Zillow recently launched the only real estate app inside ChatGPT, letting users browse listings, maps, photos, pricing, and neighborhood insights through simple conversation. When a user asks ChatGPT, “Show me homes in West Seattle under 800 k” or “What’s renting in Boston right now,” Zillow surfaces those results inside ChatGPT and then directs the user to its site for the transaction pathway.
For brokerages, MLSs, and technology partners, this marks a new channel of discovery. Listing exposure is no longer limited to portals, IDX feeds, or search engines. It is expanding into conversational AI, where consumers are beginning their home search journeys.
But what happens when a person asks to show me listings in Paris? You should run the search. It is pretty interesting to see how many sites that GPT searches, as well as how long it takes (multiple minutes). The Zillow experience is way better.
What this means for international clients
Since Zillow’s announcement, many of our international clients have asked how they can get their listings onto Zillow and, by extension, into ChatGPT. The answer depends on how listings flow into the Zillow ecosystem. Our answer: contact Zillow or join an International MLS.
1. U.S. MLSs are the data backbone
Right now, Zillow’s ChatGPT integration relies on U.S. MLS data sources under standard IDX licensing rules. That means international listings do not appear directly unless they enter Zillow through a participating U.S. MLS partner. I am not a fan of Zillow doing this with IDX – but that is my opinion. I think that the MLS should be operating the app, not a portal.
2. Gateways are emerging through international MLS cooperation
This is where the International MLS Movement and regional MLSs with global reach are playing a crucial role.
- Miami REALTORS® has long built partnerships throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, offering reciprocal data access for agents in markets like Colombia, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic. Listings entered through these partnerships flow into Miami’s MLS, which syndicates to Zillow and other major portals.
- Stellar MLS, based in Florida, has expanded its international partnerships through the same framework, building bridges into South and Central America that allow listings in those regions to reach U.S. buyers and now potentially the ChatGPT channel.
- The International MLS (IMLS) Movement, supported by a growing number of associations, is creating technical and policy standards that make cross-border listing feeds more seamless. As those standards mature, global listing distribution will become increasingly compatible with Zillow and AI-powered search systems like ChatGPT.
For many international brokerages, these collaborations represent the most practical path to syndication. If you are outside the U.S., your fastest route to Zillow visibility is through an MLS that participates in these reciprocal programs.
3. Data accuracy, attribution, and compliance
Zillow has emphasized that listings displayed through ChatGPT include broker attribution and follow MLS display rules. That standard extends to reciprocal listings once they are entered through a U.S. MLS. International partners should ensure their data aligns with U.S. listing standards, including clear agent attribution, fair housing compliance, and verified property information. If you want to see it work. type: “Zillow, show me listings in Puerto Rico.” It’s so much better than searching in Paris because of the Zillow app and the listings are fed from Stellar MLS.
4. Opportunity: conversational search changes discovery
The biggest shift is not just distribution, it is discovery. Buyers are no longer typing search terms into a portal. They are asking questions like “Find me a beachfront home in Puerto Rico under a million dollars.” If that listing is syndicated through Miami or Stellar’s MLS feed, Zillow’s ChatGPT app could be the first place it appears.
This new visibility matters for global developers, resort communities, and brokerages seeking affluent U.S. and Canadian buyers. The ChatGPT experience reduces friction between curiosity and connection.
5. Preparing for AI-driven listing optimization
International listings that reach Zillow will need to be optimized for conversational search. The words you use in descriptions, including amenities, lifestyle markers, and proximity to cultural or geographic anchors, help AI understand what to display. Descriptions should match the way people speak rather than the way data fields are labeled.
6. Digital sovereignty and global data strategy
For global real estate organizations, this moment reinforces the need for digital sovereignty: owning and controlling your data pipelines rather than depending entirely on portals. The International MLS Movement and forward-thinking MLSs like Miami and Stellar show how sovereignty and cooperation can work together. They are proving that controlled syndication built on standards and reciprocity can open doors into global AI ecosystems without surrendering ownership of the data itself.
What to do now
- Audit your MLS connections: Identify which U.S. MLS partners your listings can legally flow through.
- Join reciprocal programs: Explore membership or cooperation with Miami REALTORS®, Stellar MLS, or the International MLS.
- Optimize your metadata: Rewrite listing descriptions for conversational discovery.
- Protect your data: Use structured, reciprocal agreements rather than one-way syndication.
- Monitor AI distribution channels: Track when and how your listings appear within ChatGPT’s Zillow app and adjust your content accordingly.
Zillow’s move into ChatGPT is reshaping where discovery begins. For international markets, it is not a distant opportunity, it is a new front already opening through the gateways built by globally minded MLSs. Those who control their data and align with cross-border MLS frameworks will be the first to benefit from this next generation of digital visibility.
