I Asked AI to Find Me a Property in London. Here’s What Happened

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I tested 4 top Deep Research tools to see how well they help with buying property in the UK — specifically for someone like me, needing a base to live and work around London. Spoiler: Not all tools are created equal. Here's what happened: 1 of 13

The context: I currently work in South Kensington but my work location may move to White City. So I gave each AI tool a clear prompt, detailed preferences (budget, commute time, etc.), and asked for a smart, tailored property search strategy. 2 of 13

The prompt was simple. I told the tools they were an expert in the UK property market, financial planning, and creative thinking and asked them to suggest ideal areas and sample properties to buy, based on my criteria. I also asked them to provide clear reasoning, structured insights, and a strategy. A longer version (hiding away some of my more exotic wants) is in the image. 3 of 13

These are the four tools I tested: • Perplexity • Grok 3 • ChatGPT • Gemini (2.5, right after the update) The results varied wildly. Some gave generic answers. Others went deep. Here’s how they fared: 4 of 13

Perplexity: • Very short report • Lots of generic info • Confused rental vs buying • Recs: Shepherd’s Bush, Harrow, Enfield, Leighton Buzzard • Dubious reasoning: e.g. “Shepherd’s Bush is safer than most US cities” Grade: ❌ 5 of 13

Grok 3: • Short report, but at least stayed on-topic • Recs: Brentford (top), plus Acton, Wembley, Harrow, Watford • Lacked depth, but didn’t waste time on generic buying tips Grade: Not great ✅ 6 of 13

ChatGPT: • Only one to ask follow-up questions • Detailed area profiles: transport, growth potential, sample listings • Recs: Ealing, Stratford, Walthamstow, Croydon, Wembley, Bromley, St Albans, Reading • Bonus: Buying/negotiation strategy Grade: Very solid ✅✅ 7 of 13

Gemini 2.5: • Most detailed by far • Exec summary + parameter breakdown • Smart shortlisting: Walthamstow, Woolwich, Slough, Croydon (+ Barking, Dartford for commuting) • Travel time/cost analysis to both work sites • Best at structured comparisons Grade: ✅✅✅ 8 of 13

Big takeaway: Only 4 areas came up more than once — Croydon, Harrow, Walthamstow, and Wembley. But all 19 suggested areas were plausible options. No hidden gems, though. All the analysis relied heavily on public data and marketing materials. 9 of 13

Caveats: • Tools struggle with up-to-date pricing (some use old data) • None were good at identifying specific properties • Great for macro-level guidance, less useful for pinpointing real opportunities 10 of 13

Right now, London property is cooling off. I believe that deals are out there. Casting a wider net (with some AI help) might be a smart move. For me, Gemini delivered the best report. ChatGPT was a close second. Would I use these again? Absolutely — but smartly. 11 of 13