Tech Watch: AI is no longer the advantage – Mortgage Strategy
If there’s one phrase I’ve heard more than any other over the past 12 months, it’s, ‘How do we use AI?’
It’s understandable. Every conference agenda, strategy meeting and board discussion seems to centre around artificial intelligence.
Organisations are racing to adopt it, vendors are racing to sell it and everyone is understandably worried about being left behind.
But I think we’re asking the wrong question. The question for me now isn’t: how do we use AI? It’s: what will actually differentiate the businesses that outperform because of AI? Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI itself is rapidly becoming commoditised.
The biggest impact of AI isn’t technical; it’s organisational
Whether you’re a lender, broker or technology provider, you have access to the same large-language models, the same cloud infrastructure and, increasingly, the same tools. Simply deploying AI is no longer a competitive advantage. Before long, it will be the equivalent of having a website or using cloud software — expected rather than exceptional.
The organisations that pull ahead won’t be those with the most AI. They’ll be the ones that build the strongest business around it. That means shifting our focus away from technology alone and towards organisational capability.
Competitive advantage will increasingly come from five areas: proprietary data, customer trust, operating model, speed of execution and the ability to adapt. Those are considerably harder to replicate than a chatbot or an AI assistant. This is why I believe we also need to change the way we talk about transformation.
Fundamentally new conversation
For years we’ve spoken about ‘digital transformation’ as though it were primarily an IT programme. Upgrade systems. Replace legacy platforms. Improve integrations. AI changes that completely. The biggest impact
of AI isn’t technical; it’s organisational.
It’s changing how decisions are made, how teams collaborate, how products are developed and how customer journeys are designed. It forces organisations to rethink who does what: which activities remain human led and which can be intelligently automated.
AI may become commonplace. Competitive advantage won’t. That’s something we’ll still have to earn
The firms seeing the greatest success aren’t simply inserting AI into existing processes. They’re redesigning those processes from first principles. That’s a fundamentally different conversation. It also changes the role of leadership.
Successful AI adoption isn’t about buying the latest technology. It’s about creating an organisation capable of continuous learning, experimentation and adaptation. Leaders need to think less like tech buyers and more like architects of new operating models.
Another shift I’d like to see is a move away from aspiration and towards evidence. We still hear plenty of statements about AI ‘transforming the industry’, but far fewer conversations about measurable outcomes. We should be asking much tougher questions.
Where has AI genuinely reduced cost-to-serve? Where has customer satisfaction measurably improved? Which investments have delivered meaningful returns?
It means shifting our focus away from technology alone and towards organisational capability
Perhaps most importantly: which AI initiatives failed — and what can the rest of us learn from them?
Failure is an inevitable part of innovation, yet we rarely talk about it publicly. The result is an industry that often celebrates pilots while learning very little from them. Real leadership means sharing what didn’t work as openly as what did.
One of the biggest risks facing our industry is mistaking activity for progress. Running dozens of AI pilots may create excitement but, unless they deliver tangible business outcomes, they’re simply expensive experiments.
Customers don’t care whether an organisation uses AI. They care whether their mortgage is approved more quickly, whether the advice is more personalised, whether the process is simpler and whether they trust the outcome.
We still hear plenty of statements about AI ‘transforming the industry’, but far fewer conversations about measurable outcomes
Likewise, brokers aren’t looking for technology for technology’s sake. They want solutions that remove friction, reduce administration and enable them to spend more time delivering value to customers. And that’s where our focus should remain.
Measuring the value
We’ve always been good at talking about technology. Now we need to become equally good at measuring the value it creates.
The winners over the next five years won’t necessarily be the firms with the biggest AI budgets or the most ambitious roadmaps. They’ll be the organisations that combine intelligent technology with trusted data, empowered people, efficient operating models and relentless customer focus.
Brokers want solutions that remove friction, reduce administration and enable them to spend more time delivering value
AI may become commonplace. Competitive advantage won’t. That’s something we’ll still have to earn.
Nicola Firth is the founder and CEO of Knowledge Bank
This article featured in the July/August 2026 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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