Zillow Bets Its Future on AI, Even as the Market Stalls

For Zillow, 2026 is shaping up to be another difficult year. The housing market, as CEO Jeremy Wacksman puts it, is simply "bouncing along the bottom." Last year saw only 4.1 million existing home sales, far below the normal range of 5.5 to 6 million. While Zillow's own performance outpaces the broader industry, its stock price remains a fraction of its 2021 peak, recently dropping despite a quarterly earnings increase.

In this challenging climate, Wacksman is placing a significant bet on artificial intelligence. He frames AI not as a threat, but as a core ingredient for Zillow's next chapter. The company is weaving the technology throughout its operations, from powering its famous Zestimate valuations to new tools like SkyTour, which creates 3D home models from drone footage, and Virtual Staging, which digitally furnishes empty rooms.

Yet this innovation carries risk. The line between digital enhancement and misrepresentation must be clear, Wacksman acknowledges, requiring strict disclosure rules. Furthermore, Zillow faces a fundamental challenge: its listings are public data. As users begin searching for homes via general chatbots from OpenAI or Google, they might bypass Zillow entirely. Google has already begun testing its own integrated listing displays in search results, a move that rattled investors.

Wacksman remains confident. He argues that when users are serious about transacting, they seek Zillow's deep, integrated experience—connecting with agents, getting pre-approved, and taking virtual tours. He believes the company's human partnerships and full-service platform will endure even as AI evolves. The immediate goal, however, is modest. "Maybe we’ll get more people to actually move again," he says. For Zillow, that would be progress enough.

Source: Wired