Zillow’s ChatGPT integration could redefine — or violate — MLS policies

Zillow made waves on Monday when it announced an app integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Through the integration, consumers can type a description of what they’re looking for in a property into ChatGPT, and it will provide them with listings complete with photos, maps and pricing, all powered by Zillow. 

This integration differs from other recent announcements involving artificial intelligence, such as Inside Real Estate’s HomeSearch AI. The listing data is fed from Zillow to another website, ChatGPT, instead of being kept within Zillow’s domain. 

But while many in the real estate industry were excited by this news, Victor Lund, the managing partner of WAV Group, had some concerns. 

In a blog post on WAV Group’s website, Lund said that while the integration of Zillow’s app into ChatGPT creates a “slick experience,” it masks a “serious problem.”

“Zillow didn’t ask permission from the MLSs or brokers who own that data before transmitting it into OpenAI’s ChatGPT environment,” Lund wrote. 

According to Lund, Zillow’s IDX licenses permit it to display MLS data on its website and its mobile app. But these permissions do not extend to Zillow’s ability to publish or transmit MLS data to other domains, especially those controlled by other companies. 

“ChatGPT is not a Zillow property. It is a separate, third-party platform operated by OpenAI, which holds no data license with any MLS. When Zillow connected its Model Context Protocol server to OpenAI’s Software Development Kits, it effectively republished MLS listings in an environment that no broker, MLS, or participant controls,” Lund wrote.

“That’s a clear violation of the cooperative rules that underpin the MLS. It’s no different than Microsoft scraping MLS listings without a license and publishing them.”

According to Lund, this integration between Zillow and ChatGPT is a “breach of both the spirit and the letter of cooperation.”

The National Association of Realtors‘ (NAR) MLS Handbook states that “all displays of IDX listings must also be under the actual and apparent control of the Participant, and must be presented to the public as being the Participant’s display. Actual control requires that the Participant has developed the display, or caused the display to be developed for the Participant pursuant to an agreement giving the Participant authority to determine what listings will be displayed, and how those listings will be displayed.” 

Additionally, the policy notes that “a reasonable consumer receiving the Participant’s display will understand the display is the Participant’s, and that the display is controlled by the Participant.”

In its initial announcement of the integration, Zillow noted that the listing information presented to consumers on ChatGPT will be attributed to the listing agent and MLS. Additionally, the company has clarified that it is not licensing MLS data to ChatGPT and that the new ChatGPT experience operates entirely within Zillow’s existing MLS agreements.

“Zillow is leading the next great evolution in real estate search as the only real estate app in ChatGPT, a platform used each week by more than 800 million people worldwide. We always work to ensure industry rules and guardrails are in place and, in this case, we were able to also represent industry interests as part of OpenAI innovation,” a Zillow spokesperson wrote in an email. “This partnership expands listing visibility, drives consumers back to agents, and showcases responsible innovation that grows opportunity across the industry.”

Given the nature of the app integration, MLS industry veteran Saul Klein feels it’s unclear if Zillow is in fact in violation of the policy. But Lund’s post made Klein feel like it was worth looking into.

“I can see the concern and I had enough concern to forward it to our attorneys to see what they think about it,” said Klein, the CEO of San Diego MLS. “It is important to me because the value of MLS data is diluted because of misuse and the more we allow the misuse, the more dilution, the less value we have as MLSs to be the custodians of that data and protect it for property owners.” 

Regardless of whether the Zillow-ChatGPT integration complies with the MLSs’ IDX feed policies, Klein believes it brings to light an important conversation surrounding the rate of technology development and longstanding MLS policies. 

“People, myself included, are more and more frequently going to ChatGPT instead of Google to direct them to websites, so integrating with these AI models is really smart,” Klein said.

“Technology has evolved so much since the IDX rules were written two decades ago, and maybe this is the time, especially in Zillow’s mind, to create a conversation about that.”