Are people getting tired of the internet?
It sounds like a strange question when we’re talking about social media marketing. But there’s something worth paying attention to right now. The platforms are racing to build more AI-driven, automated digital experiences — while a lot of the people using those platforms are quietly moving in the opposite direction. They want answers that feel human. They want less screen time, not more. They want connection, not simply content to consume.
For real estate professionals, that gap is actually an opportunity.
Engagement is getting harder to earn
If your posts felt like they were getting less traction in 2025, you weren’t imagining it. Buffer — a social media management platform that analyzed more than 52 million posts — found engagement declined across Instagram, Threads and LinkedIn year over year. Instagram dropped about 26 percent, Threads about 18 percent and LinkedIn about 5 percent.
Before you panic, here’s the context: This isn’t about the platforms becoming less popular; it’s about them getting more crowded. More brands, more creators, more professionals are publishing more content than ever. The pie isn’t shrinking; there are just more people at the table.
What Buffer’s data also found is that conversation beats everything else. Posts where creators consistently replied to comments outperformed those where they didn’t, especially on Threads and LinkedIn. Timing and frequency still matter, but showing up and actually talking to people matters more.
What this means for real estate professionals
A dip in engagement isn’t a signal to blow up your strategy but rather a signal to lean into what makes your services different from everyone else’s. You’re already in a relationship-driven business, so replying to comments, answering questions in your DMs, engaging with other people’s posts just makes sense.
TikTok is becoming a search engine
According to a recent Adobe Express survey, 49 percent of U.S. consumers now use TikTok as a search engine — up from 41 percent in 2024. Why? Because a short video that shows you exactly what you need, told by a real person, is often faster and more useful than scrolling through a page of links.
The same survey found 14 percent of respondents are now more likely to use ChatGPT than Google when they’re searching for something. Discovery is shifting — away from traditional search engines and toward social platforms and AI tools.
For small businesses on TikTok, the biggest challenge isn’t getting attention. It’s converting that attention into actual business. Business owners surveyed said turning engagement into sales was their top hurdle, followed by building followers and keeping engagement consistent.
What this means for real estate professionals
Buyers and sellers are already using TikTok to search for neighborhoods, understand the market and figure out how the home buying process works. A short video that answers a common question like, “What does earnest money mean?” or “What’s the market like in [your city] right now?” is more than just content; inside TikTok, it functions like a search result.
You don’t have to be a TikTok creator to make this work. You just have to be the person who answers the questions your clients are already asking.
LinkedIn content is showing up in AI answers
An analysis by SEMrush looked at 325,000 prompts across ChatGPT, Google’s AI Mode and Perplexity, another AI search tool and learned that LinkedIn was the second most cited source for AI-generated answers, right behind Reddit.
A separate study ranked LinkedIn among the fastest-rising sources cited by AI tools over just a few months. And research from an SEO agency called Eight Oh Two found that 37 percent of consumers now start their searches with AI tools rather than traditional search engines.
So, when someone asks an AI tool about housing trends, local market conditions or homebuying advice, there’s a growing chance the answer is being pulled from LinkedIn content.
What this means for real estate professionals
Your LinkedIn posts and articles can now reach beyond your network entirely. Clear, informative content about your local market, buying and selling tips, or your take on where things are headed could surface directly in an AI-generated answer — to someone who has never heard of you. That’s a pretty compelling reason to keep publishing there consistently, even if it sometimes feels like shouting into the void.
Meta bets on AI social networks
Meta recently acquired an experimental platform called Moltbook. It’s built almost entirely around AI profiles interacting with each other. Think Reddit-style discussion threads, but instead of people talking, it’s AI bots having the conversations. Users can watch and vote, but the interaction itself is between AI agents.
This fits with what Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been saying for a while — that AI personas could eventually operate across Facebook, Instagram and Threads just like human profiles do, complete with bios, content and ongoing conversations.
What this means for real estate professionals
Social platforms are preparing for a future where AI agents participate in conversations alongside humans. Feeds are going to get noisier and more automated. Which means the thing that will actually stand out is you — a real person, with real expertise, having real conversations. The more human your presence is online, the more it will cut through as AI-generated content becomes the norm.
The rise of ‘screen-free’ tech
A new wave of products is growing fast by doing something counterintuitive: helping people spend less time on their phones.
Camp Snap launched in 2023 as a simple digital camera designed for summer camps where phones aren’t allowed. It has since sold more than one million units and found an audience way beyond kids — outdoor enthusiasts, sports fans, anyone who wants to capture a moment without reaching for their phone. Similar products like Tin Can phones and kids’ smartwatches designed to replace smartphones are seeing the same kind of word-of-mouth growth.
People are tired. Tired of being constantly connected, constantly scrolling, constantly reachable. And a growing number of them — especially younger users — are actively looking for ways to be more offline.
What this means for real estate professionals
Real estate has always been about place, lifestyle and community — the things that actually happen off a screen. Leaning into that in your content isn’t old-fashioned; it’s timely. Neighborhood highlights, local events, the feeling of a particular street or community — that kind of marketing resonates right now because it’s the antidote to what people are feeling burned out by. You’re not just selling a house. You’re selling a life.
TL;DR
- Engagement is down across major platforms — not because they’re dying, but because they’re more crowded. Conversation and consistency are now more important than timing tricks.
- Nearly half of U.S. consumers use TikTok as a search engine. Short educational videos can function like search results inside the app.
- LinkedIn posts are increasingly showing up in AI-generated answers, giving your content reach beyond your existing network.
- Meta’s latest move signals a future where AI agents participate in social feeds alongside humans — making authentic human presence more valuable, not less.
- The screen-free tech movement is a cultural signal that lifestyle and community content hits differently right now.
As platforms push deeper into AI-driven discovery and automated interaction, the value of human expertise and real conversation may actually increase. Feeds may become more crowded and more algorithmic, but the people using them are still looking for answers, context and connection they can trust.
For real estate professionals, that creates an opportunity. Agents do not need to compete with the volume of content or the sophistication of AI tools. What they can offer instead is interpretation — explaining market shifts, answering questions and helping clients make sense of complex decisions.
In an environment where technology keeps accelerating, the advantage may increasingly belong to the people who provide the most human experience to their audience.
Each week on Trending, digital marketer Jessi Healey dives into what’s buzzing in social media and why it matters for real estate professionals. From viral trends to platform changes, she’ll break it all down so you know what’s worth your time — and what’s not.
Jessi Healey is a freelance writer and social media manager specializing in real estate. She covers how social media trends shape the industry. Find her on Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.