Key facts
- Bright MLS is updating its rules to enhance agent flexibility and seller privacy regarding property data.
- New rules will restrict the use of listing data for training AI models and provide secure access methods.
- Sellers can opt to suppress photos (except one exterior) and listing prices from public websites.
- A 'Registered' listing status will allow agents to comply with the two-day submission rule before public marketing.
- Bright MLS is developing AI tools for subscribers to query market data.
Bright MLS is introducing a series of rule updates designed to offer real estate agents more marketing flexibility and sellers greater control over their property data. These changes, slated to take effect later this summer, also establish new protections around the use of listing information in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
The updates include a streamlined listing submission process, unified consumer display standards, new privacy controls for sellers, and expanded pre-marketing options. A central change reaffirms the requirement that all listings must be submitted to the MLS within two calendar days of signing a listing agreement. To accommodate properties not yet ready for public marketing, Bright is introducing a new 'Registered' status. This allows agents to comply with the two-day submission rule without triggering public exposure before the seller is ready.
Rajeev Sajja, chief artificial intelligence and product officer at Bright MLS, explained that agents will have multiple layers of control, including office exclusive status, coming soon status, and active status with internet display options. "There are stages that they can fully control exposure while still being compliant and not worrying about more exposure than before they’re ready for it," he said.
Bright is consolidating its IDX and VOW rules into a single "Policy on Display for Consumer Search" with uniform display standards. The update introduces a mechanism for agents to report websites that fail to remove information added to their listings, with the MLS pursuing enforcement against publishers that violate display rules. Sajja noted that the MLS handles "a few hundred compliance issues every month."
Two advanced settings will give sellers more control over how their property data appears online. Photo suppression allows sellers to request that all but one exterior photo be suppressed from public-facing websites, while all photos remain visible to professionals within the Bright MLS system. Price suppression gives sellers the option to withhold the listing price from public sites. "Our goal at an MLS is to truly empower any broker’s marketing strategy or an agent’s marketing strategy, so that they don’t say, 'I can’t do this in an MLS because my seller is asking for it,'" Sajja stated.
Proactively addressing AI, Bright is prohibiting the direct download of MLS data for training AI models, aiming to provide subscribers with secure access through tools like model context protocol servers. The MLS is also developing an application that will allow subscribers to utilize AI to ask questions and receive answers grounded in Bright’s market data. Sajja emphasized that Bright's role is to be a "neutral, transparent, cooperative marketplace" that empowers brokers to compete on their chosen strategies.
The specific launch date for the rule updates has not been finalized, but they are expected later this summer. This timing is intended to give data feed recipients adequate time to adapt to the changes, particularly photo suppression, which requires technical adjustments.