We have all seen the headlines and they are neither accurate nor helpful. They suggest that technology and advice are somehow in competition, and more of one must mean less of the other.
Many lenders are investing heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer journeys, and enhancements to their direct proposition may well impact parts of the advice channel in the future. But the suggestion that AI will cause a wholesale shift to direct lending in the near-to-medium future, and threaten the very existence of the intermediary, is dramatically overplayed.
Removing friction is not the same as improving outcomes
Of course, many advisers are also using technology to reduce administration and enhance efficiency. In fact, Ami recently published the first in a series of factsheets on AI in the advice process: practical guidance to help smaller, directly authorised firms explore the opportunities and adopt it safely.
The pace of change is unlikely to slow, and the priority now is for all of us to work together to shape the future mortgage market, because the future isn’t advice or technology, it’s advice and technology.
I was reminded of this recently while attending an FCA TechSprint event on Open Finance and the mortgage journey. Hearing different perspectives on how data, technology and consumer needs may evolve over the coming years left me reflecting on what a successful mortgage journey might look like in the future.
Questions to answer
Could technology help create a more connected experience for consumers? Almost certainly. Could it provide earlier visibility of financial stress, reduce duplication and make the process feel simpler? Potentially.
But it also raises questions. As more activity moves online, how do we ensure consumers continue to benefit from the guidance, reassurance and expertise that advice provides? Would a slicker digital journey automatically lead to better engagement? Or would the same consumers who don’t currently engage with their mortgage broker simply not engage with an app either?
The future is not about choosing between tech and advice. It is about combining the strengths of both
And if everything moves onto a single aggregated platform, what happens to the relationship between a borrower and their lender, or that with their adviser? Does the lender become little more than the facilitator of a loan, rather than a brand the customer identifies with? These aren’t small questions, and they deserve careful consideration as the market evolves.
Open Banking
The TechSprint also prompted me to think about the opportunities presented by Open Banking, which has real potential for making the mortgage journey more efficient if adopted at scale. Used carefully, it could even help identify early signs of harmful financial behaviour, such as a growing reliance on credit.
But data alone does not solve problems. Someone still needs to help consumers understand what the information means, how it affects their options and what action they should take. That is where professional advice continues to add real value.
The TechSprint also reinforced something I have long believed: removing friction from a process isn’t always the same thing as improving outcomes.
For any of this to work, consumers first need to be willing to share their information and confident that it will be used appropriately
The FCA’s approach to this work talks about how reduced friction, greater portability and earlier visibility of financial stress could improve things for consumers, which may all be true. But friction, in the right places, can also be exactly what protects people. Taking time to understand the implications of a mortgage decision, consider future affordability, discuss protection and explore alternative options introduces a useful pause.
Those discussions are a core part of the advice process, helping consumers look beyond the immediate transaction and consider the wider impact.
Consumer willingness
Of course, for any of this to work, consumers first need to be willing to share that information and confident that it will be used appropriately.
Another question is how the commercial modelling works. If data holders, lenders, advisers and consumers all stand to benefit from richer data sharing, who actually pays for it, and who carries the value? Without clear frameworks and standards for sharing data safely, none of this moves very far.
Data alone does not solve problems. Someone still needs to help consumers understand what the information means
That’s why now is the moment to get the foundations right: governance, transparency, consumer understanding and the role advice will continue to play in increasingly digital journeys.
The future is not about choosing between tech and advice. It is about combining the strengths of both.
Stephanie Charman is chief executive of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries
This article featured in the July/August 2026 edition of Mortgage Strategy.
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