AI assistants recommend mortgage brokers when they can find a clear answer to the borrower's real question: can this broker help someone in my situation, and what will it cost? That means publishing your fee, your market scope and the cases you specialise in, keeping your FCA register entry accurate, and making it obvious whether you're directly authorised or an appointed representative. All of it sits inside FCA rules that already require your promotions to be fair, clear and not misleading.
Key takeaways
- Borrowers ask AI about awkward circumstances: self-employed, small deposit, adverse credit, buy-to-let, later life. Specialist pages answer those prompts.
- The FCA register is the public check. MoneyHelper tells consumers to use it and explains what "appointed representative" means.
- Don't call yourself independent unless your product range is unlimited (MCOB 4.4A.7G). Describe your panel or whole-of-market service accurately.
- If you quote a rate or cost, the FCA requires standard information, including a representative example and the APRC (MCOB 3A.5.1R).
- Unbiased, VouchedFor and the Personal Finance Society directory are where MoneyHelper sends people to find advisers.
What do borrowers ask AI when they're looking for a mortgage broker?
They describe their circumstances and ask whether a broker is worth it. The prompts below are illustrative examples of the kinds of questions people ask, not measured search volumes.
| Intent | Example prompts (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Urgent | "My mortgage offer expires in three weeks and the chain has collapsed, can a broker help?", "My fixed rate ends next month, who can remortgage me quickly?" |
| Comparison | "Mortgage broker or go direct to my bank?", "Is a fee-free broker as good as one that charges?" |
| Local | "Mortgage broker in Swindon for first-time buyers", "Broker in Belfast who handles self-employed mortgages" |
| Price | "How much do mortgage brokers charge in the UK?", "Do brokers charge for the first appointment?" |
| Trust | "Is [broker name] FCA regulated?", "Reviews of [broker name] for buy-to-let" |
Where does AI get its answers about mortgage brokers?
From public pages it can check: your website, the FCA register, consumer guidance, adviser directories, comparison sites and reviews. Google says its AI Overviews and AI Mode use pages that are indexed and eligible to show a snippet, with no extra requirements (Google Search Central, 2025).
| Source | What it is | Why it matters for brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Your website | Services, fees, lender scope, specialisms | The only place that can explain your fee and the cases you take in full. |
| FCA Financial Services Register | Record of authorised firms and individuals, including appointed representatives (ARs) and their principals | The definitive check of whether you can give mortgage advice (FCA, n.d.). |
| MoneyHelper | Government-backed money guidance | Explains when to use a broker, notes that advisers need the CeMAP qualification, and tells people to check the FCA register (MoneyHelper, n.d.). |
| Unbiased | Adviser matching platform | Names it as a place to find a regulated mortgage adviser; Unbiased says all mortgage brokers it lists are FCA-regulated and qualified (Unbiased, n.d.). |
| VouchedFor | Review directory covering mortgage advisers | Says it verifies reviewer identity and doesn't remove negative reviews (VouchedFor, n.d.). |
| Personal Finance Society | Professional body directory | Can be filtered by the Mortgages specialism (PFS, n.d.). |
| Comparison sites and lenders | Rate tables, calculators, lender guides | Strong on "best rate" questions. Your edge is the circumstances they can't assess, so write about those. |
| US equivalent | NMLS Consumer Access | A free service to confirm a company or professional is authorised to do business in a state (NMLS, n.d.). |
What do the FCA rules mean for your marketing?
They set the floor for anything an assistant might repeat about you.
- Fair, clear and not misleading. MCOB 3A.2 sets this standard for mortgage communications and promotions, and FCA guidance says firms should also apply Principle 7 and the Consumer Duty (FCA Handbook, 2026).
- Quoting a rate or cost. If a promotion for an MCD regulated mortgage contract shows an interest rate or any cost figure, it must include standard information "in a clear, concise and prominent way": who you are, that the loan is secured on the property, the borrowing rate, total credit, the APRC (at least as prominent as any interest rate), and other figures by means of a representative example (MCOB 3A.5.1R).
