Brokers today are under more pressure than ever to move quickly while navigating increasingly complex cases. For lenders, keeping pace means rethinking how support is delivered, not by adding more friction, but by making it easier for brokers to get clear, reliable answers when they need them.
In this article, Rowan Clayton, Chief Product Officer, Finova, explores how embedded AI is helping lenders streamline processes, reduce delays, and ultimately make it easier to do business.
Brokers are being pulled in two directions right now. Clients want fast answers, and deals increasingly hinge on how quickly you can confirm whether a case fits the criteria (which is only heightened by geopolitical volatility). At the same time, cases are getting more complex and lenders’ requirements aren’t getting any simpler. The pressure to be faster and more precise simultaneously is real.
That tension is changing how lenders think about technology. Not adding more systems or steps, but embedding intelligent tools directly into the workflow so brokers get what they need without breaking their stride.
Speed matters but certainty matters more
Ask most brokers what slows them down and the answer is rarely the application itself (although progress here will always be welcomed). It’s everything around it — waiting on answers, double-checking criteria, confirming a case fits before committing time to it. Speed without certainty doesn’t help. If anything it creates more work later.
What brokers actually want is confidence — knowing there and then whether a case is likely to be accepted and meet their customers’ needs. Embedded AI offers an opportunity to make this a reality. Instead of digging through PDFs or waiting on a support team, brokers get reliable answers in the moment, as they work.
Taking pressure off support teams
Broker support teams do a brilliant job and are a vital component of any lending organisation, but let’s be honest, they’re often stretched. A large proportion of what they handle day to day tends to be the same types of questions coming up time and again, whether it’s about income or specific case criteria.
These are important queries, but they’re also highly predictable. Embedded AI, then, is in a prime position to pick up the slack. By building this capability directly into the workflow, lenders can give brokers immediate answers to those routine questions, without needing to step outside the process or wait for a response. Brokers can keep moving, while support teams are freed up to focus on more complex cases where their expertise really adds value. The end result is a smoother experience all round.
Getting applications right first time
If there’s one thing that slows everything down, it’s poor-quality applications. Missing information causes unnecessary delays, impacting on efficiencies for brokers and lenders, but more importantly impacts customer outcomes.
This is another area where AI can make a real difference, but only if it’s built into the process. Intelligent tools can flag issues early and help make sure everything lines up with lender criteria before submission. It’s one way to ensure that there are no nasty surprises later down the line. Nobody wants to do any costly rework, and rightly so.
Don’t lose the human touch
The intermediary market runs on relationships, and brokers value being able to pick up the phone and talk through a case, drawing on all their industry knowledge.
So while automation can take a lot of the heavy lifting out of the process, it shouldn’t replace that human connection. The real opportunity for lenders is to strike the right balance of using AI to handle the routine, repeatable tasks and keeping brokers focused on building their client relationships.
The change is already happening
This isn’t a dramatic industry upheaval. Brokers and lenders will still talk. Criteria will still need explaining. But the friction that has always slowed the process down — the waiting, the chasing, the resubmitting — is now solvable. For lenders, the opportunity is straightforward: remove the pain points brokers have always worked around, and you become easier to place with. That’s not a transformation. It’s just better infrastructure.
