CASE UPDATES, DOCUMENTS & TRIAGE
The case moves. The adviser advises.
AI for a mortgage broker automates the admin around a case: chasing missing documents, sending status updates as a case moves through submission and offer, and gathering basic facts before an adviser's first call. It never gives mortgage, protection or insurance advice, or makes a lending decision; recommendations stay with the authorised adviser and lending decisions with the lender.
Updated
What you’ll find here.
Built on the FCA's own engagement with AI in regulated firms, rather than a marketing claim, with the advice boundary stated up front: automation moves a case along and chases documents, and never gives advice or a recommendation.
- The advice boundary is cited to the FCA Handbook's MCOB rules on advised sales and suitability
- Regulatory engagement with AI is cited to the FCA's own AI Lab, not a third-party claim
- ICO guidance identifies mortgage decisions as significant; this proposed scope excludes advice and lending decisions without claiming a blanket statutory ban
The jobs you do over and over.
- Chasing outstanding documents from clients: payslips, bank statements, proof of ID
- Sending case-status updates as a case moves through submission, valuation and offer
- Gathering basic facts from a new enquiry before the adviser's first call
- Replying to routine questions about the process and likely timescales
- Chasing solicitors, estate agents or introducers for updates on a case
- Filing documents against the right case in the sourcing or CRM system
The same week, handled.
| The task today | With AI doing the legwork |
|---|---|
| Clients ring in just to ask where their case is up to | A status update goes out automatically each time the case moves stage |
| Missing documents are chased by phone between other calls | A reminder can be scheduled for a missing document under agreed timing and review rules |
| New enquiries wait for a callback slot before anything useful is known | Basic facts are gathered first, so the adviser's first call is a proper advice conversation |
These are illustrative workflow scopes. The audit checks the actual software, supported access, licences, permissions and human review rules before a build is agreed.
Where the hours go in a mortgage broker’s case pipeline
Missing documents and factual status updates are candidate administrative tasks to map in the audit. A broker may use a case-management platform such as Smartr365 alongside a sourcing system such as Mortgage Brain. The audit checks which system holds each required case field and whether the licensed API or connector exposes it; a sourcing product is not assumed to hold the full case pipeline.
What stays with the adviser
Mortgage advice is a regulated activity. The FCA’s MCOB rules require a firm giving advice to assess suitability and take reasonable steps to make sure a mortgage fits the customer, and they set out separately when a sale can go ahead without advice at all. That distinction, advised or not, is a judgement for the authorised adviser, never for an automation. The same applies beyond mortgages: whether or not a firm holds separate permission to advise on protection or insurance, automation built by Neura North never drafts that advice either. It gathers facts and chases paperwork; recommendations are written by the person licensed to make them.
The FCA’s AI Lab shows the regulator is actively working through how AI fits into financial services, offering firms “a safe place to test AI systems in real-world conditions, with appropriate regulatory support and oversight.” That is a reason to build carefully, not a licence to automate advice. The ICO’s own guidance names “a decision to agree or decline a person’s mortgage application” directly as an example of a decision with a similarly significant effect on someone, a subject for careful legal and compliance assessment. The guidance discusses exceptions and is under review following data-law changes, so this page does not claim a blanket statutory ban. The proposed Neura North scope excludes automated advice or lending decisions: an authorised adviser makes recommendations, and the lender remains responsible for lending decisions.
Starting small: one workflow, then the next
Document chasing or factual status updates can be candidate administrative scopes. Before testing, the broker agrees access, recipients, privacy checks and the human review rules. Representative examples approved for use support acceptance testing; confidential live cases are used only where the agreed permissions allow it. A fixed-price Automation Sprint and walkthrough make the boundaries reviewable before any next workflow is considered.
the AI Opportunity Audit maps the admin that repeats across a broker’s case pipeline every week, puts a time cost on it, and says plainly which parts are worth automating and which need the adviser’s judgement every time.
Trigger, AI step, your call.
