How AI Search Is Recommending Reverse Mortgage: Monthly Trends

Executive Summary

Guild Mortgage leads the September 2026 reverse mortgage category in valid recommendation coverage at 43.5%, regaining the top spot from Finance of America Reverse, which holds second place at 39.6%. Guild had slipped to third place in August at 39.1% before returning to the lead in September; both the August dip and the September recovery fall within normal month-to-month variation for the brand. Guild's position across the full July-to-September period remains a stable, non-significant decline of 4.1 points from its July baseline of 47.6%. The September result reverses the August dip without fully restoring the brand to its July level.

September was a quiet month for the category: no brand recorded a significant month-over-month movement. The largest month-over-month change was Guild Mortgage's 4.4-point gain from 39.1% to 43.5%, and the largest month-over-month decline was All Reverse Mortgage's 4.3-point drop to 11.5%; both remained within normal variation.

Measured against the July baseline, four brands remain significant decliners: Fairway Independent Mortgage fell 13.2 points from 42.6% to 29.4%, the largest baseline-to-current decline in the category; Mutual of Omaha Mortgage fell 9.0 points from 40.9% to 31.9%; Longbridge Financial fell 7.9 points from 46.6% to 38.7%; and Liberty Reverse Mortgage fell 3.6 points from 7.1% to 3.5%. These four declines account for the confirmed movement in the category since baseline; the leadership order at the top has otherwise held stable.

Each monthly run begins with 771 prompt-surface observations (484 unique questions) in September across the benchmark's defined AI/search surface universe, compared with 800 prompt-surface observations (565 unique questions) in August and 710 prompt-surface observations (410 unique questions) in July. Of the September prompts, 771 mentioned a tracked brand or competitor; 555 were relevant and 216 were irrelevant. The public metrics use the 313 qualified observations in September, up from 284 in August and 296 in July.

Key Findings

Benchmark Context

The report separates the raw collection universe from the qualified analysis set. Brand-level recommendation percentages are calculated within the qualified benchmark set.

The counts above define the public denominator; the metrics below describe how brands performed within it. August, the intermediate month, held 284 qualified observations drawn from 800 raw prompt-surface observations.

Benchmark-Level Metrics

The qualified surface breadth remained stable at six families across all three months. Recommendation-shaped answer share peaked in August at 52.1% before settling back to 39.3% in September, while the valid recommendation shortlist share fell from 77.7% in July to 68.1% in September, still down 9.6 points from the July baseline.

AI Recommendation Trend

Leaders Recover While Mid-Tier Brands Drift Downward

The September 2026 results show Guild Mortgage back in the lead at 43.5%, with Finance of America Reverse holding second at 39.6% and Longbridge Financial close behind at 38.7%. The top of the category has re-formed around three brands, while Fairway Independent Mortgage, Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, and the smaller brands have lost ground since the July baseline.

The category-level change came from the combination of several downward movements measured against the July baseline rather than from a single dominant decline in September. No brand exceeded normal month-to-month variation between August and September; the significant movements are all baseline-to-current comparisons.

What Changed This Month

Guild Mortgage: Regains Leadership After August Decline

Guild Mortgage returned to the top of the category in September with 43.5% coverage, up 4.4 points from 39.1% in August; that gain fell within normal month-to-month variation. Measured against the July baseline of 47.6%, the brand remains down 4.1 points, a change that also falls within normal variation for the series.

The brand's raw mention presence rose from 50.3% in August to 57.2% in September, nearly matching its July level of 58.8%. Over the same span, the top-three rate declined from 14.5% in July to 7.3% in September, and the rank-one rate fell from 4.7% to 1.3%. Rank-one count dropped from 14 in July to 4 in September.

Guild Mortgage regained overall coverage through broad presence across answers while losing its hold on top placements. The brand appears in more responses but is recommended at rank one far less often than it was in July.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts shifted Guild Mortgage out of the top position, and which competitor most often appears at rank one in its place?

Finance of America Reverse: Holds Second With Strong Rank-One Presence

Finance of America Reverse moved from the August leadership position at 41.2% to second place at 39.6% in September, a decline of 1.6 points that remained within normal variation. Against the July baseline of 46.0%, the brand is down 6.4 points, also within normal range.

The brand's rank-one rate strengthened from 29.4% in July to 33.2% in September, with rank-one count rising from 87 to 104. Its top-three rate of 39.6% in September nearly matches its total coverage, meaning virtually every recommendation places the brand in the top three. The average recommended rank improved from 1.459 in July to 1.1935 in September.

Finance of America Reverse is the strongest top-of-answer brand in the category, even though its overall coverage rate sits below Guild Mortgage. The gap between its rank-one strength and its overall coverage suggests the brand wins the first position when recommended but appears in fewer distinct responses.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts recommend Finance of America Reverse at all, and which surfaces are driving the expansion of its rank-one appearances?

Fairway Independent Mortgage: Sustained Decline From July Baseline

Fairway Independent Mortgage recorded the largest baseline-to-current decline in the category, falling from 42.6% in July to 29.4% in September, a significant drop of 13.2 points. The brand has declined in each successive month, including a 9.5-point drop from July to August and a further 3.7-point decline from August to September.

