What an agent needs from your listings that a person does not

Why browsing is over

For twenty years a marketplace listing has been written for a person with a scroll wheel. Headline, photos, a paragraph of persuasion, a price if you are lucky, and a button. It works because people fill the gaps: they infer, compare by eye, and phone if something is missing.

An assistant asked to find a plumber who can come on Thursday for under two hundred pounds needs something more precise. It needs readable service scope, location, price basis and availability. If those fields cannot answer the question, the listing may never reach the shortlist.

A listing that cannot be read by an agent is harder to find for buyers who use one.

What an assistant actually reads

It reads structured fields, not just prose: category, location, service area, what is included, what is not, lead time, price or price basis, availability, and provider identity. It needs to know what it is allowed to do: hold a slot, request a quote or place a deposit. It also needs the rules for cancellation, guarantees and problems after the transaction.

Much of this already exists somewhere in a marketplace. It may sit in a provider form, in a database the search index does not expose, or in an operator’s head. The work is to decide which source is authoritative, expose it in a form an agent can read, and keep it current.

Availability is a field, not a promise

“Usually available within 48 hours” is a sentence for a person. An assistant needs a slot it can request or hold. That calls for a live diary, or at least an honest one, connected to the provider’s existing workflow. If availability is only a marketing claim, an agent may ignore it or act on stale information.

Price, terms and the questions behind them

Price is rarely one number in a service marketplace. It might be per hour, per job, from a floor, or quoted after an assessment. Agents can work with any of these when the basis is explicit and the path to a firm price is an action they can begin. “Call for a quote” leaves a gap in that journey.

Identity and permission

A marketplace should show who the provider is, how the relevant identity or credential check was made, and when it was last checked. Permission is separate: an agent may be allowed to compare and request, while a person must approve a booking or payment. Those limits belong in the transaction design, not just the terms.

The listing checklist

A practical agent-ready listing needs:

• Structured scope: What is included and excluded as fields, not only a paragraph.
• Explicit price basis: A number, floor or quote path an agent can start.
• Live availability: A slot that can be requested or held and reconciled with the provider’s diary.
• Verified identity: Who the provider is, what was checked and when.
• Permitted actions: What an agent may do for a buyer and what requires a person.
• Terms as data: Cancellation, guarantee and dispute rules readable without a PDF.

This does not replace the human listing. Buyers still look at photos, reviews and stories. The structured layer helps the assistant they send ahead of them find, assess and act on the same supply.

Editorial draft based on the current Markko design. Review wording and attribution before publication.