If you're a broker whose client database is measured in Gigabytes and whose business succession plan is “the kids can fight over it after I’m on the golf course in the Caribbean,” feel free to ignore this story.
If, however, you think compelling, one-of-a-kind, online mortgage experiences are a moat that keeps the barbarians outside the gate, stop everything and bookmark this page—because the barbarians are going nuclear.
In the meantime, we’re here to support MLN members' tech ambitions—whether they use APIs, AI, or the rest of the alphabet that comes with them. Email us anytime to confidentially bounce ideas or get tips.
UX is more than AI
Five years from now, mortgage success will depend on what you deliver that AI algorithms can't.
That's when user experience (UX) becomes make or break. After all, we all sell the same basic product and can all type "What's the best mortgage rate" in ChatGPT.
Originators will need to ask themselves, "Why should anyone pick me instead of the polished avatar on their next AI search?"
To thrive amid information overload, mortgage pros will need two things that don’t grow on trees:
- A better way to support mortgage decisions
- A technology edge to deliver closed loans more easily.
Well over 9 out of 10 mortgage websites are digital brochures that scream, “Please ignore me.” Most are templated ineffectiveness—professional, mind you—but conversion disasters nonetheless.
For originators who depend on website conversion, sites in 2026 must be different.
They’ll need to be hyper-personalized, elegantly simple, conversational, data-rich, ultra-fast, and backed by real-time support—while still delivering the classic "three Cs":
- Clarity – Helping people quickly grasp and refine their options
- Confidence – Reassuring people they’re making the right call
- Control – Reducing stress by helping people feel in charge of the process
To be more than a digital business card—to be a true business cultivator—an online presence has to link leads to proprietary insights, products or experiences that rivals can't match.
And this means 'can't match' in either the consumer's opinion, or legally due to patent law.
How the future looks
What might a state-of-the-art website look like in the future? Leading broker and lender sites will likely have all of the following in the next few years:
