“Are credit union mortgage rates typically lower than national banks?”
AI answers mortgage questions with comparison sites and a few big lenders. When it quotes today's rate, half of its quotes are within a quarter point of the weekly survey.
- of mortgage answers cite bankrate.com
- 33%
- of mortgage answers cite bankrate.com
- of today's-rate quotes within a quarter point
- 54%
- of today's-rate quotes within a quarter point
Rocket Mortgage is the lender AI names most, in 4.5% of answers
We found 336 mortgage, refinancing and home equity questions in the study. 45% of their answers name at least one company.
Ask about a first home, and AI names government programs, not banks
73 questions in the study are about a down payment or a first home. 48% of their answers name at least one company.
Today's rate, as AI quotes it: 36% of quotes are more than half a point too low
We compared every 30-year rate an answer gave as today's with Freddie Mac's weekly survey for that week. The survey's average was 7.40% in the week of October 8, 2026.
Rates rose in the weeks before the study, so a quote from an older article reads as too low. This is a one-off check of answers already collected, not part of any score.
The mortgage and first home questions are the study’s own, picked by their wording. 1,344 answers about mortgages and 292 about first homes were read.
A company counts as named when the audit found its name in the answer. Kinds of firm, such as “credit unions”, are not counted as names.
For the rate check, an AI model listed every percentage in 1,644 mortgage answers, from the study and the loyalty experiment, and marked which were today’s 30-year rate. Each was compared with the survey week the answer was given in.
- LoyaltyI bank with you. Who does AI suggest?68%of answers name another providerRead the chapter
- CheckoutHow should I pay for this?78%of answers pick a credit cardRead the chapter
- WealthSay you have $10 million.60%of answers then name a private bankRead the chapter
- SourcesWho does AI trust with money questions?19%of finance answers draw on comparison sitesRead the chapter
- Money20/20At Money20/20? Find your company.50%of attendees are never namedRead the chapter
