Fields A.I. Is About to Crush

Which fields will A.I. impact the most, and who should start brushing up their resumes? This is the first article in a series explaining how A.I. could swoop in, disrupting and displacing large numbers of jobs and people. More importantly, it will outline the two steps everyone can take to either protect themselves from being replaced by A.I. or give them the more logical path: setting up their own AI-powered company today.

Let’s dive into the first industry we’ll cover:

Mortgage Brokers

Mortgage brokers are essential to the real estate industry. More accurately, their services are essential to the real estate industry. The headcount mortgage brokerages keep on hand can be largely replaced by A.I., and the end user would never notice a difference.

Canadian banks dominate the mortgage industry, but mortgage brokers have been chipping away at that stronghold for years, finally grabbing over 30% of the industry. The failure rate is high for an array of reasons, but the brokerage firms that adopt A.I. will likely dominate the market in?the future.

Institutions and private lenders dole out mortgages to take advantage of the perceived safety of the Canadian real estate market and pocket a steady stream of long-term income. Brokerage firms sponsor agents who pay for the privilege of working with them, pay monthly fees, and surrender a portion of their commissions. Individual brokers are largely responsible for their own lead generation and associated expenses.

What if a brokerage could eliminate 90% of brokers, underwrite more business, and deliver better client service? A.I. makes this possible.

The Obstacles to an A.I. Takeover in the Mortgage Business

Mortgage brokers work hard. They put in long hours, get turned down, have deals unwind, and suffer daily setbacks and letdowns. Any logical person would think these companies would jump at the chance to take on a leadership role in the industry, but they won’t. Mortgage brokers suffer from one critical flaw – they are almost universally short-sighted. They are often slow to adopt new revenue streams and very slow to adopt new technology. Most mortgage professionals reading this will dismiss this information and carry on. The smart ones will step into the emerging reality, adopt the emerging technology, and grow into market leaders over time. The short-sightedness will allow visionary brokers to capitalize and take over the industry, leaving lots of people without work.

How A.I. Will Rewrite the Mortgage Industry

This is an industry that runs on algorithms and formulas. Credit scores play a massive role in determining who gets a mortgage and who doesn’t. Some other factors exist, but credit scores and income are the two biggest influencers. This should lead to a series of logical questions and conclusions:

1.??? A.I. is exceedingly good at running algorithms and calculations, far more efficient than humans. It could process hundreds of applications simultaneously, connecting with other databases to determine the accuracy of the information.

2.??? Generative A.I. can be trained to interact with mortgage seekers in an understanding, very compassionate way. The technology is at the point where users feel they are interacting with a real person if the A.I. system has been properly trained.

3.??? Human mortgage agents can work on 10 applications simultaneously, sometimes taking hours or days to verify the information and submit completed files that need to be reviewed for errors. An A.I. system can simultaneously work on hundreds of applications and submit error-free files for underwriting.

4.??? These A.I. systems can be fully trained in 8 weeks and handle 90%-95% of all mortgage submissions. The workforce could be reduced by 70%-90%, while the volume could be increased by factors of 10.

5.??? People would still be required for situations the A.I. hasn’t been trained to deal with, but once that kind of situation came up, it could be added to the training, reducing the human workload.

6.??? Why should a new mortgage brokerage employ people when an A.I.-powered agency can do 20-30 times the work, never be sick or have a personal emergency, and deal with clients effectively and easily?

How Mortgage Brokers Could Protect Themselves

Mortgage brokers need to accept the reality that the product they deal in is available from multiple sources that can be accessed more easily and efficiently by a well-trained A.I. than a human worker. Even “hard cases” can be used to train an A.I., which can then handle those hard cases, faster and more efficiently.

So, how can mortgage brokers protect themselves from going extinct? They can branch out and establish themselves as experts. This allows them to leverage their time and energy with the efficiency of artificial intelligence. They can become a fountain of strategies and information people can connect with and build a solid rapport. Mortgages are about relationships, not money. Brokers need to use that knowledge and build the systems that will power them into the new age of mortgages.

Up next: Real estate agents!