MPowered Mortgages is continuing its mission to streamline the broker experience by introducing a voice-activated digital assistant as the first point of contact for all broker phone calls.
The decision marks a significant increase in the lender’s use of artificial intelligence. Brokers calling MPowered will now be greeted by a synthetic voice assistant, which will handle initial queries before transferring the call to a human agent if needed.
The lender had previously offered brokers access to a voice assistant via a separate phone line. Under the new system, all inbound broker calls will now be routed through the AI by default.
The change reflects MPowered’s growing reliance on AI technology across its operations. On live chat, the lender says that 60% of queries from brokers and customers are already resolved instantly by AI, without human involvement.
The new voice assistant combines speech-to-text transcription with large language models to provide real-time responses to brokers’ questions. Routine queries, such as those about lending criteria, will typically be handled instantly. For more nuanced or case-specific matters, the system is designed to route the call to a human seamlessly and without delay, the lender said.
Stuart Cheetham, chief executive of MPowered Mortgages, said: “This is just one of the ways we are using AI to transform the broker journey for the better. We as lenders should be focused on delivering the best possible service to our broker partners and this is yet another way we are doing just that.
“Now brokers working with us can focus their time on more complex client case issues rather than wasting their time on the end of a phone line waiting for simple answers to criteria related questions.”
Stelios Constantinidis, director of AI and AI products at MQube, the parent company of MPowered, added: “The goal of the digital assistant we have created at MQube is not to eliminate human contact from the broker journey or replace it.
“Instead, its purpose is to improve the overall offering lenders offer brokers allowing broker support teams to focus their time on more complex client enquiries rather than wasting their time answering simple questions that the digital assistant can do instantly with no fuss.”
