The Intermediary – September 2026 - Flipbook - Page 101
T E C H N O L O GY
Opinion
judgement, empathy and human
interaction that great advisers provide.
The client decides
At Morrow, we firmly believe there
will always be clients who want to
speak to another human being.
Buying a home or arranging a
mortgage is one of the biggest financial
commitments many people will
ever make. Some clients will want
reassurance, the opportunity to talk
through their circumstances and the
confidence that an experienced adviser
understands their situation. Our
advisers can, and will, continue to
provide that service.
But not every client wants to
interact with financial services in
the same way. Increasingly, some
will value speed, convenience, and
efficiency, and may be comfortable
using AI-assisted tools for elements of
their mortgage journey.
Why should we force those clients
through a traditional journey simply
because that is how our industry has
always operated?
If technology can reduce
unnecessary administration, improve
efficiency and maintain the quality
of advice and appropriate consumer
protections, we should embrace that
opportunity.
It could allow businesses such as
Morrow to help more people at scale,
while allowing advisers to focus
their time on understanding clients,
applying judgement and delivering
expert advice. The objective should
not be to remove expertise from
the mortgage journey. It should be
to make that expertise available to
more people.
Pandora’s Box
In relation to AI, Pandora’s box is
already open. AI is being deployed
across nearly every industry and is
developing at extraordinary speed,
with its potential already being
demonstrated in important areas such
as medicine and healthcare.
Financial services cannot simply
decide that AI is uncomfortable and
pretend it does not exist. The more
important question is: how do we use
it responsibly?
Financial services companies
deal with sensitive information and
decisions that can have significant
consequences for consumers. AI
cannot therefore be introduced simply
because it makes something quicker or
cheaper. Its implementation requires
appropriate governance, transparency,
data protection, oversight and
accountability, alongside a clear
regulatory framework that protects
consumers while allowing responsible
innovation.
Used badly, AI can undoubtedly
create risks. Used responsibly, it can
create considerable benefits for clients
and potentially allow significantly
more people to access advice.
The challenge is not to prevent AI
from entering financial services, but
to create the framework that allows us
to harness its benefits while properly
managing its risks.
The difficult question
We also shouldn’t avoid the
uncomfortable question at the heart of
the adviser’s concern: Will AI replace
jobs? In some cases, almost certainly.
Certain tasks currently performed
by people will increasingly be
automated or assisted by technology,
and some roles may reduce, disappear
or fundamentally change. But
technological change has always
reshaped employment and society.
As certain duties disappear, different
skills and new roles emerge.
Financial services will need people
who understand how AI is governed,
monitored, and integrated, alongside
those who can combine financial
services expertise with technology,
compliance, data and the customer
experience.
Advisers themselves may also
find that AI makes their role more
valuable, rather than less.
An adviser who spends less time
gathering information, rekeying data,
chasing documents and completing
repetitive administration can spend
more time speaking to clients, solving
complex problems, and providing
advice. That isn’t necessarily the
disappearance of the adviser. It could
be the evolution of the adviser.
Human when you want
For me, this ultimately comes down to
choice. We shouldn’t force consumers
to interact with AI because it is
cheaper for the company. Equally,
we shouldn’t force them through
lengthy traditional processes when
technology could provide a faster
and more convenient experience. At
Morrow, our view is that AI should be
Used badly, AI can
undoubtedly create risks.
Used responsibly, it
can create considerable
benefits for clients
and potentially allow
significantly more people
to access advice”
responsibly embraced within financial
services, with appropriate controls,
regulatory oversight and, importantly,
client choice.
Some clients will want traditional
human interaction and advice. Others
will prefer an AI-assisted journey
offering greater speed and efficiency.
For many, the ideal experience
will sit somewhere between the
two – technology handling the
straightforward elements while
a qualified professional remains
available when judgement,
reassurance or advice is required.
Perhaps that hybrid model is
where the greatest opportunity lies.
The companies that succeed won’t
necessarily be those that use the
most AI, or those that resist it for the
longest. They will be the companies
that understand where technology
improves the client experience and
where human expertise improves
it further.
AI is becoming increasingly
prevalent within financial services,
whether our industry is comfortable
with it or not.
Our responsibility is to use it
well – not simply to reduce costs
or replace people, but to create a
financial services industry that is
faster, more accessible, and capable
of delivering expert advice to more
consumers, while preserving the
human interaction that many will
always value.
That, in my view, is not corporate
greed. It’s responsible progress. ●
September 2026 | The Intermediary
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