In the pages of Corriere della Sera on Feb. 25, Italy’s richest man — Andrea Pignataro — delivered a strong and almost provocative message: artificial intelligence is putting many advisory professions at risk. Analysts, insurers, financial advisers, data experts. All figures accustomed to working among models, charts, contracts and forecasts, now increasingly “flanked” (or supplanted) by incredibly capable algorithms.
And while many professionals read the interview with a shiver down their spine, one category can breathe a sigh of relief: real estate agents. But beware: this is not me arguing this. It is not me, a real estate agent, arguing a self-consoling thesis with respect to the scenarios foreshadowed by Pignataro. It is the ‘Ai itself, which when questioned on the point, shows that it is clear about its own limitations and the specifics that distinguish real estate from other forms of consulting.
Why? Because AI can help, speed, optimize. But it cannot replace the relationship, trust and human complexity that live at the heart of the real estate market.
AI does not visit homes. People do. Financial or insurance advice can be digitized because the product is … digital. Numbers, prospectuses, simulations, charts. An advisor can be quietly replaced by an algorithm that offers you a ready-made portfolio or a “perfect” policy for your profile.
Brick, on the other hand, does not.
A property is not a datum: it is a place. It is a feeling, a smell, a particular light at the window. It is that hardwood floor that “makes home,” that view that convinces, that neighborhood that makes you imagine what your life will be like.
AI can show you enhanced photos, price estimates, and statistics. But it cannot accompany you to the doorstep of a home you are becoming attached to.
Negotiation is not an algorithm In the insurance or financial world, the decision is often logical and rational. In real estate, it is much more emotional: a combination of desires, dreams, economic security and fears.
A real estate negotiation is not an equation. It is a delicate balance of psychology, sensitivity, listening and pressure management. Homebuyers rarely make their decisions with math alone.
Here AI cannot do much. It can suggest a price range. But it can’t read body language, figure out whether the buyer is just stalling or has already made up his mind but needs encouragement.
The real estate agent does not sell houses: he builds trust. Pignataro made it clear: the line between what can be automated and what is inherently human is being redefined.
Yet, the job of a real estate agent is one of the most “human” there is.
Because people, when they have to make the most important purchase of their lives, want more than just data. They want someone who:
- understand their fears
- accompany them without judgment
- can say “this house is not for you”
- defend their interests in the negotiation
- Keep calm even when they can’t
This is not a technical skill. It is empathy. It is experience. It is intuition. And no AI model-no matter how brilliant-can replicate it.
What will really change for real estate agents? Not the role. But the tools.
AI will not replace real estate agents, it will empower them. It will make repetitive tasks faster, leaving more time for the truly valuable part of the job: the customer relationship.
The real estate agent of the future will use AI to:
- Generate more accurate and immediate assessments
- analyze complex market trends
- Create ads and marketing materials in minutes
- filter out the really interested contacts
- Handle a much larger flow of requests
The result? Less bureaucracy, more counseling.
In the AI revolution, therefore, the real estate agent becomes even more important. It is true: many consulting professions are at great risk. Because they work with information that AI processes better, faster and sometimes more accurately than we do.
But when it comes to homes, lives, dreams, emotional and delicate choices, AI is a support, not a substitute.
The future of the real estate agent is not in jeopardy. It is evolving. And, paradoxically, it becomes even more human.
