Chicago real estate and AI is the whole subject of this site, taken early and kept on the record. This is the first post, left as written, explaining what made me stop and think and what I set out to build.
Taking on Chicago Real Estate and AI
Hello,
My name is Joe Bjorklund and I am a Broker at Baird and Warner in Lincoln Park. This website is built as an educational tool that examines AI’s roll in Chicago Real Estate.
First of all, everyone in real estate is talking about AI. The problem is that not everyone knows why. Very few people seem to understand what it actually is but they know it’s here and they know their income will be effected by it one ay or another
Most of the conversation is centered around Brokers using AI to write listing descriptions, answer emails, create social media posts, or other office related tasks.
We can all agree that those are useful tools and any place a Broker can save time is greatly appreciated. But I think they’re only scratching the surface. The bigger story isn’t how real estate agents use artificial intelligence to be efficient. The bigger story is how buyers and sellers are beginning to use it to find Brokers and more importantly their listings.
People are already asking ChatGPT questions they used to type into Google.
Questions like:
- Where should I live in Chicago?
- What’s the best neighborhood for a family?
- Which areas are improving?
- Explain the difference between a condo and a townhouse.
- Show me the most expensive homes in Chicago.
- What neighborhoods have the best walkability?
- Is now a good time to buy?
One day it hit me. Those aren’t just random searches, they are conversations.
That made me stop and think.
If AI is becoming the first place people ask real estate questions, shouldn’t we be building real estate websites differently?
That’s the question that led me to create ChicagoRealEstate.ai.
Chicago real estate and AI: why this site exists
I’m a Chicago Real Estate Broker focused on keeping my clients ahead of the curve. Years ago we were helping clients by utilizing the web. Later the technology priority became mobile. That brings us to today where the mandatory technology knowledge is in AI.
Over the past year I’ve spent countless hours testing different approaches, asking AI thousands of questions, and trying to understand how this technology is changing the way information is discovered online. Sometimes I’ve been surprised and often times I’ve been completely wrong.
That’s part of the process, I guess. So, instead of pretending to have all the answers, I decided to document the journey. This site is where I’ll share what I’m learning along the way.
The Biggest Shift Isn’t AI…
It’s Human Behavior
Years ago, buyers drove around looking for yard signs. Then as the industry found new ways to get the word out and new search technique was scouring newspaper ads.
At the rick of sounding like Captain Obvious, once the web matured, the world of real estate changed forever. Over time platforms Zillow and Redfin became part of almost every home search. But is that changing. My opinion: Zillow is the fax machine
Now millions of people are opening an AI assistant before they ever visit a real estate website.
That changes the starting point.
If someone can ask a single question and receive a thoughtful answer, the entire online experience begins to look quite different. Traditional real estate cookie cutter Chicago Real Estate websites will not disappear but they sure do need to evolve.
If the market, AKA the commissions, tell the Chicago Real Estate Brokers that they need to evolve, then they will decide.
Why This Matters
For years, the real estate marketing has focused on one thing: Getting people to a website. Of course the goal when they get to your site is to have them engage with the site and therefore you. Congratulations, just like that you have a new client.
Well folks, AI changes the new conversation.
Now the question becomes: What happens when the answers come before the click? Stick with me on this. This gets pretty deep.
That’s trend fascinating to me. Think about this for a minute.
• If AI summarizes neighborhoods…
• If AI recommends communities…
• If AI explains market trends…
• If AI gave school details
• If AI gave home valuations
• If AI helps buyers narrow their choices before they ever contact an agent…
The only reason that I mention this is because I believe we, as Brokers need to be prepared for what is coming our way. My ongoing joke with my doctor is “how is the web treating you” because his patients come in pre-diagnosed and with the prescription they need because they read it on the web. Home buyers and sellers will be the same way.
Not because it’s trendy. Because it is what is happening. Brokers will be forced to understand their business and its relationship with AI. It may not be next month, but it is happening.
What You’ll Find Here
This isn’t going to be another website that publishes generic AI news. You do not know me but that is just not my thing. There are already plenty of places doing that and to be honest I don’t understand most of it. Hey, it’s the truth.
Instead, I focus on questions that matter to people working in and around real estate.
Topics like:
- How AI is changing home search
- What makes a real estate website useful in an AI-first world
- How buyers are using AI before contacting an agent
- Where AI gets things right—and where it gets them wrong
- Real-world experiments using AI and real estate websites
- New tools worth paying attention to
- Predictions about where the industry may be headed
Some articles will be technical and I will reach out to qualified professionals before any statement of fact.
Most won’t be technical. Most of my content will be a reminder of what we do for a living and what our clients expect from us.
My goal is to explain these ideas in plain English because, actually that is all I know.
Hey, Learning in Public is Scary!
One thing I’ve learned is that nobody has, or ever will, have this technology figured out. Simply stated, it is really hard and always changing. Change with it.
The technology changes almost daily with new models appearing from a vast pool of resources. New features are constantly being released released as old assumptions become outdated and therefore worthless.
That’s actually what makes this so topic interesting. Rather than waiting until everything is more in focus and defined, I’d rather learn in public in front of all of you.
I’ll test ideas both yours and mine. I will enthusiastically share what works and humbly I’ll admit when something doesn’t.
Hopefully that helps other agents, buyers, sellers, and anyone else who is curious about where all of this is going. Or at least where I think it’s going.
Looking Ahead
Real estate has always adapted to new technology mostly because Real Estate Brokers spend money like drunken sailors on anythinbg that they think will improve their bottom line.
Fact: Professional photography changed marketing.
Fact: Online listings changed search.
Fact: Smartphones changed how people shop for homes.
Fact: Artificial intelligence is changing how people ask questions, gather information, and make decisions.
Whether you’re excited about that or skeptical of it, it’s worth paying attention to if you want to stay relevant.. I don’t know exactly what the real estate industry will look like five years from now but I do know AI will have a massive roll.
That’s why this site exists. Thank you for stopping by.
I hope you’ll follow along as we explore what artificial intelligence means for the future of real estate—one question, one experiment, and one idea at a time.
Where to go next
- The Chicago real estate AI benchmark
- I built this because AI told me to
- Summer 2026: the AI era arrives
Source note: for the search side of Chicago real estate and AI, Google’s AI features and your website is the primary document, and it has changed since this post went up.