Juwai.com, a Chinese international real estate website, announced it’s partnering with a tech firm to introduce a line of Mandarin-speaking robots that real estate agents and developers can use to serve Chinese buyers. The firm Singou Technology of Macau will develop the “Butler 1” artificial intelligence robots.
The robots could be used in real estate offices to assist with Mandarin-speaking clients.
“The robots are really designed to help offices that don’t have a Mandarin speaker,” says Carrie Law, CEO of Juwai.com. “In offices that do, the robot could assist the receptionist in greeting Mandarin speakers until the Mandarin-speaking agent or salesperson can come and take over.”
Butler 1 will first be rolled out as a pilot program before a mass release, the company said.
“We hope to learn the practical things so we can ensure the robots can be most helpful,” Law says. “It’s also important to collect data on the kind of phrases and questions that are asked. This will allow the AI engine behind the robots to work better with consumers and on behalf of agents and developers.”
Juwai.com plans to release the first batch of robots at international property industry events and throughout offices over the next month in participating countries, including the U.S., Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and the U.K. Juwai.com has not yet announced the partnering brokerages that will participate in the pilot program. But the company predicts that a “few hundred” Chinese real estate robots will be available in the U.S. by the end of 2019.
Source: “AI Takes the Next Step: Real Estate Robots,” RISMedia (April 25, 2018) and “Juwai Joins Hands With Singou Technology in AI Partnership,” Juwai.com (April 23, 2018)
