Key facts
- Total Expert CEO Joe Welu discussed the "10x lender" concept.
- Welu advocates for reimagining mortgage operating models with AI, not just improving existing processes.
- AI agents can be used for large-scale customer engagement, including texting, calling, and scheduling.
- Loan officers can be elevated to focus on marketplace activities, education, and relationship building.
- Lenders can achieve transformation by aggressively tackling specific problems like recapture or pull-through.
- Welu foresees a future where a single mortgage professional can achieve $1 billion in production with AI assistance.
Total Expert CEO Joe Welu has outlined a vision for a "10x lender" that leverages artificial intelligence to fundamentally transform the mortgage industry. In a conversation with HousingWire's Allison LaForgia, Welu emphasized that lenders need to reimagine their entire operating models rather than making incremental improvements to existing processes.
Welu described the "10x lender" as an entity that utilizes AI innovations to reimagine lending, business models, and capabilities, leading to an exponential shift in what is possible. He argued against merely iterating on current frameworks, stating that a direct-to-consumer channel requires a complete overhaul of the engine, not just adding more staff or data.
The application of AI agents to customer engagement at scale is a key component of this vision. Welu explained that AI can handle tasks like texting, calling, and appointment scheduling, enabling lenders to reach hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously. This scale is to be combined with deep customer context, drawing on past interactions and marketing content to shape personalized and relevant conversations.