Writer’s Block? Break It, With Computer-Vision-Backed ListAssist: Tech Review
ListAssist is an ideal solution for real estate marketing teams tasked with cranking out original copy day after day, the creatively drained agent and the tech-savvy team that wants to further automate business tasks they find tedious.
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ListAssist is software for automating property marketing descriptions.
Platforms: Browser
Ideal for: Teams, agents and marketing managers
Top selling points:
- Integrated image scanning/computer vision
- Blend of AI and user insight
- Room-by-room feature tagging
- Simplified editing and versioning
- Very quick to learn
Top concern:
Eventually, ListAssist users will need to contend with the dizzying array of MLS regulations, word and character counts, etc. This may require additional manual editing or dissuade some from be willing to adopt writing-specific software.
What you should know
ListAssist is based in New Zealand and has landed its first few clients in the U.S. after building a robust client base on its home turf. Unlike ChatGPT or Jasper AI, ListAssist is focused solely on helping real estate agents write faster, more engaging property content.
The software leverages its “computer vision” algorithm to scan uploaded photos, reading images from each room to identify prominent features and display them as a series of tagged writing prompts. Saving, editing and regenerating content is very intuitive. This is an ideal solution for marketing teams tasked with cranking out original copy day after day, the creatively drained agent and the tech-savvy team that wants to further automate business tasks they find tedious.
There’s little to weigh down ListAssist; it’s lightweight and the user experience never distracts from the product’s primary directive. Using photos to extract physical information about the home is a crazy-sharp use of computer vision tech, as it never leaves the user without a writing prompt. Users merely select, or deselect, the items it identifies for each room, add a few custom terms and generate a draft description. Again, you can add your own catchy terms and phrases for each room, too.
As photos are being processed, ListAssist uses the address to populate location data, such as nearby restaurants, commute information and community amenities, something agents often leave out of descriptions but lifestyle-oriented buyers need to see. Remember, your listing copy is going to end up in more places than the MLS, and earn more than your colleagues’ attention.
If you like what it puts out, simply mark as done, copy it and go. There’s also an internal rating system for each initial result so the ListAssist team can know what’s working.
Perhaps my favorite component is its editing interface, which divides the property description into multiple sections (intro, bedroom section, kitchen section) so each part can be addressed and tightened up individually. This is because trying to edit a big block of text can be distracting. Think of it in the same way you might stage each room of property with its own purpose.
Along the user’s left is a numbered sequence identifying each step of the workflow, hovering over the list reveals its hidden function, another subtle but witty bit of UX engineering to stay focused on the overall minimization of user interaction.
The initial login screen keeps a horizontal scroll of properties within the system for easy access and new edits.
I met the team behind ListAssist at Inman Connect Las Vegas in August of last year. They were using the event as research grounds, and to arrange meetings while in the states. Evidently, they found the traction they were hoping to, as it has since revamped its brand and hired a specialist in computer vision to further the software’s ability to read and pull data from listing photos.
The real power here stems from the marriage of AI and user insight. The software can’t add the subjective context of what makes a property unique, such as views it offers, undocumented historical facts or how the neighborhood is performing. Not yet, anyway.
Point is, ListAssist is well-crafted software, clearly representative of the problem it wants to solve. And as someone who has written and read a lot of listing descriptions over the years, I can say with granite-firm certainty that there’s no shortage of agents who could use the help.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe
Craig C. Rowe started in commercial real estate at the dawn of the dot-com boom, helping an array of commercial real estate companies fortify their online presence and analyze internal software decisions. He now helps agents with technology decisions and marketing through reviewing software and tech for Inman.
