Developing a generative AI strategy and standards in the mortgage industry requires a careful evaluation of its applications and benefits. The first question to ponder is, “Where can AI most effectively be utilized in mortgage operations?” Focus on areas where AI can make a significant business impact. For instance, AI tools may help in underwriting decisions, risk assessments, and customer service interactions. It might also assist in reaching new customer segments or streamlining the loan approval process.
When measuring the impact of AI, it's essential to look beyond time savings and increased productivity. Utilize A/B testing to compare AI-assisted content with human-made content. This could involve producing mortgage guidelines, loan information, and marketing material both manually and with AI, and comparing their reception in terms of engagement, search traffic, and conversions.
A unified set of generative AI governance policies should be developed to manage potential risks and facilitate cross-team content collaborations. For example, if one team uses ChatGPT for processing loan applications while others use Jasper or Writer for underwriting and marketing, it's essential to track each tool's usage, data inputs, and compliance with brand protection guidelines.
AI can also be used to streamline content operations in the mortgage industry. It can help create search-optimized headlines, compile outlines and executive summaries, and repurpose articles for social posts and promotions. Not only can this save valuable time, but it also provides an opportunity to enhance creative resources and boost internal skills.
However, using AI in the mortgage industry also requires careful editorial oversight to maintain content quality and accuracy. With AI, there's a risk of content being misleading or incorrect. Fact-checking processes should be established or updated to manage this. This might involve investing in journalistic skills like editing/copyediting, fact-checking, and source verification.
Even with impeccable factual accuracy, AI-created content can come across as generic or bland. It's vital to ensure that the content remains engaging, informative, and tailored to your target audience. AI-generated content that includes biased or outdated views can harm your brand's reputation and trust with customers.
Generative AI tools also pose legal challenges related to copyright and privacy. AI can potentially violate creative copyrights due to the data collection and usage methods. Brands not only risk publishing copyrighted information without appropriate citations, but they can also have their copyrights violated by others. Privacy violations and leaks of trade secrets are additional concerns that need to be addressed.
Implementing generative AI in the mortgage industry promises efficiency and creative flexibility. However, these benefits can only be realized through careful strategic planning and human operational intelligence.