The rise of 'housefishing' - when does using AI go from enhancing to misleading?

Detailed summary

Experts warn that using AI to enhance property images can go too far and mislead prospective buyers.

Have you ever been impressed by the pictures of a property on an estate agent's website, only to find the place looks completely different when you view it in person?

From repainted walls to imaginary lawns, estate agents are increasingly using the technology to make homes seem more appealing, arguing it helps buyers visualise the potential of a place.

But experts warn it can go too far and mislead prospective buyers - a trend dubbed "housefishing".

Earlier this year Olivia Nicole, 29, was searching online for five-bedroom properties in south-west London when a house on Rightmove caught her eye.

But when she arrived to view it several days later she initially thought she had come to the wrong place.

"The rooms were much smaller than they were in the pictures and the decor was totally different," she tells the BBC. "Some structural features were also different."

For example, there was a raised section of the wall behind the sofa that didn't appear in the images. The windows were also noticeably smaller. Olivia was so surprised she took her own pictures of the property for comparison.

It later turned out the pictures she had seen on Rightmove, which also appeared on the Zoopla and Winkworth websites, were enhanced with AI.

But that wasn't clear in the listing, Olivia says, and she feels the agent wasted her time.

Opening of the article, excerpted from BBC Business. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.