Portugal has become home to a historic first: an AI-powered real estate agent that has surpassed $100 million in property sales — and industry experts say Dubai could be next to see this technology reshape how properties are bought and sold.
Portugal's AI Real Estate Breakthrough
Lisbon-based brokerage Porta da Frente Christie's deployed an AI agent built on technology from Israeli startup eSelf AI, marking the first time an artificial intelligence system has independently driven this volume of real estate transactions.
The AI agent operates around the clock, giving buyers instant access to detailed property information, virtual tours, and video and image sharing — without waiting for a human agent to become available.
"We have more than 5,000 properties currently in our portfolio," said Porta da Frente Christie's CEO João Cília. "It is impossible for a physical person to know all of the information regarding these 5,000 properties, but it's not impossible for an AI agent to do so."
24/7 Access Drives International Sales
The system has proved especially popular with American and Brazilian buyers, who can browse and transact across time zones without scheduling constraints. eSelf AI CEO Alan Bekker highlighted that the technology goes beyond a simple chatbot.
"We are not only a face that is moving and speaking while the agent responds to the user, but we also have sharing video and image capabilities," Bekker said.
The AI agent manages simultaneous inquiries from large numbers of clients, freeing human agents to focus on negotiations and closings rather than answering repetitive listing questions — boosting overall efficiency and sales performance.
Why Dubai Is the Natural Next Step
AI real estate technology is gaining ground in Portugal, and experts widely anticipate Dubai will emerge as the next major market to adopt it at scale. The UAE's rapidly growing luxury real estate sector recorded more than 125,000 transactions worth approximately AED 431 billion in the first half of 2025 alone — a 25% year-on-year increase.
Dubai's established reputation as a global technology hub, combined with its international buyer base and high transaction volumes, makes it an ideal environment for AI-driven property solutions to thrive. The same 24/7, multilingual, data-rich service model that resonated with U.S. and Brazilian buyers in Lisbon is a natural fit for Dubai's globally dispersed investor pool.
AI-driven real estate tools are projected to grow from a $222 billion global market in 2024 to nearly $975 billion by 2029 — a compound annual growth rate of 34.1%. For a market as competitive and internationally focused as Dubai's, early adoption of this technology could deliver a significant commercial edge.
