A recent artificial intelligence (AI) search on "how to write a real estate listing description" yielded these five tips:

• Highlight the property's best features

• Be specific

• Use descriptive language

• Use bullet points to break up text

• Be honest

All five tips certainly check the boxes of how to make your real estate listing description more engaging and effective.

For example, you'd likely begin your listing by identifying the property's most attractive features, such as a newly renovated kitchen or a stunning view.

You'll also need to provide specific details about the property, such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the precise square footage.

Descriptive language evokes emotion and enables the buyer to visualize what it would be like to live in the property. Rather than simply saying, "the home is a 2 BD/3 BA," tell a story about how the home "provides the perfect mountain getaway with plenty of natural light and spectacular views."

While bullet points break up the text and make it easier to read, not all MLSs will retain that formatting, so instead, use short descriptions of local features that will resonate with local shoppers — "waterfront" for properties along Florida's Gulf Coast or "private roof deck" for Chicago's West Loop. Long story short: Avoid wordy descriptions that can lose the reader.

And the last tip applies to all aspects of your business, but for listing descriptions specifically, being honest about the property's true condition and any potential issues will help you build trust with shoppers and avoid surprises later.

If writing is not one of your strengths, AI can even generate an automated description of the home for you — just edit where needed.

Using AI's potential to create and boost your real estate listings goes far beyond writing listing descriptions. In fact, ShowingTime+ is leveraging AI in two new products to help agents create AI-powered listings that stand out to shoppers and elevate the listing experience for sellers.

Using AI to differentiate the real estate listing of the future

Listing Media Services from ShowingTime+ is an on-demand photography service that offers agents comprehensive media packages, including high-resolution photography, interactive floor plans, virtual tours and videos.

According to Zillow Group internal research, homes on Zillow with a virtual tour or interactive floor plan were saved by users 78% more often than homes without a virtual tour.*

With just a few clicks, agents can schedule a professional photographer to capture all the media they need to create a compelling listing. Best of all, agents receive their listing media as soon as the next day following the photo shoot.

For agents who want to take their listings even further, Listing Showcase from ShowingTime+ provides an exclusive online listing experience to help listing agents wow potential buyers, generate more exposure for their sellers, elevate their brand and win more listings.

Showcase listings are designed to attract serious buyers and leverage immersive, interactive media to give them a deep understanding of the home before they visit in person. This includes a self-rotating photo carousel, modern photo organization grouped by room, a floor plan map overlay, and seamless connection between photos, virtual tour and floor plan.

AI plays a key role in both Listing Media Services and Listing Showcase to power the listings' innovative interactive floor plans, which are included in every Listing Media Services package and on every Showcase listing, giving shoppers digital insights and details so they can more quickly and easily narrow their search to only the homes they love and want to see in person.

Showcase listings combine the power of artificial intelligence with the nuance of agent expertise. AI selects hero images for the listing that highlight the home's best features and matches listing photos with corresponding rooms in the interactive floor plan and in a Showcase listing's unique group-by-rooms display.

Soon, listing agents will be able to select from AI-generated insights, including which home facts and features matter most to home shoppers, to help highlight the home's best features on their Showcase listings.

To learn more ways to bring your real estate listings to life, read our guide: "How to Write a Great Real Estate Listing Description." And to learn more about ShowingTime+ Listing Media Services and Listing Showcase, please visit showingtimeplus.com.

* Zillow Group internal research, collected May-December 2022