Mortgage lender Newrez has launched Rezi Mortgage Assistant, an AI-powered borrower guide embedded directly in OpenAI's ChatGPT platform, allowing consumers to explore mortgage options and get personalized answers based on the company's actual underwriting guidelines and lending policies. The tool is now available in the GPT Store, marking a significant shift in how financial institutions are meeting customers where they already spend time seeking advice.

Why Are Mortgage Companies Moving to ChatGPT?

The decision reflects a fundamental change in consumer behavior. A recent study from TD Bank found that 55% of consumers now turn to AI tools like ChatGPT or Anthropic's Claude for financial management guidance, a dramatic leap from just 10% in 2025. Generation Z and millennials are leading this trend, with more than 70% of both groups using AI for financial expertise. Even older generations are catching up, with Generation X and baby boomers increasingly seeking AI assistance for money matters.

Rather than fight this trend, Newrez decided to meet customers on their preferred platform. The Rezi Mortgage Assistant responds conversationally to mortgage and home equity questions, available around the clock without requiring phone calls or forms until a borrower is ready to move forward. This approach removes perceived sales pressure and lets people learn at their own pace.

"We built Rezi Mortgage Assistant to bring clear, Newrez-specific mortgage guidance directly into the platform where millions of consumers already go for answers," said Brian Woodring, chief information officer at Newrez.

Brian Woodring, Chief Information Officer at Newrez

Woodring added that by embedding the company's actual underwriting and lending logic inside ChatGPT, borrowers gain an accessible way to learn without pressure. Leslie Gillin, chief commercial officer at Newrez, noted that the tool "helps demystify the mortgage process and removes friction by giving borrowers relevant answers from the start, allowing them to learn on their own terms".

Woodring

How Are Financial Institutions Integrating AI Into Customer Service?

• Direct ChatGPT Integration: Newrez's Rezi Mortgage Assistant sits inside OpenAI's ChatGPT platform, allowing borrowers to access mortgage guidance without leaving the chat interface they already use daily.
• Enterprise Loan System Connections: Better Home and Finance created an integration linking ChatGPT enterprise customers directly to its Tinman loan origination system, allowing lenders to expedite underwriting by giving AI access to guidelines, pricing, and customer relationship management data.
• Data Processing for Loan Officers: Fairway Home Mortgage partnered with OpenAI to use generative AI software that quickly analyzes and processes data for loan officers, freeing them to focus more on customer service rather than administrative tasks.

Newrez is not the first major lender to embrace this strategy, but it is among the first to offer a consumer-facing GPT tool. The company's parent, Rithm Capital, has been aggressive in pursuing AI-driven efficiency gains. Earlier this year, Newrez announced a strategic investment in HomeVision, an AI-backed underwriting software firm, with co-developed tools planned for rollout later in 2026. Additionally, Rithm Capital took a minority ownership stake in Valon, a servicing software firm with AI capabilities, with plans to move Newrez's loans onto Valon's platform in early 2027.

During recent earnings calls, Newrez President Baron Silverstein explained that artificial intelligence is becoming a winning strategy for growth. The company expects AI advancements to deliver significant returns on investment, including an eventual 15% reduction in loan production costs. This financial incentive is driving rapid adoption across the mortgage industry.

What Does This Mean for the Broader AI-Finance Relationship?

The Rezi Mortgage Assistant launch signals a maturation in how financial services companies view generative AI. Rather than treating ChatGPT as a competitor or a threat, lenders are now treating it as a distribution channel. By embedding their expertise directly into platforms where millions of people already seek financial advice, companies like Newrez are reducing friction in the customer journey while simultaneously building brand loyalty.

The timing is significant. As consumer comfort with AI for financial guidance grows, companies that fail to meet customers on these platforms risk losing market share to competitors who do. The mortgage industry, historically slow to adopt new technologies, is now racing to integrate AI into customer-facing tools. This shift reflects a broader recognition that the future of financial services will be shaped by whoever can best integrate AI into the customer experience, not by whoever builds the most advanced AI in isolation.

For borrowers, the practical benefit is clear: 24/7 access to personalized mortgage guidance without sales pressure, delivered through a platform they already trust and use daily. For lenders, the benefit is equally compelling: reduced operational costs, faster loan processing, and the ability to reach customers earlier in their decision-making journey.