PropTech and marketing services group Nurtur has released new data revealing what a strong digital traffic mix currently looks like for estate agents – and how artificial intelligence is set to transform it.

Based on a representative sample of estate agencies with established marketing strategies, Nurtur found that most website visits in 2025 come from:

Organic search: 39%

Direct: 30%

Email: 6.2%

Paid search: 6.0%

Paid social: 4.3%

Referral: 4.1%

Organic social: 3.4%

According to Nurtur, this balance reflects a mature digital strategy, with agents blending multiple channels to build awareness and maintain brand visibility.

But the firm warns that this equilibrium could soon be disrupted by a fast-emerging new traffic source: AI referrals.

Data from Nurtur suggests traffic from AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity could surge from 0.05% in early 2025 to more than 40% by mid-2028, based on current growth trends.

At present, AI accounts for just 0.2% of visits, yet that represents 1,784% year-on-year growth. However, AI’s rise may not mean more total visits — instead, it could reduce traditional organic search traffic, as users get answers directly from AI results without visiting websites.

Gartner forecasts organic search could fall by as much as half, while a study by Ahrefs found click-through rates were already 34.5% lower on average.

Even so, the property sector remains resilient, with organic traffic holding steady at 39% year-on-year.

“AI-driven visitors are likely to convert at far higher rates than traditional search traffic because they arrive ready to take action,” said Richard Combellack, chief commercial officer at Nurtur.

He added that AI traffic already shows a 12% conversion rate across estate agency websites within the Nurtur network.

“The challenge is visibility,” Combellack said. “Agents must ensure their brand, listings, and content are being understood and surfaced by AI systems, not just Google.”

Nurtur warns that AI search introduces a “black box” in the customer journey, where the path to a website visit becomes harder to track. To adapt, the firm advises agents to:

+ Optimise content for AI discovery and summarisation

+ Build material that answers audience questions directly

+ Strengthen online reputation through reviews and local citations

+ Use integrated data tools to track and convert leads consistently

As AI reshapes consumer behaviour, Combellack predicts the most successful agents will be those combining strong traditional marketing foundations with forward-thinking, data-driven digital strategies.

“The future of lead generation won’t be about who ranks highest,” Combellack added. “It’ll be about who’s recognised and recommended by the tools home movers trust most.”

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