. It doesn't describe the people nearby, and it never suggests a caller would be happier somewhere else.

It also treats every caller alike. Same questions in the same order, same windows offered. That consistency is one thing a written brief does better than a tired human at 6pm.

Portal inquiries and calling back

Portal leads usually land as an email or a form, not a call, and they cool quickly. Two things help. The line has its own email address, so you can use that on the listing in place of your personal one. And the line makes calls as well as answering them.

Ask it to ring a new lead and it introduces itself as your assistant, asks the same light questions and offers the same windows. It says it's an AI whenever it's asked. It's not a dialer, though. One call, to one person, for one reason, so don't think of it for working a cold list. And since texts from the line are limited for now, follow-ups go by call or email. The real estate page has a sample brief.

Missed calls, and the callers you know

Most agents keep their own number on the sign and forward the calls they miss to the line. The carrier codes are in our guide to forwarding missed calls to an AI. Your clients, the lender and the inspector can go on an approved list, so they're greeted as people you know. Nobody is put through to your mobile, though. The line can't transfer a call. When the lender rings with something urgent, it takes the details, says you'll call back, and the summary reaches you as soon as the call ends.

Want to hear how it sounds to a caller? Ring Lilly, our own AI agent, on (949) 368-9902.

What stays locked

A few things the line never gives out, whoever asks and however nicely. Your personal number. The seller's name or number. A lockbox code or a door code. Why the sellers are moving. Whether there are other offers, and for how much.

Some of that is safety and some of it is your duty to your client. A caller who wants any of it gets you, later, in person.

Common questions

Can an AI phone agent schedule showings?

It takes showing requests inside the windows you set and sends you the details. You confirm the time in your own calendar or showing tool, since CosVoice doesn't connect to showing software.

What does it say when a caller asks about the neighborhood?

It sticks to the property and the facts you've given it, such as distances and the school district name. It doesn't describe the people who live nearby or steer a caller toward or away from an area.

Will it give out the lockbox code to another agent?

No. It never shares lockbox codes, door codes, or an owner's or agent's personal number. It takes the request and passes it to you.

Can it call portal leads back for me?

Yes, one call at a time, when you ask it to. It introduces itself as your assistant, asks your qualifying questions and offers your showing windows, then sends you a written summary.

Do I have to change the number on my signs?

No. Keep your number and forward only the calls you miss. The summary for those calls is marked as missed on your mobile.

Read next: CosVoice for real estate and property managers · Maintenance calls, written down · Keeping your mobile number private

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