Lauren Bagley, Chief Distribution Officer
Even ChatGPT, the AI tool that’s taken the world by storm, recently launched its first large-scale brand advertising campaign. At first, that feels surprising, why does it need to? It’s one of the most talked about technologies on the planet, with hundreds of millions of users and universal name recognition.
Yet even ChatGPT faces the same challenge every business does, wide awareness doesn’t automatically translate into lasting engagement.
Millions of people have tried it, many are tinkering with it, but only a small fraction pay for its premium services. It shows how even the most advanced tools must keep earning attention, demonstrating value and reminding people why they matter.
For mortgage advisers, the parallels are clear. Your role during a mortgage transaction is pivotal, clients lean on you for expertise in one of most important financial decisions they make. Yet once the transaction is complete, many firms focus on finding the next new client rather than continuously engaging the relationships they’ve already built.
A simple question can reveal the gap: what percentage of your clients return? And do you track that as a metric?
Unlike the recent rhetoric and headlines, the biggest threat isn’t AI replacing human advisers – it’s absent advisers. It’s how your competitors are engaging your clients in the “quiet years” between mortgage needs. And if you’re silent, you can be certain someone else is shaping your clients’ expectations.
Staying connected during the mortgage cycle
Your engagement between the next remortgage or move isn’t about selling more products– that’s the result. It’s about maintaining trust and relevance.
Whether it’s offering insight when clients aren’t expecting it, delivering reassurance that’s timely and relevant, or providing simple updates that help them stay informed, the goal is to create a narrative that runs alongside your client’s life. Sometimes it’s a reminder that you’re still there; other times it might be using an insurance renewal (there’s circa four home insurance renewals in between the average fixed rate) or financial check-in as a natural opportunity to reconnect.
Digital channels can deliver these updates quickly while allowing clients to follow up for deeper conversations. To do this well, firms need to use their data intelligently. This means tracking key dates and events, rate expiries, life milestones, or market shifts and using those as triggers for personalised communication. A client whose fixed rate is due to end in six months should feel they’re being guided, not sold to. The firms that do this best are making consistent, personalised engagement possible at scale, while still leaving room for the human touch that clients trust.
The real lesson
ChatGPT’s global campaign is a reminder that even the most recognised names can’t rely on visibility alone. For mortgage firms, the same rule applies, trust and familiarity must be earned continuously. The quiet years don’t need to be quiet at all; they can be your loudest statement of value. The businesses who stay visible, consistent and connected won’t just retain clients; they’ll build loyalty that lasts far beyond the next mortgage.