Document chasing
A required document is missing against the case checklist in the sourcing or CRM system
A polite reminder is sent to the client naming exactly what is missing and how to send it
The adviser is notified once documents arrive, and reviews everything before it goes into the case
Case-status updates
A case changes stage: submitted, valuation booked, offer issued
A plain-English update is drafted for the client, and for any solicitor or introducer copied in
The adviser sends anything containing advice or a recommendation; only factual status updates go out automatically
New enquiry triage
An enquiry arrives by email or the website form
A reply gathers the basic facts needed for a first conversation, using only questions the broker has approved in advance
The advice conversation itself, and any recommendation, is always given by the FCA-authorised adviser
Illustrative workflows showing the method, not a specific client build or result.
Where AI stops.
- Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA's MCOB rules require an adviser giving mortgage advice to assess suitability and take reasonable steps to make sure a mortgage is right for the customer. That advice, and any recommendation, is a regulated activity given by the authorised adviser; automation is scoped to admin around the case and never drafts advice or a recommendation, on mortgages or on protection and insurance. Regulator’s site
- FCA AI Lab. The FCA runs an AI Lab offering regulated firms a route to test AI systems with regulatory support and oversight, evidence that the regulator is actively engaging with AI in financial services rather than staying silent on it. It does not change what advice a firm may give, or who may give it. Regulator’s site
On the tools you already use.
- Smartr365: case management and CRM platform used by UK mortgage brokers
- Mortgage Brain: mortgage sourcing and criteria search software; access is checked for the proposed task
- Gmail or Outlook: the broker's inbox, where client documents and enquiries arrive
- Google Sheets or Excel: for pipeline and reporting lists the CRM does not cover
The jobs we’d take on.
What it costs.
Every price is published and fixed in writing before any work starts.
AI Opportunity Audit
In person across Leeds and West Yorkshire, or by video call. A written report of your top 5 automations, yours to keep.
AI Lead & Ops Sprint
Enquiry capture through to booking, follow-up and CRM logging, plus one ops automation. The monthly fee covers monitoring, tuning, a monthly review and up to 2 hours of changes.
Fractional AI Team
Ongoing AI builds, staff training and a monthly review.
Prices exclude VAT where applicable.
The build guarantee. We agree written acceptance criteria before any work starts. If the build doesn’t meet them, we fix it at no extra cost, and if we can’t, you don’t pay for it.
Where the facts come from.
- MCOB 4: Advising and selling standardsFinancial Conduct Authority
- AI LabFinancial Conduct Authority
- What is the impact of Article 22 of the UK GDPR on fairness?Information Commissioner's Office
- Smartr365Smartr365
- Mortgage BrainMortgage Brain
Questions, answered straight.
Can AI give mortgage advice?
No. Mortgage advice is a regulated activity under the FCA's MCOB rules, and it is given only by the firm's authorised adviser. Automation set up by Neura North chases documents, sends status updates and gathers basic facts; it never drafts a recommendation or gives advice on a mortgage, protection or insurance product.
Can AI decide whether to approve a mortgage application?
No. Lending decisions and mortgage, protection or insurance advice are outside this proposed Neura North scope. The authorised adviser remains responsible for recommendations and the lender for lending decisions. This is our scope boundary; applicable automated-decision safeguards still need assessment by the responsible firm.
Does it work with Smartr365 or Mortgage Brain?
Smartr365 and Mortgage Brain are both used by UK mortgage brokers for case management and sourcing. The AI Opportunity Audit checks what your specific setup can connect to before anything is quoted.
Will clients know they are dealing with automation?
Status updates and reminders go out in the broker's name and wording, and any chat assistant tells clients it is automated. Anything involving advice or a judgement call is passed to the adviser.
How much does AI cost for a mortgage broker?
Most clients start with the AI Opportunity Audit (£495, credited against a build). A build is a fixed-price package agreed in writing before work starts, and the Fractional AI Team at £1,500 a month covers ongoing work if you want it looked after. Prices exclude VAT where applicable.
Where to go next.
Chase the case. Leave the advice to the adviser.
Start with a 20-minute call.
Tell us the job that keeps coming back. We’ll tell you honestly what’s worth automating and what isn’t, and put a number on each one.