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Approximately 15 per cent of surveyed respondents said they would be comfortable having gen AI assist in selecting their mortgage, according to a report by FIS.
Millennials and Gen Z emerged as the most open to gen AI assistance, with 38 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, showing higher comfort compared to older generations.
Ahead of his sessions at the Broker Innovation Summit, Chris Borg, CEO & Managing Director at Borg Financial, My Virtual Broker, and Raine&Horne Shoreline, shared practical advice for SME brokers to adapt in an AI-dominated landscape.
How to get started in AI?
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the financial services landscape, brokers must integrate AI into their daily operations or get left behind.
Approximately 41 per cent of small and medium-sized enterprises are currently integrating AI, according to recent data from the Minister for Industry and Innovation and Minister for Science Tim Ayres’ AI Adoption Tracker.
SMEs that have embraced AI into their business processes have already witnessed significant improvements, with 22 per cent of businesses reporting an increase in decision-making speed and another 18 per cent highlighting increased productivity.
Getting started is often the toughest step. Borg suggested brokers start small by experimenting with AI in day-to-day tasks.
“Take some time to not be afraid in trying out and experimenting with the plethora of different AI suites available,” he said.
“While ChatGPT is widely known it’s important to know there are so many different tools available that can help with email marketing, automation, social media content, and reporting analysis.
“There is no right or wrong answer, just experience.”
The next step is finding smart ways to use AI to enhance efficiency in your business, according to Borg.
“Firstly, identifying areas within your own brokerage that can have a system implemented for further efficiency will then allow you to understand what type of AI or software tools you want to invest in,” he said.
“Brokers seeking to lower costs for marketing, staff and technologies can then look at re-pooling their resources to be re-invested into sales and generating revenue.”
The future of broking in an AI-powered world
The Australian finance industry’s adoption of generative AI is set to double over the next three years, with mortgage applications among the areas set for change, according to a report commissioned by the Australian Finance Industry Association (AFIA) and conducted by firms King & Wood Mallesons and Sapere.
As AI continues to transform the broking market, early adopters are gaining a competitive edge, while those resistant to change risk falling behind.
“Brokers who aren’t using an AI tool are already at a disadvantage,” Borg said.
“Those using AI tools have an edge and are reaping rewards with improved efficiency.
“As the AI innovation progresses we will see more and more brokers adopt the AI tool best working for them.
“At My Virtual Broker we see the future of broking becoming more streamlined and easily more scalable from a backend support perspective.
“Especially for brokers that don’t know when to invest in putting on support staff, particularly the one man band type.”
While AI offers immense opportunities, Borg cautioned against diving in too quickly without first assessing the key risks.
“Some of the risks include security of your data and who you are trusting with that data,” he said.
“Making sure that if you are using AI for outputting data that the data set is accurate.
“Thus checking and proofreading outputs of the AI is an important step as it can make mistakes or not produce the result you expected.
“Integration into legacy systems can prove challenging and adapting to a new system for AI use could lead to some down time however worth the efficiency improvement.”
To hear Chris Borg speak more on how SMEs can adopt AI to future-proof their business, come along to the Broker Innovation Summit 2025.
Run in partnership with principal partner NextGen, the event will take place on Wednesday, 25 June 2025 at the Sydney Customer Insight Centre in Sydney. Click here to buy tickets and don’t miss out.
To learn more about the summit, including the agenda and speakers, click here.