LJ Hooker forced to apologise over shocking mistake on rental listing

A top real estate agency has admitted using AI to generate property listings after a rental home was advertised as being near two ‘excellent’ schools that didn’t exist.

LJ Hooker listed a four-bedroom home in Farley, in NSW’s Hunter region, on Domain and realestate.com.au on Friday which stated that the property was close to ‘excellent educational institutions’.

‘Families will appreciate being within a short distance from several highly-rated schools, making daily commutes easy and stress-free,’ the ad said. 

It added that nearby schools included ‘Farley Primary School: Known for its nurturing environment and dedicated staff, this school offers a strong foundation for young learners;.

It also said advertised ‘Farley High School: With a range of programs and extracurricular activities, this school prepares students for future success’.

However, both are entirely fictional. 

After being contacted by Guardian Australia, the principal of the LJ Hooker Edensor Park branch, Patrick Huynh, reportedly admitted the firm had been using ChatGPT.

He said that the non-existent schools had not been picked up due to ‘human error’, adding: ‘All the real estate agencies use AI these days’.

‘I don’t know any real estate agent that doesn’t use AI,’ Mr Huynh added.

LJ Hooker listed a four-bedroom home in Farley, in NSW’s Hunter region, on Domain and realestate.com.au on Friday which stated that the property was close to ‘excellent educational institutions’

Pictured: the ChatGPT-written, erroneous ad

Pictured: the ChatGPT-written, erroneous ad

‘Most people use ChatGPT now. We have to use AI to help with (producing ads quickly).’

Huynh said he would usually input the address of a rental property and the basic description such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms it had into ChatGPT, a generative chatbot artificial intelligence program developed by OpenAI.

Although he admitted it was a ‘worry’ that ChatGPT had invented schools.

‘The normal standard would be “close to schools, shops and hospitals”,’ he said.

‘We’re not specific about particular high schools or public schools.’

The amended ad removed all reference to the schools. 

Daily Mail Australia approached the LJ Hooker Group for further comment.

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