A few weeks ago, I opened ChatGPT and asked a question millions of homebuyers are about to start asking: “What’s the best mortgage company to get pre-approved quickly online?”

Four minutes and sixteen seconds later, it gave me a specific lender. Not a list of ads. Not “consult a professional.” A name, a rationale and a runner-up based on my location and priorities.

That’s the moment I realized our industry has officially entered a new era.

Interestingly, the first recommendation happened to be the company I’m affiliated with, but that’s not the story.  The story is that the question got answered instantly, confidently and without a single phone call, referral or open house conversation.

The end of the traditional referral playbook

I have been one of the top mortgage professionals in the country for a long time, but with the same old playbook. For twenty years, our industry has run on one core assumption: The consumer’s journey begins with a person. A past client refers a friend. An agent hands over a lender’s card. Every business plan and every “database and referral” strategy is built on that assumption.

That assumption is breaking. Consumers aren’t starting with referrals anymore. They’re starting with AI. The referral now comes later, if it comes at all. The data backs this up. 

A recent Veterans United survey found that 53% of prospective homebuyers would be comfortable buying a home without any direct human involvement. Even more striking: 89% would share personal financial information with an AI-powered lender tool in exchange for tailored mortgage advice. 

Nine out of ten buyers are handing their financials to software, because the experience is fast and the guidance feels personal. And with roughly 900 million people using ChatGPT every week, this isn’t a fringe behavior. It’s the new front door to financial services.

Which brings me to something that most of our industry hasn’t fully processed yet. 

Distribution in the age of AI

This isn’t just a marketing problem. It’s a distribution problem. For decades, distribution meant referral relationships and connections.  Who knew you, who trusted you, who handed your card across the table or said, “Call Ryan, he’s the best.” Increasingly, distribution means being the answer AI trusts enough to recommend. 

For those of us who tried our hand at getting to the client first on the internet before, we used search engines, which ranked websites. But AI ranks TRUST. It finds all verifiable reviews, transparent processes, clean digital footprints and all the proof that you are the best choice as a lender. Whoever becomes the AI recommendation will get the client first, and they will become the new referral partner.

Now, before anyone spirals, none of this makes the human obsolete. It just changes where the human enters the journey. AI is going to get buyers started, but the mortgage professionals will help them from what they “can do” to what they “should do,” and get them across the finish line.

Here’s what that looks like in practice. That fast, frictionless online pre-approval the AI recommends? In a competitive market, and in front of a great real estate agent, it’s often not enough. It won’t convince a listing agent the buyer is fully vetted. It won’t structure an offer to beat three others. It won’t know which neighborhood’s HOA is a landmine or which local builder negotiates on upgrades but never on price. The low friction, ease of use and DIY option will get a buyer interested and to the door, but local expertise removes their fear and anxiety, and actually gets them through the door.

The same survey proves buyers know this, too. While 53% said they’d be comfortable buying without a human, only 25% said they’d be “very” comfortable. Consumers want the speed of AI, WITH the judgment of a professional. The winners of the next decade will be the ones who deliver both, and who pair low friction with high value and local engagement.

Adapting to the new consumer journey

So, the playbook is changing; we just need to adapt and invest our time and money in this new consumer journey.  Meet them where they already are, which is increasingly a chat window, not a referral conversation. Make your business visible, verifiable and recommendable to the tools consumers now trust. And be ready with real value the moment that AI-armed buyer arrives, because they’re showing up more educated, further down the funnel and often with most of the work already done. 

Our job is no longer to be the trusted referral to start their home buying journey. Our job as mortgage professionals is to get to that client first and early, and ultimately, to be the reason their journey succeeds.

Here’s the question every loan officer and real estate agent should ask ChatGPT this week: “What’s the best mortgage company to get pre-approved quickly online?”

Remember, the consumer doesn’t want to talk to a human unless they think they have to. Many are early and just want to get their own numbers and information, and then when they believe they are ready, that’s when they will engage. We need to meet them at this point and explain our value from that point on.

And as you do that search, if your name, or your company, doesn’t come up, don’t be frustrated. Be curious. Figure out why.

Because consumers are already asking the question, even if you haven’t.

Ryan Grant is a co-founder and President of NEO Home Loans, powered by Better.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners. To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.