Realtor average buyers commission for first time home buyers in knox

First time home buyers and relatively new to the area. We are looking to buy and want to tour some houses we found on Zillow but with the new laws, need to sign buyers broker exclusivity agreement for an agent to take us. The agent we've been talking to has a 3.5% commission that we will be responsible for if they can't negotiate it to be covered by seller. Is that industry standard around here? From our googling, that seems like it's high? Any insight into this process (especially around the Knoxville area) is appreciated.

Also if you have any recommendations for a realtor you've used and loved, drop that as well!