Vishal Garg, CEO at Better.com

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Vishal Garg is the Founder and CEO of Better.com, the #1 digital mortgage lender in America. Better is on a mission to make homeownership faster, cheaper, and just plain better for all Americans by leveraging technology and automation to streamline the home-buying process and remove biases.

Since its founding in 2015, Better has originated over $100 billion in home loans, more than $38 billion in insurance, and over $3 billion in real estate transactions, all entirely online and commission-free. In January 2023, the company announced one of its biggest innovations yet with One Day Mortgage, a breakthrough innovation in the real estate industry that allows customers to go online, get pre-approved, lock their rate and get a mortgage Commitment Letter from Better, all within 24 hours.

The Discussion 

Q: In terms of AI-driven transformation, what does success look like for your organization over the next 5 years?

A: In the next 5 years, our vision for AI-driven transformation at http://Better.com/ is centered on reimagining the entire homeownership journey and making it friction less. Success, for us, means leveraging AI to simplify, personalize, and accelerate the mortgage process-making it more transparent and accessible for all customers. We have exciting plans already in motion to develop a suite of AI-powered tools that not only streamline underwriting and approval but also provide real-time insights to help consumers make smarter financial decisions. By automating repetitive tasks and using AI to predict and mitigate risk, we will increase operational efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately pass those savings on to our customers. We expect AI to enhance our already market leading value proposition of a 1 Day Mortgage into something more akin to a 1 Minute Mortgage for most customers. Consider being approved for a mortgage the moment you decide to make an offer on a home and the value that consumers will be able to derive from that. Additionally, we see AI as a key enabler of personalized customer service to augment our Licensed Loan Officers. With our new voice-based AI Loan Assistant, Betsy™, our customers now have 24/7 access to guidance tailored specifically to their financial situation, whether it's related to securing the best loan terms, navigating market fluctuations, or understanding complex paperwork. Ultimately, in five years, we aim to be the leading AI-driven mortgage platform, where both homebuyers and homeowners can experience a seamless, transparent, and efficient journey toward securing and managing their homes.

Q: What are the key AI-related trends or technologies you're watching closely, and how do you plan to incorporate them into your business model?

A: We are deeply focused on the transformative potential of AI, and we're keeping a close eye on several key trends and technologies that we believe will reshape the future of homeownership and lending. Some specific things we're keeping a pulse on include moving from Text to Speech models for our AI agent Betsy™ to a Speech to Speech model which would provide an even more fluid customer experience for users of Betsy™. Further, as fraud in the mortgage industry remains a huge concern, particularly for income and employment documentation, we continue to expect AI to enable us to help make better decisions in the underwriting of mortgages for our customers. As we continue to monitor and adopt these technologies, we will integrate them into our business model to deliver a better, faster, and more personalized experience for our customers, while also driving efficiencies and scaling operations. These innovations will play a central role in how we transform the mortgage and homeownership experience over the next few years.

Q: How do you see AI reshaping leadership roles and decision-making processes over the next few years?

A: AI is going to fundamentally reshape leadership over the next few years, especially in how we make decisions and interact with our teams. The role of leadership will shift from managing day-to-day operations to focusing on high-level strategy, using AI to automate and optimize the routine stuff. This will free up time for leaders to focus on innovation and building stronger, more agile teams. It's also going to make leadership more personalized: AI can help leaders understand their teams' needs better, from performance data to career development, making for a more empathetic and targeted approach to managing talent. In the end, AI won't replace leadership-it will augment it. It will make leaders smarter, more agile, and more in tune with both their teams and their customers. The future of leadership is collaboration with AI, where human judgment and machine intelligence work hand in hand to drive the business forward.

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