In a world where many small businesses are still trying to work out how to actually use AI (not just talk about it), Australian fintech LoanOptions.ai is staking its claim as one of the most practical examples of what smart implementation looks like.

Recent commentary by technology columnist David Gewirtz for ZDNET outlined ten rules for how small businesses can use AI effectively. Among them: don’t buy AI just because it’s trendy, pair your expertise with the tech, start small, and define what success looks like in real, measurable terms.

That ethos might as well have been the product roadmap for LoanOptions.ai, a Sydney-headquartered company that has spent the past five years building intelligent systems to simplify the lending industry, one of the most complex and compliance-heavy in Australia.

The Problem: Brokers Losing Time to Paperwork

For mortgage brokers and financial advisers, time is money, and yet, the onboarding process for a new home loan client can swallow hours. Between collecting payslips, verifying bank statements, and generating compliance documents, brokers were spending more time on admin than advising.

LoanOptions.ai’s answer is HAILO – a five-minute, AI-powered digital onboarding platform that transforms the clunky paper trail into a seamless online experience. It’s built to be white-labeled, meaning each broker’s client sees their own branding, not someone else’s tech.

The platform uses what the company calls ACE (Auto-complete Contextual Engine). ACE is a technology that analyses client documents, verifies information, and pre-fills over 80% of the fact-find automatically. What would have once taken a broker an entire afternoon now takes minutes.

AI That Adds Value – Not Headcount

Gewirtz cautioned small businesses against using AI to replace people. Instead, he said, “Pair your expertise with AI, don’t replace it.”

That’s precisely how LoanOptions.ai’s leadership approaches innovation. Founder and CEO Julian Fayad says the company’s philosophy has always been about “building tools that supercharge humans, not sideline them.”

“Mortgage brokers don’t need to become technologists,” Fayad explains. “They just need technology that works – tools that make them more efficient, more compliant, and more available to their clients.”

Defining a Win: Time and Trust

Gewirtz’s most valuable metric for AI success wasn’t dollars. It was time. LoanOptions.ai’s brokers would agree.

By automating data collection and compliance prep, HAILO has reduced manual onboarding by up to 90%. Brokers gain back hours of their day. This is time that can now be spent nurturing client relationships, finding better deals, or scaling their business.

And in an industry built on trust, automation doesn’t come at the cost of compliance. HAILO is ISO 27001-certified, meaning every transaction is secured with bank-grade encryption and data protection.

Beyond Mortgages: Democratising AI Access

In what may be the most telling example of AI maturity, LoanOptions.ai recently announced it is waiving all subscription fees for HAILO until 2026, effectively making enterprise-grade automation accessible to every broker in Australia.

“We want brokers to experience the ease, accuracy and speed HAILO delivers and see the return on investment for themselves,” says Fayad. “Once you use HAILO and see what’s possible, it makes doing things the old way seem ridiculous, like how driving a car made riding horse-drawn carriages everywhere seem ridiculous.”

Asset finance brokers aren’t left out either. The company’s AI-powered lending policy assistant, Ask AILO, is also being offered on a free trial.

Why It Matters

LoanOptions.ai’s story is a reminder that AI success stories aren’t reserved for Silicon Valley giants. They’re being written by small, nimble companies that understand their customers’ pain points and apply technology strategically.

Who are solving real problems. 

And as the broader small-business community continues to navigate what meaningful AI adoption looks like, HAILO may just stand as a shining example of the practical, people-first future of automation.

To learn more about LoanOptions.ai’s solutions or sign up for the free HAILO and Ask AILO trials, visit https://loanoptions.ai/affiliate/

Note - This is general information only. Consult a licensed finance professional before making any finance decision