The problem
Lenders change criteria and products all the time, and awkward cases (self-employed with one year's accounts, a contractor, a new-build flat) send an adviser searching lenders' intermediary pages. If an adviser spends 3 hours a week on this, that's about 12.9 hours a month, much of it on pages that turn out to be out of date.
What the AI does
Perplexity answers with inline citations, so the adviser can see which page each point came from. The adviser asks a criteria question without client details, for example which lenders publish acceptance of one year's accounts for self-employed applicants, and asks for lenders' own intermediary pages and announcements as sources. Pro ($17, about $17£13€15A$25C$24 a month billed annually) gives fuller Deep Research for a weekly round-up of lender changes. The adviser opens each source on the lender's site, confirms the criteria with the lender or the firm's criteria sourcing system before recommending anything, and records the source on the file. Suitability stays with the adviser under the FCA's rules and Consumer Duty.
A worked example
A two-adviser mortgage practice in Exeter handles many self-employed and contractor cases. One adviser uses Perplexity Pro for criteria questions and a weekly round-up of lender changes shared with the other.
Before
3 hours a week searching lender pages: about 12.9 hours a month
After
About 1.5 hours a week, including checking each lender's own page: about 6.5 hours a month
What it's worth
About $430£323€384A$620C$607 a month in adviser time saved, against about $17£13€15A$25C$24 for Perplexity Pro. 1.5 hours saved a week is 6.45 hours a month (1.5 × 4.3), at an assumed $67£50€60A$96C$94 an hour.
How to set it up
- Sign up for Perplexity Pro, $17 (about $17£13€15A$25C$24) a month billed annually, for the adviser who does the research.
- Ask criteria questions without client names, incomes or addresses, and ask for lenders' own pages as sources.
- Open every source and check it is on the lender's own site and current; discard answers based only on news articles.
- Confirm the criteria with the lender, its business development manager or the firm's criteria sourcing system before recommending a lender.
- Record the source and the date on the client file, and keep the recommendation and suitability report as the adviser's own work.
What goes wrong
- Many lender criteria sit behind intermediary logins that Perplexity can't see, so an answer can miss the lender that would take the case. It narrows the search; it doesn't replace a criteria sourcing system.
- Criteria can change after a page is published. Check the date and confirm before advising.
- Advice and suitability are regulated by the FCA. Never pass an AI answer to a client as advice; the adviser checks and decides.
- Keep client details out of personal plans. Perplexity's Enterprise Pro, $34 (about $35£26€31A$50C$49) per user a month billed annually, states it doesn't train on customer data.