Mark Twain is quoted as saying, “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.” We’ll never invent the fax machine again. Nor will having email on our phones be something new, exciting and, for those of us who remember, a little creepy. But, technological advancements will continue to disrupt how we do business as mortgage professionals in ways that feel a lot like when fax machines became a staple in the business world or when email on our phones expanded our ability to communicate from anywhere, at any time.

Halfway through this decade and staring down the barrel of 2030, our world will see more technological advancements in the next 5 years than in the previous 20 years. Think about that for a moment. Go back to 2005 and think of everything we have today that was foreign 20 years ago.

AI is here to stay. This is the rhyming Twain once wrote about. We are only scratching the surface of how much this technology will disrupt the world as we know it and change it forever. Embracing this technology now is similar to being a company that valued the speed and convenience of a fax machine, or being the first company to provide its sales team with cell phones. It is no different than being an early adopter to using websites to generate leads, starting a YouTube channel, or embracing Facebook as a place to market oneself.

"AI is a mortgage professional’s virtual assistant."

AI is a mortgage professional’s virtual assistant. Like an assistant, it is only as good as it is trained to be. Unlike an assistant, it does not cost $15-$30 per hour. The minute you begin to think of and treat AI as an assistant, the quicker and easier adoption becomes. With an assistant, you must set proper expectations. You must give clear instructions. And when the quality of the work is underwhelming, it’s time for constructive feedback. The same applies when leveraging AI. It’s a tool. It’s an extension of the sales professional. It needs to be onboarded, trained, communicated with and given time to learn your personality and how best to work together as a team.

Here are some of the top AI tools mortgage loan originators leverage today:

• ChatGPT Pro – Spend the money. Upgrade. Use GPT to custom build assistants.
• Claude – Train Claude to think and sound like you. Then ask it to create content in your voice. Let Claude be your copywriter. 
• Gamma – Take your presentations and webinars to the next level.
• Fathom – Never host another Teams or Zoom meeting without this notetaker. 
• Canva AI – This is your marketing assistant.
• OpusClip Pro – Now you can be a video editor with no experience.
• Plaud – Leave your notepad at home. This voice recorder and transcription application has you covered.
• Originality.ai – Make sure you don’t sound like a bot. Algorithms don’t show bots love.

There is no putting this cat back in the bag. Pandora’s box is wide open whether we like it or not.  

We all have a choice to make. We can embrace this new age technology or fade away into obscurity. I don’t know about you, but I was too slow to jump on Facebook, it took me too long to launch my YouTube channel, I was too late to ditch my flip phone, and I missed the boat with leveraging websites to generate leads. I might not know the song the DJ is playing, but it sounds familiar. I like to party and it’s time to dance. The real question is, will you be joining me out on the dance floor? 

The opinions and insights expressed in this blog are solely those of its author, Dustin Owen, and do not necessarily represent the views of either Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation or any of its parent, affiliates, or subsidiaries (collectively, “MGIC”). Neither MGIC nor any of its officers, directors, employees or agents makes any representations or warranties of any kind regarding the soundness, reliability, accuracy or completeness of any opinion, insight, recommendation, data, or other information contained in this blog, or its suitability for any intended purpose.