Rewards platform Bilt announces 'next evolution' for American consumers, small businesses

Bilt, best known for helping renters earn rewards on housing payments, is expanding into local commerce with a new artificial intelligence platform aimed at helping businesses attract customers while giving consumers more ways to earn rewards close to home.

The company announced Tuesday that it is launching "Bilt Neighborhood OS," which connects with existing business systems for reservations, payments, customer management and loyalty programs to help merchants reach nearby customers, personalize offers and track spending.

For consumers, the expansion could mean earning rewards and receiving personalized offers at more restaurants, retailers and other businesses they visit near home. For merchants, it could mean reaching new customers without replacing their existing technology.

Bilt describes the launch as the "next evolution" of its business, expanding the rewards network it built around housing payments into a broader platform connecting consumers, neighborhood merchants and larger organizations.

"The last tech revolution transformed how businesses sell online, but it largely left behind the businesses that make our neighborhoods special," Bilt founder and CEO Ankur Jain said in a statement.

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The move builds on Bilt's network of more than 8.2 million members, who generated over $12 billion in rewarded commerce at local businesses over the past 12 months, the company said.

Launched in 2021, Bilt now reaches approximately one in four U.S. apartment buildings and expects to process more than $100 billion in housing payments this year.

The expansion includes two offerings through Bilt for Business: Neighborhood OS, which uses AI to help merchants attract customers, build loyalty and manage business activities, and Bilt Membership Platform, which allows organizations across sports, travel, hospitality, workplaces and financial services to create branded membership programs or extend existing rewards into local communities.

A neighborhood restaurant, for example, could use Neighborhood OS to identify potential customers, send targeted offers, recognize returning guests and automatically apply rewards through its existing point-of-sale system.

Bilt says its AI agents completed more than 2 million real-world actions across more than 29,000 businesses during the past 30 days, with 91% of those actions completed without human intervention.

The platform also includes Neighborhood ID, which Bilt describes as a privacy-preserving system for connecting customer experiences without exchanging raw customer data, and Neighborhood Pass, which allows eligible members to access personalized rewards and benefits at participating businesses.

To expand its reach, Bilt is partnering with payment and commerce companies including Verifone, Clover from Fiserv, Shift4, OpenTable and Grubhub. The partnerships could eventually make Neighborhood OS available to millions of merchants, with integrations and capabilities rolling out in phases beginning in 2027.

Bilt and Hyatt say they are also looking at how World of Hyatt members could be rewarded through neighborhood experiences with Bilt Neighborhood OS. Bilt added that it will partner with Meta in 2027 to provide education and business resources to small-business owners.

The platform is also giving $100,000 to the community development organization Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

"Our partnership with Bilt will test new ways to connect financial coaching and resources with people's housing goals, including pathways to homeownership, with the goal of reaching more individuals, families, and communities across the country," said Valerie White, head of National Housing Strategic Initiatives at Local Initiatives Support Corporation.

The company is targeting a sizable share of consumer spending. Bilt estimates that approximately $6.6 trillion in annual US retail and food-services spending occurs in person.

Its inaugural State of the Neighborhood study, conducted by 451 Research by S&P Global and commissioned by Bilt, surveyed 6,591 US adults. It found that two-thirds conduct at least 80% of their everyday spending within their neighborhood, while the median consumer shops within 15 miles of home.

The survey also found that 95% of respondents would try a local business at least once if they could earn points or rewards there, while 87% said rewards would make them more likely to shop at a local business more frequently.

Bilt is also expanding into professional sports, with the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury, Houston Rockets, Houston Texans, Houston Comets and Sacramento Kings planning branded fan loyalty experiences that could reward customers inside and outside stadiums, with phased launches beginning in 2027.

The effort follows Bilt's $300 million acquisition of loyalty technology company LAVA, whose technology supports programs for 56 professional sports teams, according to the company. Bilt is also working with Mastercard to extend cardholder rewards into participating neighborhood businesses.

Jain said Bilt's focus is on helping smaller businesses compete in an increasingly technology-driven economy.

"Our number-one goal is to grow small business," Jain told Fox News Digital. He said the company wants to empower small businesses to "grow and win against large companies that have had an unfair advantage on them."

Jain also warned that efforts to restrict AI development could hurt smaller companies that stand to benefit from the technology.

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"If you hamper AI, you're hurting small business across America," he said. "AI is going to be a great democratizing force in Congress."