Black Knight has acquired HeavyWater, a developer of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for the mortgage industry, and plans to incorporate the startup's borrower data verification and other automation capabilities into its existing product suite.

Automating the mortgage process will force tighter margins, but drive higher volume, for lenders.

Mortgage settlement software provider Qualia is getting a new $33 million round of funding that it will use to expand into additional U.S. markets.

As digital mortgage technology helps consumers take a more hands-on approach to the mortgage process, lenders are stepping up their adoption of automation and machine learning through artificial intelligence capabilities.

Some banks are looking at how to translate the complicated and document-heavy mortgage lending process into the digital world of voice-interactive personal assistants.

It’s highly debatable whether the artificial intelligence engines that online lenders typically use, and that banks are just starting to deploy, are capable of making credit decisions without inadvertent prejudices.

U.S. Bank has begun using Einstein, Salesforce’s AI software, to give front-line staff insights into customer activity and recommendations. Other banks are likely to add similar tools.