Rightmove is adding an AI Comparison Assistant to property search, letting buyers and renters compare homes and ask questions about features and local areas. The useful change is that people can weigh listings side by side without opening each one in turn.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
The assistant, developed using Google Gemini, will appear in Rightmove search results and is initially going to a limited group of users before a wider rollout. People will be able to ask about things such as suitability for hybrid working, family-friendly features and outdoor space, or set their own criteria, including nearby schools, transport and supermarkets.
The tool draws on information from estate and letting agents, Rightmove, Google Maps, Experian schools data and Land Registry records. Rightmove says its existing Ask Rightmove Search Assistant users spent 40% longer on the portal in the period to 30 June, saved more than twice as many properties and generated around twice as many agent leads as non-users. Those figures show an association, not proof that AI caused the difference. Property Industry Eye reported the launch and its details.
Why it matters
Property search often means juggling listings and trying to compare details that are presented in different ways. A conversational assistant that can bring several homes into one comparison could make that process less fiddly, particularly when a buyer’s priorities are more specific than price and postcode.
The feature also puts the quality and consistency of listing data in the spotlight. Rightmove says the assistant uses several data sources, but the announcement does not establish how it handles gaps or conflicting information. Helpful comparisons are only as useful as the details behind them.
Our read
This is a practical use of AI: helping people compare choices, rather than asking them to admire a chatbot for its own sake. The early rollout should show whether the assistant produces useful answers from real listings and local data, or simply makes a polished extra stop on the route to opening every property page anyway.
What to watch
- When the limited rollout expands to more Rightmove users.
- Which sources appear in comparisons, and how missing or conflicting details are handled.
- Whether Rightmove publishes results specific to the Comparison Assistant, rather than broader engagement figures.
Discussion spark: Should property platforms let AI combine listing and local-area data into recommendations, or should they stick to presenting facts for buyers to weigh themselves?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (13 October 2026, 01:50 UTC)
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