Sara Holtz on How Mortgage Leaders Can Use AI to Improve Decision-Making

In this bonus episode of Optimal Insights, recorded at HousingWire’s The Gathering, Sara Holtz, CMO at Optimal Blue, shares a practical framework for how mortgage leaders can use AI to improve decision-making in a high-complexity market.Sara reframes AI as a “chief of staff” that helps leaders organize information, surface insights, and create capacity when decision demands keep growing. She also outlines five principles leaders can apply immediately, including prompting with clarity, solving real problems, focusing on small repeatable wins, strengthening relationships, and cultivating decision confidence.Sara also reflects on how these ideas connect to real innovation shifts over time, and why the opportunity with AI is often less about replacing expertise and more about supporting better thinking alongside it.Commentary included in the podcast shall not be construed as, nor is Optimal Blue providing, any legal, trading, hedging, or financial advice.Mentioned in this episode:Is Your PPE Helping – or Holding You Back?Small delays can become everyday obstacles. If your team relies on workarounds, extra verification steps, or manual processes to keep loans moving, it may be time to rethink your pricing engine. Discover what a modern PPE should deliver – from real-time accuracy and intelligent automation to seamless workflow execution. Learn more today. Explore the Optimal Blue PPE - https://www2.optimalblue.com/optimalblueppe