REA Group has launched conversational AI search on realestate.com.au after expanding natural language search to 50% of site visitors. The beta feature, deployed last month, is now available to 10% of users.
The move extends REA's year-long natural language search pilot. CEO Cameron McIntyre positioned conversational search as fundamentally different: "It involves an AI agent that's responding and it generates a conversation which takes you down more interesting pathways."
The phased rollout is deliberate. "Search in particular is an evolution, not a revolution," McIntyre said. "If you rush it, you can come unstuck. We're taking a very responsible approach."
REA expects the feature to increase buyer intent signals. Example: A user searching for properties with tennis courts finds none. Conversational AI can pivot to discuss properties with space to build a court, keeping the user engaged rather than bouncing.
This is REA's eighth AI-first feature. The company recently launched realAssist, an OpenAI-powered tool for querying property valuations, integrated with realEstimate (used by roughly one-third of Australian homes to track values).
The implementation approach matters here. REA is running natural language and conversational search in parallel, letting users adapt. The company claims AI has compressed development cycles from years to days for some products.
The timing is notable. REA's Q1 2026 earnings showed AUD 916M revenue (+5%) and AUD 341M net profit (+9%), but the stock dropped 9.63% post-announcement. Analysts questioned AI monetization despite executive optimism about FY27 revenue impact.
What this means in practice: Australia's dominant property platform is betting on conversational interfaces while competitors watch. The cautious rollout suggests they've learned from others' rushed AI deployments. The real test comes when they attempt to monetize these features against traditional listing revenue in a market showing growth pressure.
REA's decade of AI investment and proprietary data give it advantages in property-specific applications. Whether that translates to revenue growth is the question investors are asking.