How Jamie Curtis uses AI to book 26% of viewings from digital enquiries

Cooke Curtis & Co deployed “Amelia”, their AI Digital Negotiator, to capture out of hours leads, reduce diary friction, and turn simple viewing enquiries into instructions. 

The impact

• 26% of viewings from digital enquiries now autonomously booked by Digital Negotiator 2.0.
• 24/7 lead coverage: Zero lag time on enquiries received evenings, weekends, or bank holidays.
• Integrated marketing: Turned their digital agent into a brand asset via high-engagement social media campaigns.
• Staff upskilling: Negotiators spend less time as “diary coordinators” and transition into valuers faster.

The Problem: 

For most traditional estate agencies, client engagement stops the moment the office doors close. Enquiries submitted after 5pm on weekdays or past Saturday afternoon sit untouched in an inbox until the next business morning.

“If you didn’t enquire about a property within our work hours… you wouldn’t have got dealt with until either the following business day or Monday… Opportunities could be missed.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Coming into a wall of unhandled leads every morning meant negotiators spent their best hours acting as admin officers, sifting through emails, cross-referencing live diaries, and playing phone tag just to book a simple viewing.

The Solution: deploying & training “Amelia”

Cooke Curtis & Co deployed Digital Negotiator 2.0, and named their digital agent Amelia. Operating 24/7, Amelia handles incoming digital enquiries from portal feeds (Rightmove, Zoopla, OnTheMarket) and the agency’s direct website.

Finding the “Secret Sauce”: Continuous prompt training

Setting up a Digital Negotiator isn’t a rigid “set and forget” process; it behaves like onboarding a new employee. Jamie and his team worked closely with Greenhouse OS to fine-tune system prompts, diary rules, and tone of voice.

A prime example was training Amelia to navigate tricky appointment times. When applicants request slots right at the end of the day (like a 5pm booking) or outside ideal diary windows, Amelia doesn’t just give up or force an inconvenient time onto the team, she holds the agency’s parameters and gently nudges the buyer toward a better outcome.

“The applicant specified they could only do a viewing after a specific time which was pretty close to out of working hours… After a number of messages between half 9pm and 11pm at night, they found a middle ground that worked for both us as a company and applicant… Amelia is very well versed in communicating in a softly-softly manner that is being well received by potential clients.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Once you tweak and train your digital agent to follow your agency’s specific rules, it holds that “secret sauce” standard and executes it gracefully across hundreds of interactions simultaneously.

The “Anytime, Anywhere” campaign:

Rather than hiding the tech, Cooke Curtis & Co leaned in heavily, turning Amelia into a core marketing feature. They launched an ongoing social media campaign educating buyers and sellers that they can book a viewing irrespective of time or location.

“We’ve done a campaign now which will continue that we can book a viewing anywhere with you irrespective of where you are in the world, what time of day it is, what month it is… We’re advertising the fact heavily through all sorts of platforms. We see it as advantageous to both our clients and our buyers.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Proof of concept: 

It’s worth noting that the automated valuation feature was turned on very recently, meaning the team is seeing results from an early-stage deployment of the tool.

Jamie Curtis shared a recent out-of-hours interaction between Amelia and an applicant:

“The applicant contacted us out of hours… The viewing was successfully booked, and then Amelia went back and asked about their property. This was a challenging conversation that could stumble over timing negotiations, but the way it was handled was exceptional. Since then, the applicant has looked at the property twice, made an offer, and instructed us to sell their property. It’s the holy grail.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

The Competitive Edge: 

Beyond saving time, Jamie points out that the true market advantage comes from capacity. Where a human negotiator can only speak to one person at a time, Digital Negotiator handles hundreds of touchpoints in parallel.

“The competitive edge is having the ability to have multiple conversations with multiple people to either prospect, nurture, or create the valuation opportunities that were often missed because of the amount of time available for each negotiator. All these conversations can be going on at the same time with multiple people where we couldn’t do that.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

What the team thinks: “Look at this, it’s fantastic”

Introducing AI can sometimes trigger anxiety among staff, but the team at Cooke Curtis & Co embraced Amelia immediately, realising she takes away the low-level diary headaches while highlighting major wins.

“There’s a general positivity and appreciation for what she can do. Donovan, one of our real negotiators, messaged me when I was on holiday to say, ‘Look, J, you might want to look at this message, it’s fantastic.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Reimagining the agency workforce:

A common fear in real estate is that AI agents aim to replace human negotiators. Cooke Curtis & Co proves the opposite: automating admin unlocks human potential.

“Let’s be clear: we’re not replacing negotiators, we’re up-tasking them. The future negotiator will come in at a higher level… There is so much more they can do as individuals rather than just finding a space in a diary. What the human can do is have those meaningful conversations, help sellers understand offers, or be out valuing properties.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Key Takeaways for Forward-Thinking Agencies

• Trainable asset: Tweak your prompts and diary logic until you lock in your ideal process. Once defined, Digital Negotiator repeats that exact high standard every time.
• Turn tech into marketing: Promote your 24/7 availability on social media to win instructions from tech-savvy vendors.
• Early-stage ROI: Even in the initial weeks of turning on advanced valuation prompts, the system is converting portal leads into instructions.

“If you’re unsure, it’s really important to have a conversation and show people that this is absolutely here to support an existing team, not to replace one.”

— Jamie Curtis, Director at Cooke Curtis & Co

Ready to train your own Digital Negotiator?

See how Greenhouse OS and Digital Negotiator 2.0 can automate your diary, generate valuations, and give your agency a 24/7 edge.