How Do Buyers and Sellers Find Real Estate Agents Today?

A few years ago the answer was simple. Someone asked a friend, or they searched Google, or they clicked the agent photo that kept showing up on Zillow. That still happens. But a growing number of buyers and sellers are skipping all three and just asking ChatGPT or Perplexity, "who is a good real estate agent in Cheshire" or "best realtor for a first home in New Haven County."

That changes the game in a way most agents have not caught up to yet.

Referrals still open the door. If someone in your sphere had a good experience, they will still tell a friend. That has not changed and never will. Word of mouth remains the strongest single source of new clients for most agents in Connecticut.

Zillow and Google still matter, but less than they did five years ago. Buyers used to browse listings for weeks and get familiar with an agent's name through repetition. Now a lot of that browsing gets compressed into one conversation with an AI assistant that summarizes the market and hands over two or three agent names, sometimes without the buyer clicking a single website.

AI assistants are becoming a real referral source, and most agents are invisible to them. When someone asks an AI tool for an agent recommendation in a specific Connecticut town, the assistant pulls from what it can find, reviews, mentions on other sites, clear service pages, and a track record it can point to. An agent with a thin, generic bio page and no digital footprint beyond an MLS profile simply does not come up. It is not personal, the tool has nothing to point to.

The agents showing up in these answers share a pattern. They have reviews that keep coming in, not a burst from three years ago. They have content that names the towns and neighborhoods they really work, not just "Connecticut real estate." And they have a presence that is consistent across their site, their Google Business Profile, and the places people already trust.

This is not about chasing a trend. It is about the fact that the way people start their search for an agent has already shifted, quietly, and it keeps shifting. Buyers are not going to stop asking AI tools questions once they start. If anything, more of them will lead with that question before they ever type into Google.

If you want to see where you personally show up when someone asks an AI assistant to recommend an agent in your area, that is worth checking rather than guessing. Our AI Visibility page walks through exactly how that works and what agents can do about it.

And if you want a clear look at what would move the needle for your own business, not a generic list, reach out through the contact page and ask about the 90 Day Growth Plan. I will show you specifically where you stand and what is worth fixing first.