FTT Fintech Festival 2026: Finova's John Tilzey on AI for Mortgages

Quick Summary

The mortgage sector is currently navigating the gap between artificial intelligence hype and practical application. John Tilzey of Finova explains at FTT Fintech Festival 2026 how the company, which powers one in five UK mortgages, is moving away from isolated point solutions toward a more integrated approach using AI agents to power operational processes.

What is the primary challenge with current AI adoption in mortgages?

While artificial intelligence is currently a significant buzzword and perhaps one of the most overhyped technologies available today, the real challenge lies in moving beyond simple, isolated applications. John Tilzey notes that many clients are currently looking for ways to move away from point solutions. These individual tools, while functional in a vacuum, can often be unreliable when viewed as part of a larger business strategy. They have the potential to provide different answers on different days of the week, which undermines the absolute reliability and consistency required in the mortgage industry.

How is Finova bringing real relevance to AI business processes?

The focus for Finova is to bring real relevance to business processes through a structured platform approach. Rather than deploying AI as a series of disconnected tools, the goal is to understand how clients can move toward embedding AI into their whole operational workflow. This involves:

• Building a platform of AI agents that work together in a coordinated manner.
• Ensuring consistency of output so that the system remains predictable and reliable.
• Maintaining high levels of control and security within the mortgage workflow to protect sensitive data.
• Embedding these technologies across entire business processes to ensure they deliver value at every stage.

What makes the use of AI agents different from traditional tools?

By moving to a system where AI agents are embedded into the core business process, firms can achieve a level of stability that standalone point solutions lack. This integrated approach ensures that the technology delivers a consistent result every time, which is critical for maintaining trust and regulatory compliance in the financial services sector. It transforms AI from a standalone novelty into a functional, reliable component of the mortgage infrastructure. The transition is about moving from the hype of the technology to the practical reality of how it can deliver consistency and control for lenders and borrowers alike.

FF NEWS TAKE:

Finova's move toward a platform of interconnected AI agents represents a necessary maturation of the technology within the mortgage market. By focusing on consistency and security rather than just the novelty of the tool, they are addressing the primary concern of financial institutions: reliability. As AI moves from the hype cycle into the operational core, the ability to provide stable, repeatable outcomes will be the true differentiator for legacy-heavy sectors like mortgage lending. For a company powering 20 percent of the UK market, this shift from point solutions to embedded agents is a significant step in digitising the home-buying journey.