We have been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) and its tremendous impact on health care, financial services, transportation, retail, energy and many other industries. The promise and possibilities of AI are extraordinary – from the ability to diagnose diseases to the development of driverless cars.
On a daily basis, most of us are already experiencing AI-powered technology. AI makes it possible for us to chat with customer-service bots, talk to Apple’s Siri and navigate our commute using a traffic app, for example. But despite all the recent buzz about AI, the technology is not new: AI has been used in countless ways for decades, such as flying commercial jets on autopilot and indexing internet web pages via bots.
When applied to certain industries in particular – such as manufacturing – AI and machine learning have the potential to drive incredible efficiencies and workflow optimization. And now, Black Knight is bringing this technology to the mortgage industry. With loan origination costs hitting new highs, and net profits declining for lenders, this is certainly a welcome development for our clients.
A Virtual Assistant for Lenders
Black Knight is already leveraging this advanced technology to help mortgage lenders address two of the biggest challenges they face today: cycle times and origination costs. Last year, Black Knight introduced AIVA – an AI virtual assistant for lenders. Powered by machine learning, AIVA performs manual, repetitive tasks at scale to help expedite turn-times – which leads to reduced operational costs.
AIVA mimics cognitive thinking to read, comprehend and draw conclusions. “She” is able to remember patterns within data the same way humans recall what they have learned on the job. For example, the AIVA Compile Loan Skill can review forms, such as W-2s, asset statements, paystubs and tax returns, and then use the knowledge she has gained to anticipate the type of information that should be in each field of the next form she reviews. As a result, once trained with a client, she is able to pre-evaluate these forms at scale, and even identify any missing data and other anomalies.
The Power to Elevate Your Operations
Additionally, AIVA’s Compile Loan Skill contains another key capability that helps reduce what is typically a very time-consuming, manual process. Loan applications contain hundreds of data points from various document types, including PDFs, screenshots, TIFFs, etc. Mortgage professionals are tasked with reading, comprehending and sorting through this wealth of information under tight deadlines. With the Compile Loan skill, AIVA reviews an applicant’s documents, identifies the key data points and then classifies the documents into a complete, indexed file – all within a few minutes.
By performing error-prone, manual tasks, AIVA enables employees to focus on projects with greater strategic value, such as addressing exceptions and solving problems, which results in improved transaction turn times as well as reduced risk. Additionally, as AIVA helps accelerate and streamline processes, lenders benefit from reduced expenses.
Additional AIVA Skills can also help enhance the consumer experience during the loan application process. As a potential borrower uploads documents, such as personal identification and bank statements, AIVA can quickly review the information, identify unusual transactions, determine missing data and provide near real-time feedback to the consumer. This significantly reduces communication delays between the lender and loan applicant, accelerating the overall process.
Independent Study Demonstrates AIVA’s Value to Lenders
MarketWise Advisors recently conducted an analysis of AIVA, evaluating her “real-world” impact based on actual findings from a top 50 lender. The analysis included a review of existing processes, a time and motion study and employee interviews.
Results from the study were compelling. Some of the key findings include:
- The impact of using AIVA to review and extract data from income, asset, insurance and other documents decreased origination costs by up to $437 per loan
- While every lender’s situation is unique, the case study indicated an average annual projected financial impact of $3.13M as a direct result of AIVA
- A top 50 lender using a specific set of AIVA skills could redirect up to 53,000 man hours to focus on other priorities during the first year; that number increases to 108,000 hours by year five
- The projected average annual return on investment for the lender in the study was 483%, meaning that for every dollar invested in AIVA, the expected financial impact is a return of $4.83, which is expected to increase exponentially as AIVA’s skills evolve to incorporate more complex tasks
- AIVA can produce significant indirect impacts, including reduced error rates and increased loan quality, consistency and compliance
The full report, “Artificial Intelligence – Next Frontier for Mortgage Technology,” is available here.
The Future of Originations
Artificial intelligence and machine learning are the future of delivering enhanced productivity tools and capabilities to lenders. As AIVA continuously builds her skillset, she can help lenders manage larger volumes of loans and further drive down origination costs. Black Knight is excited about this groundbreaking technology and how it is helping lenders address their most vexing problems – turn times and costs.
Black Knight (NYSE:BKI) is a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics solutions that facilitate and automate many of the business processes across the homeownership life cycle. As a leading fintech, Black Knight is committed to being a premier business partner that clients rely on to achieve their strategic goals, realize greater success and better serve their customers by delivering best-in-class software, services and insights with a relentless commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and leadership. For more information on AIVA, please visit www.WhoisAIVA.com.
