If there’s one phrase I’ve heard more than any other in the last twelve months, it’s: “How do we use AI?”
It’s understandable. Every conference agenda, strategy meeting, and board discussion seems to revolve around artificial intelligence.
Organizations are rushing to adopt it, vendors are rushing to sell it, and everyone is understandably afraid of falling behind.
But I think we’re asking the wrong question. The question for me now is not: how do we use AI? It is: what will actually differentiate the companies that perform better thanks to AI? Because here’s the uncomfortable truth: AI itself is quickly becoming a commodity.
The biggest impact of AI is not technical; it is organizational
Whether you’re a lender, broker or technology provider, you have access to the same large-scale models, the same cloud infrastructure and, increasingly, the same tools. Simply deploying AI is no longer a competitive advantage. Soon this will be the equivalent of having a website or using cloud software – expected rather than exceptional.
The organizations that lead the way will not be the organizations with the most AI. They will be the ones to build the strongest company around it. That means we need to shift our focus from just technology to organizational capabilities.
Competitive advantage will increasingly come from five areas: proprietary data, customer trust, business model, speed of execution and the ability to adapt. These are significantly more difficult to replicate than a chatbot or an AI assistant. That’s why I believe we also need to change the way we talk about transformation.
Fundamentally new conversation
We have been talking about ‘digital transformation’ for years as if it is primarily an IT program. Upgrade systems. Replace outdated platforms. Improve integrations. AI changes that completely. The biggest impact
of AI is not technical; it is organizational.
It changes the way decisions are made, how teams work together, how products are developed and how customer journeys are designed. It forces organizations to rethink who does what: which activities are human-led and which can be intelligently automated.
AI can become commonplace. Competitive advantage is not. We will have to earn that
The companies seeing the greatest success aren’t simply inserting AI into existing processes. They redesign those processes from first principles. That’s a fundamentally different conversation. It also changes the role of leadership.
Successful AI adoption is not about buying the latest technology. It’s about creating an organization that is able to continuously learn, experiment and adapt. Leaders must think less like technology buyers and more like architects of new business models.
Another shift I would like to see is a move away from aspiration and towards evidence. We still hear a lot of statements about AI ‘transforming the industry’, but far fewer conversations about measurable results. We should be asking much harder questions.
Where has AI actually reduced cost-to-serve? Where has customer satisfaction improved measurably? Which investments have delivered meaningful returns?
It means shifting our focus from just technology to organizational capabilities
Perhaps most importantly, which AI initiatives have 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, but learns little from them. True leadership means sharing what didn’t work as openly as what did work.
One of the biggest risks facing our industry is mistaking activity for progress. Running dozens of AI pilots may generate excitement, but unless they deliver tangible business results, they’re just expensive experiments.
Customers don’t care whether an organization uses AI. They care whether their mortgage is approved faster, whether the advice is more personal, whether the process is easier and whether they have confidence in the outcome.
We still hear a lot of statements about AI ‘transforming the industry’, but far fewer conversations about measurable results
Likewise, real estate agents don’t look for technology for technology’s sake. They want solutions that remove friction, reduce administration and allow them to spend more time delivering value to customers. And that is where our focus must remain.
Measuring the value
We’ve always been good at talking about technology. Now we need to get just as good at measuring the value it creates.
The winners of the next five years won’t necessarily be the companies with the largest AI budgets or the most ambitious roadmaps. They will be the organizations that combine intelligent technology with reliable data, powerful people, efficient business models and ruthless customer focus.
Brokers want solutions that remove friction, reduce administration and allow them to spend more time delivering value
AI can become commonplace. Competitive advantage is not. We will have to earn that.
Nicola Firth is the founder and CEO of Knowledge Bank
This article appeared in the July/August 2026 edition of Mortgage strategy.
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