At Zillow Unlock 2026, James Dwiggins spoke with Cynthia Taylor, Zillow’s Senior Vice President of Product, about artificial intelligence, consumer behavior, and the future of the real estate industry. Their conversation offered one clear takeaway: technology can help a real estate agent spend less time on busy work and more time serving clients.
Cynthia’s career began in investment banking before moving into technology and product management at Amazon Web Services and Zillow. Her approach focuses on understanding customer needs and building tools that create meaningful outcomes. That perspective is valuable for professionals throughout real estate.
AI Should Support the Agent, not Replace the Relationship
AI can create fear, especially when professionals wonder whether it will eliminate jobs or operate without proper control. Cynthia’s optimistic view is that focusing only on fear can cause agents to miss the practical benefits AI can provide.
AI offers two major opportunities for a real estate agent:
- Automating repetitive work, including call notes, transcriptions, and client information.
- Identifying proactive opportunities, such as increased client engagement or property activity.
When an agent no longer has to manually remember every detail from dozens of conversations, more energy can go toward client service and relationship building. This applies to a real estate broker, a real estate brokerage, and individual real estate agents.
Likely to List Brings Valuable Signals Into Follow Up Boss
One of the most interesting products discussed was Likely to List. The feature brings Zillow’s consumer signals for potential sellers directly into an agent’s Follow Up Boss database.
The system looks for increased engagement connected to a particular address. When a contact receives the Likely to List tag, one in four properties is expected to be on the market within 90 days. That creates a valuable opportunity for an agent to reconnect with someone already in the database.
This is more than another source of real estate listings or real estate for sale information. It helps agents understand consumer behavior and recognize when a past contact may be considering a move. That insight can lead to a more relevant and timely conversation.
Bring Business Data Together Before 2027
Cynthia advised agents planning for 2027 to examine where their business information currently lives and create a plan to connect it. When texts, emails, notes, and client activity remain scattered across different systems, important context can be missed. A connected CRM gives AI the information it needs to provide useful automation and predictive signals.
This lesson applies across the real estate market. Whether an agent is tracking real estate prices, studying real estate trends, or discussing real estate financing, real estate taxes, and real estate laws, organized information supports better client service.
The Future Belongs to Connected Agents
The discussion between James Dwiggins and Keith Robinson on the Real Estate Insiders Unfiltered real estate podcast reinforced an important point: technology should make an agent more effective without replacing the human relationship.
That principle also applies to real estate investing, investing in real estate, and real estate investing for beginners. Consumers may search for real estate agents near me, real estate companies near me, real estate blogs, real estate podcasts, real estate books, real estate courses, and real estate events investing information, but they still value professional guidance.
From Zillow AI Mode and Follow Up Boss to NextHome, the NextHome real estate franchise, and broader real estate technology, connected tools are helping professionals work smarter. The opportunity for agents is to embrace these systems, use consumer signals effectively, and protect more time for relationships.
