Industry CEO on how brokers can use artificial intelligence to boost their business
It’s no secret artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm over the last 18 months, with the phenomenal rise of ChatGPT helping supercharge its uptake and sparking debate on a possible AI revolution in the workplace.
That transformation has marked “likely the fastest pace of innovation that we’ve ever seen,” according to a top tech executive in the mortgage industry, who told Canadian Mortgage Professional that artificial intelligence could profoundly impact the broker profession for the better in the coming years.
Reuven Gorsht (pictured top), chief executive officer at mortgage tech platform Deeded, is spreading the message about the potential of the “AI-powered broker” through a series of presentations, including at the upcoming Canadian Mortgage Brokers Association (CMBA) annual conference and Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) symposiums in Toronto and Ottawa.
With thousands of AI-based apps emerging at a rapid rate, their ability to perform specialized jobs like writing newsletters, editing videos, or analyzing customer interactions can be of great use to agents and brokers, according to Gorsht.
“The time it takes to test, adapt and use these apps in the mortgage business is typically very low, as is the cost,” he told CMP. “I’ve seen brokers who, in a few days, are able to put these new tools to use to get a new podcast out, automate parts of their business, or even process through thousands of leads – all with a very minimal investment of time and money, but a massive return on investment.”
How AI can help brokers grow their business
It goes without saying that keeping business coming through the door is a key consideration for brokers – and while social media can be one of the best ways to do that, many mortgage professionals are hesitant to commit because of the time required to produce quality social media posts or a podcast.
That’s where AI comes in, Gorsht said, with tools able to generate ideas, produce content, and release it to the world in a matter of minutes. Brokers now have the ability to write a one- or two-sentence description and see the script and narration generated almost instantly, saving the mountain of work that might otherwise be required.
“It no longer takes hours or hiring an expensive agency to do,” he said. “You can now literally choose a topic – for example, an interest rate announcement from the Bank of Canada – add one or two sentences with your opinion on what it means for your clients, and have an entire Instagram or TikTok post created and published in seconds.”
A useful tool for developing client relationships
AI’s also set to come to the fore in helping brokers build client relationships, Gorsht said. An emerging category of AI tools can determine an individual’s personality type by studying their social media profile, allowing brokers to tailor their own approach to each client – something of a “cheat sheet,” he added, for brokers to better engage with and serve their customers.
“People will start to listen, and people are very interested in what’s going to be the most accurate information they can follow," says Scott Wittrup of Invis Mortgage Intelligence.https://t.co/FDeJP4hrZW#mortgageindustry #mortgagebroker #mortgageeducation #mortgageinsights
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) January 9, 2024
Other platforms see AI make outbound calls, qualify leads, or check in with a client, essentially replacing inside sales or customer service representatives by making the initial outreach.
“They also have robust capabilities like capturing all the notes in a conversation, booking a meeting with the broker, or even transferring the call to them, live,” Gorsht added. “The potential to scale your business using these tools is wild, as every call costs only a fraction of a penny – but gives you the ability to have more touchpoints with your clients and leads more frequently, which leads to more business.”
Again, those platforms only take a short time to set up before they’re ready to start qualifying leads or checking in with clients about matters such as mortgage renewals, he said, while generating appointments for the broker.
“The AI is doing the outreach, scheduling your follow-ups, and can schedule additional meetings with detailed notes into your CRM.”
Is the broker channel ready for the coming AI revolution? With the “staggering” pace of AI tools currently being released, it’s important for brokers to carefully weigh up which can help complement and grow their business – and which are better left alone, Gorsht said.
“Ultimately, some are going to work and others won’t fit the broker’s use case or comfort zone,” he said. “The opportunity is massive, but it’s up to the broker to test various tools and deduce what works best for their business.”
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