Jeremy Crawford on AI, MLS Collaboration and Global Real Estate Data

The Conversation

Jeremy Crawford, President and CEO of FMLS, sees artificial intelligence as a way to help brokers and agents make better use of property information. In this GDX Talks interview, he connects that opportunity to the everyday work of a multiple listing service: keeping information accurate and helping professionals serve buyers and sellers.

His argument is practical. An agent may be skilled at client relationships without being a data analyst. He believes AI can help that agent interpret information more efficiently and explain it to a client. Those are expectations about how the tools can help, not a guarantee that every AI product will produce reliable advice.

Useful AI Starts With Reliable Information

The conversation returns repeatedly to data quality. New ways of measuring homes and collecting property information can support the MLS's existing responsibility to improve accuracy. An analytical tool is still dependent on the information it receives.

For MLS leaders, that puts attention on the source: how a listing is checked, how a correction reaches users and whether the information is current. Faster analysis is useful only when professionals can assess what is behind the result.

Local Business, International Connections

A locally focused brokerage can have clients whose plans cross borders. In the interview, Jeremy Crawford describes Atlanta buyers considering homes overseas and the opportunity for agents to help them explore other markets.

In July 2026, the Global Data Exchange (GDX) announced that FMLS had joined its network. GDX describes its model as a federated exchange of authorized public listing data, with participating organizations retaining their own rules and permissions. The international connection does not require every market to operate in the same way.

The potential value is access to relevant information through agreed channels. The discussion does not establish that every listing is available to every user, or that GDX itself supplies all of the AI analysis described in the interview.

Standards Make Connections Easier

As a former CEO of the Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO), Jeremy Crawford brings experience of the technical work behind data sharing. He uses Bluetooth as an analogy for competing companies agreeing on a common way for their products to communicate.

In real estate, the RESO Data Dictionary provides shared definitions and the RESO Web API supports standardized access. Common structures can reduce repeated integration work and help technology providers work with data from different organizations. They do not, by themselves, grant a license to use that data.

Wider Access Still Needs Permission

The interview also emphasizes intellectual property and the authority of the organizations supplying listing information. Photographs, descriptions and other listing materials can carry rights and license conditions that must be respected when information is shared.

An available public listing is not a blanket permission to republish its contents or use them to train an AI model. Any proposed use needs to follow the applicable agreements. That is an editorial distinction worth keeping clear as the conversation moves between international access and AI.

Put Data Sharing to Work

One of the most direct recommendations comes around 15 minutes into the conversation. Jeremy Crawford urges MLS organizations to move from evaluating data sharing to putting it into practice for their brokers and agents.

He also expects technology to improve more of the transaction process, while maintaining that human relationships and professional expertise will remain important. These are his views on the industry's direction. The immediate question for an MLS is which authorized connections will help its members now, and what needs to be in place to make those connections dependable.