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Last updated Nov 13, 2026Written and edited by Ali PeivandizadehNo ads. No sponsors.
AI at Work · Action

Add AI to permit paperwork one step at a time

By Ali Peivandizadeh, business growth and AI implementation specialist.

Published Nov 13, 2026 · Last checked Nov 13, 2026 · Last changed Nov 13, 2026
The short answer

A large mortgage lender says AI agents now do about 40% of its back-office loan work, and each agent started with a person reviewing every action. A battery and solar seller has the same kind of back-office work between a signed contract and PTO. Start with one document step and full review.

Verdict
WATCH
For
Battery and solar sellers. 21 to 1,000 people. Operations.
Cost and time
The interview gives no cost. Ask the vendor for the price for each job and the setup time.

Why

Pennymac is a large US mortgage lender. In a HousingWire interview published Nov 2, 2026, a managing director said AI agents handle about 40% to 45% of its back-office loan work. He said the time to conditional approval was cut in half. Each agent is trained like a new hire and starts with a person reviewing everything it does. The company keeps quality checks on every agent, and he said that agents can make mistakes. The interview was made with Vesta, a loan software company, and nobody outside has checked the numbers. A battery and solar seller has paperwork of the same kind after the sale: permit applications, interconnection forms and inspection records. Cash waits until that paperwork is done.

What to do

  1. List each paperwork step between a signed contract and PTO. Write the days each one takes.
  2. Mark the steps that repeat the same way each time, such as filling in a permit form from the design.
  3. Ask your design or project software vendor which of those steps its AI can do today.
  4. Ask for one reference at a company of your size, and for the vendor's error numbers.
  5. Test one step on ten finished jobs. Compare the result with the form a person filed.
  6. On live jobs, a person reviews every form before it is filed.
  7. Reduce the review only when the error count allows it.
  8. Count the days from signed contract to PTO before and after.

What data may go in

The customer's name and address, the system design and the utility account. Use only a tool whose terms the company has read. Ask the vendor in writing whether it uses your files to train its AI.

Who checks the output

The project coordinator reviews every form before it is filed. Operations checks a sample each week.

The rule to check

The company that files a permit or an interconnection form answers for what it says. An AI tool must not sign for the customer or for a licensed person. Never connect a general AI chat tool to equipment that controls power.

What can go wrong

The numbers come from one large lender, in an interview made with a software vendor. An agent can repeat the same mistake on many forms before anyone sees it. A wrong form delays PTO, and the cash with it.

Sources

Plain text version