A recently launched real estate startup has partnered with a tech leader to bring a new automated listing process that brings artificial intelligence to the real estate industry – the first of its kind to do so.
Ocusell and REAI jointly announced Jan. 22 the first phase of its partnered listing workflow. The goal is to streamline the process, allowing users to publish listings to multiple MLS and social media platforms at the same time, all from one platform. The AI-backed technology aims to reduce the time real estate agents spend manually entering listings and simplifying the entire listing structure, according to a news release.
Ocusell, a proptech startup, launched in 2021 with the goal of expediting the residential real estate listing process. Co-founders Alex Taylor and Hayden Rieveschl were introduced to REAI – a real estate AI technology company – through a mutual colleague last summer.
The rest was history, Rieveschl said. Work on combining the two company’s expertise began immediately.
“Once we got together and took a look at what they (REAI) had built, it was a no brainer,” Rieveschl told the Business Courier.
Ocusell brought its platform – which allows agents to generate, manage and integrate listings and publish directly to the MLS in just a few clicks – to the table. The technology was developed in Cincinnati and piloted with local brokerages over the last two years.
The two companies then worked together to enhance the product, Rieveschl said, implementing AI fueled by REAI.
Brokerages in FMLS (First Multiple Listing Service), which serves 57,272 residential real estate agents and Realtors, and Georgia MLS in Atlanta are able to take advantage of the new service. The service is available on Ocusell’s website, Rieveschl said, and as of Feb. 15, it will be available on its own standalone website. It’s available to agents who subscribe to one of those two MLS platforms.
Being able to push automated listings out to social media through the service is huge, Rieveschl said. Social media is the No. 1 lead driver for brokers and agents.
“It’s a really unique thing that we bring to the table,” he said.
By the end of 2025, Ocusell and REAI want their service to be available in 20 of the top markets in the U.S., if not more, Rieveschl said. There’s already three additional markets set up for 2024 and ongoing negotiations with about 10 other MLS databases.
And Rieveschl would love if Cincinnati was eventually one of those markets. The capability just isn’t there yet after the recent MLS cyberattack.
“In the very beginning, they gave us a great opportunity to pilot the product here,” Rieveschl said. “We'd love to be back in Cincinnati … it’s our hometown.”
Ocusell REAI Phase 1 will be rolling out additional enhancements and AI features over the next 12 months.
Ocusell’s $1 million capital raise in 2022 was essential for the partnership and launch. The raise nearly doubled Ocusell’s capital stack as it plotted its first expansion outside the region.
“It completely set us up for that launch,” Rieveschl said. “That essentially has carried us through to now … it was pivotal to all the things we’ve done within the last year.”
