Inside wild world of AI house hunting as Location, Location stuns viewers

01 November 2023 , 18:30

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Inside wild world of AI house hunting as Location, Location stuns viewers

Channel 4's Location, Location, Location is back with another series and sees much-loved presenters Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer help first-time buyers tackle the sky-high housing market in Devon, Berkshire and Edinburgh - but tonight's episode comes with a rather unusual twist for one modern couple.

Nune and Benoit have a very new approach to searching for a home, and use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help them pick their ideal destination in the UK. The duo rope in Phil's expertise to find their dream three-bedroom property, with a budget of up to £700,000, in the town of Maidenhead, and explain to him how they settled on their location.

"We used a famous chatbot," Benoit says to Phil, though lightly adding: "I don't think AI will have the same wisdom as you." The couple selected their criteria using the technology, and AI recommended them Maidenhead in Berkshire. It is unclear which specific ChatGPT plugin Nune and Benoit used to help search for a home, though some real estate companies and buyers have reportedly been using AI virtual assistants over the last year.

The technology allows users to share their specific criteria, such as a rough location, price and type of property, and the chatbot will look into a database and provide you with options. In Nune and Benoit's case, it helped them settle on a place in close proximity to London. As Phil jokes on the show, "[AI] will put me out of a job" - but it cannot help people book tours or connect with agents, so there's still a demand for staff.

Later on in the show, Phil explains to Kirstie: "I've got bad news... our job is under threat, I think. Our couple want to move out. They put their criteria into an AI thing on the internet and it spat out Maidenhead. They've only been there twice," - suggesting it could be problematic. Though Kirstie doesn't seem too worried, jokingly replying: "Well, we were going to be replaced by somebody someday, I thought it was going to be a younger, thinner me."

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On Location, Location, Location tonight, Kirstie also helps first-time buyers Ellen and Michael move out of their respective parents' houses and into their first flat together in Berkshire. The couple, who are in their early twenties, need Kirstie's help with no getting so overwhelmed by the house-hunting process.

• Location, Location, Location airs on Channel 4 at 8pm tonight.

Nia Dalton