CRMLS partnership brings AI to listing photos 

California Regional Multiple Listings Service is poised to introduce an image analytics tool developed by a virtual staging company the MLS invested in last summer.

Styldod, a real estate technology startup that has broadened its offerings from virtual staging and photo editing to AI-enabled photo scanning, is finalizing a process for tagging and exporting image data to save agents time — and potentially a lot of headaches — as they upload photos for their MLS listings. 

The goal is to ensure that  images entered into the MLS system meet compliance rules and policies. 

"Styldod is doing incredible things with artificial intelligence, a technology we're eager to explore further," said Art Carter, CRMLS CEO and fund manager for Venture MLS. In June, Venture MLS invested $1 million in Styldod. 

CRMLS is the nation's largest multiple listings service, with more than 110,000 subscribers. Its venture capital fund — the first to be launched by an MLS — provided Styldod with seed money to develop AI-driven solutions to streamline real estate transactions through automation. The fund backs early stage proptech companies, and in 2022 made investments in RentSpree, SavvyCard and Styldod. 

"Venture MLS is looking to invest $10 million into promising technology for brokers and agents," Carter told Real Estate News about plans for 2023.

Ensuring compliance, creating efficiences

Styldod is able to scan listing images for watermarks and other "prohibited elements" that could lead to fines for agents who unwittingly publish them. The scans can pick up branding, QR codes, logos and other information that indicate a photo is not readily available to post.

"We're looking forward to how this new integration will empower agents and brokers with useful, harvested image data and help them avoid compliance issues," Carter said. 

Styldod has 10,000 customers worldwide, and expects to debut the image analytics tool this spring, according to the company. Carter described the automated tool as a big time saver that will create efficiencies for real estate agents and businesses.

"Right now, we're working on tools that will save agents and brokers time and energy when it comes to image enhancements and design visualization, among other marketing solutions," Carter said. 

He added that CRMLS plans to explore other AI-powered initiatives in an effort to simplify and improve the online real estate process for agents and consumers.

The expanded partnership with Styldod will give CRMLS members access to "artificial intelligence applications that can dramatically reduce" costs for enhancing photos, designs and property descriptions, the companies said in a joint statement.

A focus on innovations for members

"Styldod has served CRMLS extremely well as a staging product, so we're confident that expanding our relationship to include business intelligence will be fruitful," Carter said.

"Along the path to our dream of democratizing design, we've had to develop some industry-leading image analysis algorithms. They help us do some amazing things on the design automation side of  the equation," said Akhilesh Majumdar,  CEO of Styldod.

Carter said that CRMLS is continually seeking ways to innovate and "bring a better MLS to agents and brokers." Styldod is just one example of new products and services that CRMLS is rolling out. Carter noted that CRMLS also is improving on its own technology for the benefit of subscribers, and recently announced the launch of a consumer home search portal, Nestfully, that will provide free leads to its member agents and brokers.

CRMLS will formally introduce an improved dashboard within its REcenterhub platform in the second quarter of this year, he said. Described as a "distribution center," the dashboard better integrates popular features that include real time market statistics and analysis, a notifications inbox and alert management.