The future of broking: 5 key insights from the Broker Innovation Summit

This year’s Broker Daily Innovation Summit packed a punch. Industry leaders, tech innovators, and forward-thinking brokers came together to unpack what’s actually working right now and what the industry needs to prepare for next.

Here are the 5 biggest takeaways for brokers to gain advantage in today’s fast moving lending landscape.

1. AI Prime is already here (and clients are using it)

Forget “digital-first” we’re now in the era of “AI Prime.” This isn’t some future prediction. It’s happening now.

Clients are already skipping Google and going straight to ChatGPT for answers. They’re using AI to research loans, compare rates, and make decisions before they even reach out to a broker. Soon, they’ll be using it to choose their broker too.

Brokers who aren’t thinking about how AI shapes the client journey are already behind. The ones who understand this shift will be the ones clients find first.

2. Working smarter with agentic AI

Here’s the practical bit: “Agentic AI” isn’t just hype it can handle entire workflows independently from lead gen, follow-ups, to re-engagement campaigns.

Real example from the summit: One broker used AI to re-engage 100 cold leads. Result? Nine meetings booked, three deals closed. That’s not theory, that’s revenue.

The winning formula: Brokers provide the first 10% (context and direction), AI does the middle 80% (the grunt work), and brokers close the last 10% (their expertise and relationship). They stay in control, but work way smarter.

Ultimately, it’s not AI replacing brokers. It’s brokers using AI replacing brokers who aren’t.

3. Stop chasing shiny apps and build a strategy instead

Hundreds of new tools hit the market every month. The temptation is real. But here’s what the tech panel hammered home: the challenge isn’t adoption, it’s discernment.

Successful brokers don’t stack tools on top of tools. They build customer-centric tech stacks where everything actually talks to each other and makes life easier, not harder.

The question to ask: Does this tool augment what brokers do best (relationships), or does it just create another login to remember?

The focus should be on tools that flag at-risk clients, automate document chasing, and streamline verification. The goal is to automate the admin, amplify the relationships.

4. Open Banking changes everything

This is the big one. Open Banking gives brokers access to real-time verified financial data including bank statements which means streamlined fact-finds, more accuracy, and reduced painful back-and-forth with clients.

As adoption grows, lenders will start accepting Open Banking data directly. That means less manual verification, fewer document requests, and a much smoother experience for everyone.

This is where Frollo for Brokers comes in. It’s a free, bank grade secure Open Banking solution that supports brokers to:

• Collect and access client financial data with consent
• See a real-time picture of their financial position
• Refresh data anytime during the client consent period

Brokers can win back time with less admin headache, more time for actual advice, and faster loan submissions.

5. Tech amplifies brokers, it doesn’t replace them

The big lesson from the summit is that tomorrow’s successful brokers won’t choose between tech and human connection. They’ll use one to power the other.

AI and Open Banking deliver efficiency, accuracy, and speed. But brokers are still the ones who build trust, solve real problems, and show up when it matters. That’s what clients expect.

Technology should enable brokers to be better at what they do, not turn them into robots. Solutions like Frollo for Brokers save time, help meet best interests duty, and free brokers up for the conversations that actually matter.

Ready to lead, not follow?

The lending landscape is moving fast. The brokers adopting AI and Open Banking now are the ones who’ll lead the market tomorrow.