Ten Questions with Michael McCabe, Co-founder of Coralytics

We first heard of Coralytics when we read about their collaboration with Property Finder. The company's self-description as "a cloud-based provider of Industry-leading AI models, specifically built for the real estate industry" ticks a lot of the boxes we need for further investigation, so we got in touch with co-founder Michael McCabe (pictured below) to find out more...

What is the problem that Coralytics solves?

Coralytics is an AI-powered marketing platform for the real estate industry. We address key challenges in the real estate market such as inefficient listing processes, suboptimal property visuals, and content moderation. Our platform leverages over 80 AI capabilities to automate up to 100% of moderation, uplift listing content, and enhance property photos and descriptions.

We also offer Generative AI Capabilities like Room Staging, Video generation, listing creation in seconds and much more. By automating these processes, we allow agents and marketplaces to maintain high-quality, trustworthy, and professional listings, driving engagement and conversions for a fraction of the cost.

What’s the founding team’s background and how did you end up with the idea for Coralytics?

Our founding team has a diverse background in artificial intelligence, real estate, and digital marketing. Witnessing the inefficiencies in listing processes and the manual effort required to maintain high standards in real estate marketplaces, we saw an opportunity to innovate. 

Who are some of your existing customers in the world of real estate marketplaces?

Our clients range from independent real estate agents to large property agencies and leading real estate marketplaces in MENA and we're expanding. 

What you do seems relevant for a lot of businesses why have you chosen to focus on marketplaces and real estate?

Focusing on real estate marketplaces allows us to address a sector where high-quality visuals and accurate, compliant listings are crucial. The competitive nature of real estate demands tools that can quickly and effectively elevate listings, attract buyers, and enhance trust. Our specialized AI capabilities meet these needs directly, providing significant value in a domain where visual appeal and accuracy can make or break a deal.

A lot of portals are trying to do some of the things that Coralytics does with their in-house teams. Why should they outsource tasks to you?

We have specialized AI solutions that go beyond simple moderation. Leveraging advanced generative AI, our technology automates up to 100% of content management. This ensures consistently high standards and maintains a professional, reliable marketplace.

Internal teams cannot scale indefinitely or work on all use cases at the same time. By outsourcing to Coralytics, companies can allocate their in-house resources to activities that provide clear strategic advantages. This allows them to concentrate on core business functions and long-term strategic initiatives, rather than building and maintaining AI capabilities, which companies like ours can do more efficiently.

We consider ourselves partners to our clients. We ensure that marketplaces and agencies benefit immediately from technological advancements, rather than waiting for their internal teams to build or prioritize those capabilities

Your focus seems to be on using AI to enhance listings and analyse data. Do you have any plans to build discovery features for portals like natural language search in the future?

Absolutely. Enhancing the search experience with AI is a natural next step for Coralytics. We already offer a range of AI-driven solutions such as Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision, and Generative AI for various use cases.

For example, we provide AI room staging, generate property listings in seconds, and create videos. Building on these capabilities, we are currently exploring features like natural language search and advanced recommendation engines. These additions aim to make it easier and more intuitive for users to find properties while optimizing the marketplace experience by leveraging our expertise in categorizing and extracting valuable insights from property descriptions, images, and videos.

We at Online Marketplaces see a lot of property portals that could benefit from AI technology. Is there anything that really frustrates you as users of property portals that you know can be easily fixed with the right technology?

One major frustration is the inconsistency and quality of property listings along with the prevalence of fake listings and an outdated search experience.

Poor visual quality and inaccurate descriptions can detract potential buyers. With AI technology, these issues are easily addressed. Our platform offers high-quality image enhancements, multi-language descriptions, and automated content review, ensuring that all listings meet high standards and provide an engaging user experience.

AI-driven verification processes can help detect and eliminate fake listings, enhancing trust and reliability and by incorporating advanced search features like natural language search we can significantly improve the user experience, making it easier and more intuitive for users to find the properties they are looking for.

Last year we saw OpenAI suspend all real estate applications that use its technology due to discrimination concerns. What do you train your models on and how do you make sure there aren’t biases in there?

We prioritize fairness and inclusivity in our AI models. Our models are trained on diverse and representative datasets to reduce biases. We also implement rigorous bias detection and mitigation techniques during the development process. Our goal is to ensure that our tools not only enhance user experience but also promote equality and prevent any form of discrimination.

One of the reasons we chose to specialise in Real Estate is that we have the expertise and the right data.

Currently, we are enhancing our video generation capabilities and refining our AI moderation tools. Common client requests include more customization options for virtual staging and dynamic video content, as well as tools for multi-language description and title generation. We continuously work to expand these features to meet the evolving needs of our clients.

The most common request from our clients is more integration with their systems. That is why we made all our AI capabilities available through APIs to be integrated easily in minutes. 

How do you see the market evolving and what will you be doing to be ahead of the curve?

The real estate market is moving towards digital transformation with a focus on virtual and AI-enhanced experiences. To stay ahead, we are investing in advanced AI research and expanding our toolset to include more intelligent and interactive features. By staying at the forefront of technology and continuously addressing client needs, we aim to lead the industry in innovative solutions that drive success in real estate marketplaces.