Heron Financial has launched an artificial intelligence training programme for staff alongside the creation of an AI ethics committee in a bid to embed responsible innovation across its business.
The B Corp mortgage and protection broker said its first AI student cohort would involve employees from management to operations undertaking a development programme designed to build technical understanding of artificial intelligence.
The initiative, which sits alongside Heron’s digital platform Everglades, is intended to ensure that staff are equipped to adapt to the increasing role of AI in financial services.
AI ETHICS COMMITTEE
At the same time, Heron has created an AI ethics committee that will provide oversight of how the technology is deployed. The group will act as a forum for staff to balance innovation with fairness, transparency and accountability.
Matt Coulson (main picture), co-founder of Heron Financial, said: “I’m proud to be launching our first AI learning and development cohort.
“We see AI not just as a way to enhance our operations, but as an opportunity to enhance our people. By investing in their skills, we’re giving them knowledge they can use in their work and daily lives.
“Human- and technology-centricity are part of our core values; it’s only natural we bring the two together.”
SIMPLIFYING PROCESSES
Heron’s Everglades platform is already used to simplify processes for homeowners, housebuilders and sales teams and the broker is now embedding AI tools to expand its capability.
These include a reporting assistant that delivers real-time management data, a prediction model developed with the Hartree Centre to assess mortgage eligibility and an adviser assistant that monitors documents and communications to flag issues needing attention.
Coulson said the developments would “save hours in the adviser servicing journey, enabling our advisers to spend more time with clients and less time on admin”.
Heron said it was among the first brokers to combine formal AI training with in-house ethical oversight, setting what it described as a new standard for the industry.