- The repossession warning. The capitalised warning "YOUR HOME MAY BE REPOSSESSED IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP REPAYMENTS ON A MORTGAGE OR ANY OTHER DEBT SECURED ON IT" is required by CONC 3.6.5R for promotions about credit secured on a home that isn't qualifying credit (FCA Handbook, n.d.). For regulated mortgages, MCOB 3A sets the rules for promotions, including a representative example and the APRC whenever you quote rates or costs (FCA Handbook, n.d.). Many brokers show the repossession warning as standard; confirm with your principal, network or compliance adviser exactly what your website must carry.
- Independent means unlimited. You must not call yourself an "independent mortgage adviser", including in a business name, unless your product range across the relevant market is unlimited (MCOB 4.4A.7G) (FCA Handbook, 2026).
- Fees as cash sums. Your initial disclosure must state any fee, when it's payable and whether you receive commission, expressed as a cash sum where possible (MCOB 4.4A.8R). Your website should match it.
- Appointed representatives. An AR "carries on regulated activity under the responsibility of an authorised firm", and the principal "is responsible for making sure the AR is fit and proper and complies with our rules" (FCA, n.d.). Website and profile copy goes through the principal's sign-off.
The 8-step plan to get your brokerage recommended
Make your register entry and website agree. Check your firm or AR entry, trading names and website on the FCA register; firms update details through Connect (FCA, n.d.). Put your firm reference number, and your principal's name if you're an AR, in your site footer.
Publish your fee clearly. MoneyHelper explains that brokers may charge a flat fee, an hourly rate or a percentage, or be paid by lender commission, and that most won't charge for the first conversation (MoneyHelper, n.d.). Say which model you use, when it's payable, and give an example in pounds, consistent with your initial disclosure.
Describe your market scope accurately. "Whole of market", "a panel of X lenders" or "we don't cover second charges" are useful facts. MoneyHelper tells borrowers that even whole-of-market brokers might not cover everything, so say what you do and don't arrange.
Write one page per circumstance. Self-employed with one year's accounts, contractors, small deposits, adverse credit, later-life lending, buy-to-let, shared ownership. Explain what lenders usually look for, what documents to gather and how you help. Don't promise approval, and if you mention rates or costs, include the required standard information.
Name your advisers and their qualifications. MoneyHelper notes advisers must have completed CeMAP. Profiles with each adviser's qualifications and the case types they handle answer "who will I speak to?" and let people cross-check the register.
Complete your Google Business Profile properly. Use your real trading name with no keywords. If clients don't visit your address, Google says service-area businesses should hide it, and virtual offices aren't eligible unless staffed during business hours (Google Business Profile Help, n.d.).
Build directory profiles and reviews. List on Unbiased, VouchedFor and the PFS directory with the same name, fee description and specialisms. Ask every client for a review at completion, the same way and with no incentive (Google Business Profile Help, n.d.; CMA, 2025). Never confirm a client's finances in a reply.
Add FinancialService structured data. Mark up name, address, phone, website and hours with schema.org's FinancialService type, a LocalBusiness subtype (Schema.org, n.d.; Google Search Central, n.d.). Keep it identical to the visible page.
Also make sure robots.txt and any firewall allow OAI-SearchBot (OpenAI, n.d.), PerplexityBot (Perplexity, n.d.) and Claude-SearchBot (Anthropic, n.d.).
Mistakes that keep brokers out of AI answers
- Headline rates without the standard information. Breaches MCOB 3A.5 and gives an assistant a figure stripped of context.
- "Independent" in your name when you use a panel. MCOB 4.4A.7G says not to.
- Hiding whether you charge a fee. It's one of the first things borrowers ask.
- "We can get anyone a mortgage." Unprovable, and not fair, clear or not misleading.
- An AR website that never names the principal. Anyone checking the register will be confused.
