The problem
Clients chase for updates when a case goes quiet, and writing a clear update for each takes longer than you'd think. If you have 40 live cases and write an update for each every week at 8 minutes, that's 320 minutes a week, about 22.9 hours a month.
What the AI does
The case handler writes a few facts per case (application submitted, valuation booked for a date, awaiting two payslips) and asks ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini to turn them into a short, plain-English email, with no personal identifiers. The draft states where the case is and what the client needs to do next. It does not recommend a product, predict whether a lender will approve, or comment on suitability. Every update is approved by the adviser, or by an authorised person named in the firm's procedures, against the case file and the lender's portal before it is sent from the firm's system. Consumer Duty requires communications to be clear and not misleading.
A worked example
A two-adviser mortgage practice in Reading has about 40 live cases at any time. A case handler drafts the weekly updates, and each one is approved by an adviser before it is sent.
Before
8 minutes to write an update for each of 40 cases: 320 minutes a week, about 22.9 hours a month
After
About 6 minutes with a draft, including the adviser's approval: 240 minutes a week, about 17.2 hours a month
What it's worth
About 5.7 hours a month saved (2 minutes x 40 cases = 80 minutes a week x 4.3 = 344 minutes), worth around £143 if the combined case handler and adviser time is worth £25 an hour. The free plans can do this; a paid plan costs up to about £20 a month for one person if you hit usage limits.
How to set it up
- List the update types you send (submitted, valuation, documents needed, offer received) and write a short plain-English version of each.
- For each case, give the assistant the status and next step only, without names, addresses, account numbers or amounts.
- Check the draft against the case file and the lender's portal; delete any prediction about the outcome or timing you can't evidence.
- Have an adviser, or an authorised person named in your procedures, approve every update before it is sent.
- Add the client's name and details in your CRM and send from the firm's email only after approval.
What goes wrong
- A draft can promise an outcome ('you'll be approved by Friday') that nobody can promise. Remove it.
- Never paste identifiable client data into a consumer AI plan; use a status only.
- Don't let the assistant describe products or say what a client should do. That is advice, and the adviser gives it.
- Consumer Duty expects clear communications that clients understand. Read each draft as a first-time buyer would.