The government’s Financial Services AI Adoption Plan, led by Harriet Rees, group chief information officer at Starling Bank, and Dr Rohit Dhawan, group director and head of AI & advanced analytics at Lloyds Banking Group, marks an important step in accelerating the responsible adoption of AI across the financial services sector and reinforces the UK’s ambition to become a global leader in AI-driven innovation.
However, the next phase of adoption will require more than investment in technology. It will require clear accountability, robust governance and systems designed to support confidence among consumers, regulators and businesses.
This theme runs strongly through the recently released Mills Review, which recognises that AI has the potential to drive significant improvements across financial services while also highlighting the need for firms to maintain appropriate safeguards. The conversation is no longer about whether organisations should adopt AI but instead about how they do so responsibly. Success will not be defined by who deploys the most AI, but by who deploys it with the greatest trust, governance and accountability.
At MQube, we’ve long believed that AI has the power to transform mortgage lending by making the process faster, more reliable and more accessible. AI is already improving underwriting, removing repetitive administration and helping lenders make faster, more consistent decisions. But technology alone will not define the future of mortgage lending.
Ultimately, success must be measured by the outcomes AI delivers for consumers. The Open Property Data Association’s Future of Homebuying Report 2026 found that 78% of consumers believe the homebuying system requires fundamental reform, while more than three-quarters said they would use digital property solutions if they were available. That should be a wake-up call for the industry.
Consumers are telling us they want a homebuying experience that is faster, simpler and more transparent. They want technology that removes unnecessary friction, improves communication and helps them navigate one of the biggest financial decisions they will make with greater confidence.
However, greater use of technology will only succeed if consumers trust the systems supporting those decisions. AI cannot simply be introduced to make processes quicker; it must be implemented in a way that is fair, explainable and accountable. Customers need confidence that technology is being used to improve their experience, not add another layer of complexity.
AI can help deliver a more efficient and accessible mortgage journey, but only if it is implemented in the right way, with appropriate governance, meaningful human oversight and a clear focus on delivering better outcomes for consumers.
As AI moves from experimentation to implementation, there are priorities banks and lenders cannot afford to overlook.
This includes defining the human role in AI. Responsible AI requires firms to determine where human judgement remains essential, when intervention should take place and which decisions should always remain with people. Human oversight is not simply a compliance exercise; it is a governance decision that must be built into AI systems from the outset.
As adoption accelerates, governance can no longer sit solely within technology teams. AI has implications for operational resilience, conduct risk, customer outcomes and organisational reputation. Boards need to establish clear ownership, accountability and risk appetite, ensuring AI is implemented in a way that aligns with regulatory expectations and business strategy. The organisations that will lead the market will not necessarily be those deploying AI the fastest, but those deploying it most responsibly.
Finally, consumers and regulators alike need confidence that AI-supported decisions are fair, transparent and accountable. The FCA’s Mills Review is not simply calling for greater AI adoption; it is calling for AI that is governed, explainable and designed with meaningful human oversight.
If firms cannot explain how AI contributes to a decision, they will struggle to build the trust that underpins financial services. Explainability is therefore not just a regulatory expectation; it is the foundation of consumer confidence.
Government guidance, such as the AI Adoption Plan and the Mills Review, helps to provide the direction of travel, but implementation will determine whether that ambition becomes reality. For mortgage lenders, the opportunity extends far beyond improving operational efficiency. It is about creating a lending market that is faster, more transparent and better equipped to meet the expectations of today’s borrowers, while maintaining the safeguards that have always underpinned responsible lending.
If the UK’s AI ambition is to become reality, success won’t be measured by how quickly we adopt the technology. It will be measured by how responsibly we use it to build the mortgage market of tomorrow. The mortgage industry needs AI that customers can trust, regulators can scrutinise and lenders can deploy with confidence.