- Only rate content. Comparison sites and lenders own rate questions. Circumstance questions are where a broker can be the best answer.
How do you check whether AI recommends your brokerage?
Ask the assistants what borrowers ask, and log the answers monthly.
- Pick 10 prompts from the table, using your town and your main case types.
- Run each in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google (AI Overviews and AI Mode), Gemini, Claude and Copilot, logged out or in a private window where possible.
- Note whether you're named, which brokers, comparison sites or lenders appear instead, and which sources are cited.
- Check facts about you, especially fees, scope and regulatory status, and fix the source if anything is wrong.
- In Google Search Console, AI feature traffic is included in the Performance report under the "Web" search type (Google Search Central, 2025).
SearchCrow runs these checks for you. It asks the major AI assistants the questions borrowers ask about mortgages in your area, shows whether your brokerage is mentioned and which sources they rely on, and suggests what to fix first. It's built for small brokerages and appointed representatives rather than national lenders.
FAQ
Why doesn't ChatGPT recommend my mortgage brokerage? Usually because your site doesn't answer the specific questions borrowers ask: whether you charge a fee, whether you search the whole market, and whether you handle self-employed, adverse credit, buy-to-let or first-time buyer cases. If your pages say "great rates, fast decisions" and little else, a broker who explains fees, scope and specialisms plainly is easier to recommend.
Do I have to show "Your home may be repossessed" on my website? It depends on what you promote. FCA rule CONC 3.6.5R requires the capitalised "Your home may be repossessed…" warning for some home-secured credit, and MCOB 3A requires fair, clear and not misleading mortgage promotions, with a representative example and the APRC if you quote rates or costs. Many brokers show the warning as standard. Check with your principal, network or compliance adviser exactly what your website must carry.
Can I call myself an independent mortgage adviser? Only if your product range across the relevant market is unlimited. FCA guidance at MCOB 4.4A.7G says a firm should not call itself an "independent mortgage adviser", including in its business name, unless that's true. If you use a panel of lenders or only some products, describe your service accurately instead, for example "we search a panel of 40 lenders".
I'm an appointed representative. Does that affect my marketing? Yes. An appointed representative carries on regulated activity under the responsibility of an authorised principal, which must make sure you comply with FCA rules. That covers your website, directory profiles and social posts. MoneyHelper tells consumers that an adviser listed as an appointed representative can give regulated advice on behalf of another firm, so make your principal's name and your own register entry easy to find.
What structured data should a mortgage broker use? Use LocalBusiness markup with schema.org's FinancialService type. Include your trading name, address, phone, website and opening hours, matching the visible page and your FCA register entry. If you work remotely, Google's guidelines say service-area businesses should hide their address on Google. Structured data tidies up your facts; Google says AI features need no special markup.
Sources
- AI features and your website, Google Search Central
- Local business structured data, Google Search Central
- FinancialService, Schema.org
- Guidelines for representing your business on Google, Google Business Profile Help
- Get reviews on your Business Profile, Google Business Profile Help
- Financial Services Register, Financial Conduct Authority
- Appointed representatives and principals, Financial Conduct Authority
- Keeping your firm's information up to date, Financial Conduct Authority
- MCOB 3A Financial promotions and communications with customers, FCA Handbook
- MCOB 4.4A Initial disclosure requirements, FCA Handbook
- CONC 3.6 Financial promotions about credit agreements secured on land, FCA Handbook
- Mortgage advice: should you use a mortgage adviser?, MoneyHelper
- How to choose a financial adviser, MoneyHelper
- Unbiased, Unbiased
- VouchedFor, VouchedFor
- Find an adviser, Personal Finance Society
- NMLS Consumer Access, NMLS
- Fake reviews (CMA208), Competition and Markets Authority
- Overview of OpenAI crawlers, OpenAI
- Perplexity crawlers, Perplexity
- Anthropic crawler FAQ, Anthropic