Searches that once involved visits to council offices, paper files and hours of manual checking can now be ordered online in a matter of minutes. Vast amounts of information are available at the touch of a button. Artificial Intelligence is increasingly being used to analyse records, organise data and identify patterns that might previously have taken people days or even weeks to find.
Looking from the outside, it would be easy to assume that the role of the independent search agent is slowly becoming less important.
Yet is that really the case?
This week on IPSA Kind Of Magic, Gareth Wax and myself will be discussing whether search agents are becoming essential or endangered in an increasingly digital world.
Joining us for the conversation will be Mahesh Kerai and Sharon Whitney, two highly experienced search professionals who have seen first-hand how the industry has evolved over the years. Their perspectives will add valuable insight as we consider how technology is changing the way searches are carried out and what that may mean for the future of the profession.
Regular viewers will know that we have spoken about the advancement of AI on many occasions across our various podcasts. It is a subject that continues to generate interest throughout the property sector as new tools emerge and organisations look at ways to process information more quickly.
Technology is undoubtedly getting better at finding information.
HM Land Registry is already using AI to help with aspects of its Local Land Charges migration programme. Councils continue to digitise records. Search reports can be generated faster than ever before.
The challenge, however, is that finding information and understanding information are not necessarily the same thing.
Most experienced conveyancers will tell you that one of the biggest difficulties in modern property transactions is not the lack of data. In many cases, it is quite the opposite.
There is now so much information available that understanding what matters can become harder rather than easier.
This is something search agents encounter every day.
A computer may be able to identify a planning application, a highway proposal or a legal restriction. What it often cannot do is understand local context, recognise unusual anomalies or appreciate why a particular entry may deserve further investigation.
That still relies heavily on human judgement.
Many IPSA members have spent decades researching local authority records. They understand how different councils operate. They recognise historical quirks, local developments and issues that may not immediately stand out to someone viewing the information from a desk hundreds of miles away.
That local knowledge has always been valuable.
One wonders whether it may actually become even more valuable as the volume of available information continues to grow.
After all, if everyone can access the same data, expertise becomes less about obtaining information and more about interpreting it.
There is also the question of responsibility.
If a piece of technology produces an answer, who checks it? Who challenges it if something does not look right? Who applies common sense when the information appears incomplete, contradictory or simply unusual?
Technology can undoubtedly help improve efficiency. Most people would welcome that.
Yet many professionals across the property sector would argue that technology works best when supporting experienced people rather than replacing them.
The same conversation is taking place among conveyancers, surveyors, estate agents and valuers.
The future may not be a choice between people and technology. Instead, it may be about finding the right balance between the two.
Search agents have always adapted to changing circumstances. The profession has evolved dramatically over the past twenty years and continues to evolve today.
Perhaps the real question is not whether search agents will disappear.
Perhaps it is whether the skills they provide are becoming more important than ever.
Join Gareth Wax, Mahesh Kerai, Sharon Whitney and myself on Wednesday at 1pm as we discuss how technology is changing the search industry, whether AI can truly replace local expertise, and what the future may hold for the next generation of search professionals.
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