Brokers reveal how AI is a ‘game changer’

Speaking to The Adviser, Shore Financial mortgage broker Christian Stevens said there are a number of ways AI has been used in his business and that it’s a tool to make the jobs of brokers easier and not replace them.

“There’s a couple of items [we use], the first is the AI calendar software that’s been used to schedule the day more efficiently. That’s been good, especially for the junior guys trying to understand how to manage the outputs,” Mr Stevens said.

“We also use ChatGPT on a regular basis, one of the things we used it to do was to build out a first-time buyer educational course, which is 30 chapters on everything you need to know to purchase a house.

“Every day we’re trying to find out how can implement AI to ultimately offer a faster and better service to our clients.”

A divide in the industry

Mortgage broker and owner of The Lending Lab, Fabien Tribe, said the view of AI in the industry is “a bit divided between those who view it as a tool for replacing the broker relationship and those who view it as a tool to enhance your service and productivity”.

“As AI matures and improves, the real opportunity for us as an industry is in how we use it to improve our productivity and quality control and give us time back that we can invest in our customers and referral partners,” he said.

Mr Tribe added that he believes there will be an increase in AI use, with the divide between those who “lean into the opportunities and those who don’t will continue to grow”.

“Our greatest asset as brokers is our ability to build relationships, trust and connections with our customers, it is the human part of our business. Using AI to allow you to invest more in the human part of your business will likely be the winning equation for success in 2024 onwards,” Mr Tribe said.

AI for content creation

Joshua De Buelle, principal at FiNEXT, told The Adviser that his brokerage uses AI for social media and content creation, particularly in video and photo editing.

He said: “We bounce between Canva, ChatGPT, CapCut and Adobe. Then from those tools, we use social platforms too such as TikTok and Instagram for the finishing touches. These platforms offer so many templates and premade video ideas that you simply ‘cut and paste’ your content into.

“You can simply search what is trending that day on the social platform, use that video template or music that it suggests and match your content to it.

“I sit down once a week with my team, go through all our daily conversations that we have had with clients that week, turn those into 20- or 30-second video bytes or sound grabs that are helpful tips for our listeners/followers and we then match them with the trends/templates.

“We then use the AI to assist in writing the content professionally and for sourcing the correct scheduling. ChatGPT is great for that – it will literally tell you when to post and how many times on each platform for your desired result.”

Mr De Buelle concluded: “In the past, we used to spend so much time editing and creating full-length videos so they were interesting enough to push out to our audience.

“But now, with the templates and filters that are instantly available, it literally has cut our time down from hours to minutes given it is so simple to use, which equates to thousands of dollars saved each month.”

The broker said he also uses content generating AI to update the brokerage’s website and for creating marketing content such as flyers and email campaigns.

“It has been a real game changer and cost saver,” he said.

This came as the global leader for the digital transformation practice at Norton Rose Fulbright Nick Abrahams said that the role of brokerage heads and industry leaders should evolve as the use of AI grows.

Mr Abrahams urged brokerage heads to keep up to date with technological advancements and strategically integrate them into their businesses, suggesting that brokers could use AI-driven insights for strategic planning and market positioning.

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