The use of artificial intelligence is growing in the mortgage industry, but brokers aren’t exactly facing an existential crisis
When OpenAI launched ChatGPT in late 2022, artificial intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) experienced their breakthrough moment with the general public, causing huge debate about how various professional sectors – including the mortgage industry – would be impacted.
Users suddenly had access to a platform that could produce reams of detailed information effectively at the drop of a hat, far outstripping human output and seemingly raising existential questions about the future of many jobs.
Within the mortgage industry, that revolution sparked fears that mortgage brokering could be at risk from AI models capable of churning out mortgage advice and product insights to borrowers based on their unique circumstances.
But three years later, there’s been no sign that the mortgage brokering profession is crumbling in the face of the AI wave. If anything, its importance has come into even sharper focus as AI tools become an increasingly common part of everyday life.
A KPMG study conducted earlier this year surveyed over 48,000 people across 47 countries about their views on AI – and found that trust remains a significant sticking point for many respondents.
Just 46% of people across the world are willing to trust AI systems, the survey showed, with 70% of those polled indicating more regulation of the space is needed and 56% saying they were making mistakes in their work because of AI.
‘Whether it’s going to completely take out humans, I don’t think so’
While AI will undoubtedly play a prominent role in the future of the mortgage space, TMG The Mortgage Group broker David Clarke (pictured top) doesn’t see chatbots or other tools coming for mortgage brokers’ jobs anytime soon.
Rather, he told Canadian Mortgage Professional, AI tools will supplement, rather than replace, the work being carried out by mortgage brokers.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s first budget commits $280 billion to rebuild growth through infrastructure, competitiveness, and housing. Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne called it a generational plan to “build Canada strong.”https://t.co/mb7MXPgXyX
— Canadian Mortgage Professional Magazine (@CMPmagazine) November 5, 2025
“I think undoubtedly AI is going to be able to do a lot of that formulaic work that people were doing and it’s going to be able to look at documents quicker. In some cases, somebody may not need to hire an admin because AI can do something,” he said.
“It’s 100% going to affect things. Whether or not it’s going to completely take out humans, I don’t think so. I think everyone was just scared [but] they’re more used to it now. But it’s just information gathering, I think.”
Clarke said AI should never be the decisionmaker in a process that requires as much care and attention as the mortgage journey, even if its usage is to become increasingly commonplace across the industry.
He described the rise of AI as “unavoidable” – but highlighted the benefits it was also bringing to the industry.
“You just have to kind of learn it as it comes, and I think that’s just going to give everyone information quicker,” he said. “I think a lot of people are afraid that it’s going to really radically change the industry. Maybe it will, but I think it’s just giving us information quicker to be able to make decisions for our clients. I think it’s going to be awesome.”
Global leaders upbeat on AI’s place in the mortgage space
Mortgage industry leaders across the world aren’t exactly panicking about the rise of AI, either. In mid-2023 – when speculation about the industry’s future was at its height – US-based lending executive Tom Ahles of Edge Home Finance pointed out some of the ways AI wouldn’t be able to replicate a human’s input.
“We will always have loans that do not fit inside a perfect box and will take a personal touch to ensure all aspects are considered,” he pointed out to Mortgage Professional America. “Most of the simple day-one certainty loans will be automated and will lower the origination cost for these loans – as it will be even faster and cheaper than it currently is.”
That sentiment was also echoed by UK mortgage executive Emma Jones. “Tech like AI can definitely help us do our jobs better,” she said this year. “But it’s not a replacement for real advice from someone who understands both the market and their personal situation.”
Make sure to get all the latest news to your inbox on Canada’s mortgage and housing markets by signing up for our free daily newsletter here.
