Black Knight Pushes the Boundaries of Artificial Intelligence
Mortgage technology is entering a new era where artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) can perform increasingly complicated tasks. Today AI/ML is being used for document classification, data extraction, decisioning, and predictive analytics. This advanced automation improves scalability by eliminating manual “stare and compare” analyses and frees staff to focus on high-value tasks.
As a leader in mortgage technology, Black Knight was quick to see the possibilities for applying artificial intelligence to areas such as analytics, AVMs, mass customization and process improvement. We also understand the unique challenges of implementing artificial intelligence and the need for transparency, reliability, explainability, regulatory accountability, and bias prevention.
We’ve already made great strides toward improving data extraction and analysis in loan origination and continue to invest in developing AI/ML applications that will perform more complicated tasks to streamline the end-to-end mortgage process.
AI/ML Innovation in Loan Origination
The innovation cycle and adoption of AI/ML in the mortgage industry started over a decade ago. At Black Knight, our initial focus included applying AI/ML to point of sale and loan origination. These areas had an immediate opportunity to reduce stare and compare tasks due to all the documents required for loan origination.
Combining the power of AI/ML with loan origination helps reduce both origination costs and risk, while accelerating turn times and enhancing the customer experience. During loan origination, AI/ML takes documents, identifies what each document is, extracts required data, stores the documents so users can find them and flags exceptions that require human review. Powering this decision-making requires a tremendous amount of data to teach the AI/ML models how to recognize each document and extract data.
With the ability to read, comprehend, and draw conclusions based on context, loan origination functions can be performed more efficiently at scale. This intelligent automation also supports “lights out processing” and exception-based processing to accelerate turn times and drive a higher level of operational performance.
AI-Driven Point of Sale
Black Knight has also pushed the boundaries of digital innovation to fully leverage AI/ML capabilities at the point of sale and beyond. Today AI/ML is transforming the customer experience and delivering highly personalized assistance when and where customers need it.
Homebuyers are guided through the prequalification, preapproval and the full loan application process via a simple, intuitive Q&A format, while validating data and documents along the way. The automated workflow alerts the homebuyer about immediate next steps, providing a self-guided process for the customer. Information is routed from the homebuyer to the loan origination system and vice versa with near-real-time feedback.
AI In Correspondent Lending
AI/ML is also being used in correspondent lending to automate data and document collection processes. This automation includes assessing the completeness of the loan package when sellers upload required documents and setting conditions when information is missing. The result is an infinitely more efficient process and increased data integrity and consistency.
Underwriting
One of the most skilled, labor-intensive and expensive areas of mortgage lending is underwriting. AI-powered automation can be used to maximize underwriter efficiency and reduce risk.
Today AI/ML can review documents within a borrower’s loan package and extract required data. In addition, it can verify document requirements for each part of the decision are met. Standard and lender-defined underwriting metrics are applied to support the underwriting decision to produce a scenario that can be run against multiple lender products at several price points. AI/ML allows processors and underwriters to dedicate more time to addressing exceptions and solving problems, which expands underwriting bandwidth and reduces costs, while improving turn times.
Lead Generation and Nurturing
AI/ML enhances lead generation and nurturing by using predictive analytics to identify opportunities and deliver highly personalized communications. Using an AI-powered, big-data-fueled approach, billions of pre-buying and pre-selling consumer behavior “signals” can be analyzed to identify the precise timing that a homeowner is likely to transact. AI/ML can then deliver an engaging experience for homebuyers and potential sellers using that intelligence.
Conclusion
AI and machine learning offer tremendous potential to advance the mortgage industry, and we are just beginning to experience the technology’s capabilities. Black Knight has been investing in and driving the advancement of AI/ML in the mortgage and real estate industries through AIVA®, our state-of-the-art, cloud-based artificial intelligence solution. As part of our commitment to Innovation, Integration and Urgency, Black Knight is exploring and implementing innovative new uses for AI/ML across the loan lifecycle every day.
As AI-powered systems ingest more data and perform an increasing number of tasks though machine learning and other techniques, the possibilities are unlimited. To learn more about AI/ML in the mortgage industry and the latest innovations, read our white paper here.