The raw mention presence fell from 48.6% in July to 35.1% in September, a drop of 13.5 points. The top-three rate dropped from 18.2% to 8.0%, and the rank-one rate fell from 4.0% to 0.6%. Valid recommendations fell from 126 in July to 92 in September.

Fairway's decline is concentrated in whether the brand appears at all, and where it appears when recommended. The brand has lost both visibility and placement over the series, moving from the upper tier to fifth place in the September ranking.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which AI surfaces reduced their mention of Fairway most sharply, and does the decline track specific prompt categories or a broader shift in source material?

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage: Significant Decline With Sharp Rank-One Loss

Mutual of Omaha Mortgage fell from 40.9% in July to 31.9% in September, a significant decline of 9.0 points. The brand's rank-one rate dropped from 8.5% to 2.6%, with rank-one count falling from 25 to 8.

The top-three rate of 26.5% in September improved slightly from its August level and is up 1.8 points from the July baseline, though the movement stayed within normal variation. Raw mention presence declined from 44.6% to 39.0%, within normal range.

Mutual of Omaha retained its presence in middle-tier placements while losing its top-of-answer positions. The contrast between a stable top-three rate and a collapsing rank-one rate indicates a repositioning within answers rather than a disappearance from them.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompts moved Mutual of Omaha from rank one to lower placements, and which competitor captured those first positions?

Longbridge Financial: Significant Decline, Third Place

Longbridge Financial declined from 46.6% in July to 38.7% in September, a significant drop of 7.9 points. The brand has declined in each successive month, with a 6.5-point fall from July to August and a further 1.4-point decline from August to September.

Raw mention presence fell from 52.0% to 47.0%, within normal variation, while the top-three rate declined from 38.9% to 36.1%, also within normal range. The rank-one rate slipped from 2.7% to 2.2%, and valid recommendations fell from 138 in July to 121 in September.

Longbridge remains highly visible and retains strong top-three placement, but the overall coverage decline signals a narrowing in the range of prompts where the brand is recommended. Its position is stable relative to the leaders even as its absolute coverage has slipped.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which prompt categories reduced their recommendation of Longbridge, and is the decline concentrated in specific surfaces or question types?

Liberty Reverse Mortgage: Significant Decline From Small Base

Liberty Reverse Mortgage posted a significant decline against the July baseline, falling from 7.1% to 3.5% in September, a drop of 3.6 points. The brand did tick upward from its August level of 3.2%, a 0.3-point gain within normal variation.

The raw mention presence fell from 8.1% in July to 4.2% in September. Valid recommendations fell from 21 in July to 11 in September. The rank-one rate was zero in both July and September, and the top-three rate improved slightly from 1.0% to 1.6%.

This is a significant movement on a small count. Eleven valid recommendations in September versus 21 in July is a meaningful shift for a niche brand, and the absolute counts should be read alongside the percentages.

Highest-priority diagnostic: Which surfaces stopped surfacing Liberty, and does the October run confirm the September level or extend the decline?

All Reverse Mortgage and Smaller Brands: Moderate Movements Within Normal Range

All Reverse Mortgage declined from 14.9% in July to 11.5% in September, a 3.4-point drop within normal variation. The brand's top-three rate of 5.4% in September is up slightly from 4.7% in July, while its rank-one rate declined from 3.0% to 2.2%.

American Advisors Group (AAG) held steady at 3.2% in September, essentially unchanged from both July and August. HighTechLending declined marginally from 1.4% to 1.0%, and Open Mortgage fell from 0.7% to 0.3%.

For these brands, the movements are small enough that the absolute counts carry the meaning. All Reverse Mortgage moved from 44 valid recommendations in July to 36 in September, while Open Mortgage fell from 2 to 1.

Highest-priority diagnostic: For All Reverse Mortgage, is the decline in coverage paired with a shift in which prompts recommend the brand, or a reduction in mention frequency across the board?

Buyer-Intent Interpretation

In September 2026, all 313 qualified observations fell into the Brand Recommendation cluster. The benchmark therefore captures which brands AI systems recommend for reverse mortgage queries, but it cannot yet answer commercial questions about pricing, value, or head-to-head comparison. The pricing analysis responses numbered 4 observation counts and comparison analysis 23, but these did not qualify as separate buyer-intent clusters. The public benchmark's ability to answer price and comparison questions remains limited by this distribution.

Brand Opportunity Summary

The benchmark identifies where attention is warranted; a company-level analysis is needed to explain why.

Evidence Behind the Benchmark

The aggregate metrics are built from prompt-level observations (query, surface, recommendation outcome, rank, sentiment, and citations where exposed). Company-level analysis can go deeper into prompt, competitor, surface, and evidence patterns. Source presence is not automatically treated as proof of causation.

About This Benchmark

This report is part of the LLM Authority Index AI Market Discovery research program.

• AI Industry Market Discovery Methodology
• AI Industry Market Discovery Metrics
• AI Industry Market Discovery Standards

Report-Specific Interpretation Notes

• Small-count movements: Liberty Reverse Mortgage, HighTechLending, and Open Mortgage have small valid recommendation counts; their percentage movements should be read with the absolute counts in mind.
• Qualified denominator: All brand-level percentages are calculated within the 313 qualified observations for September, not the 771 raw prompt-surface observations collected.
• Directional analysis: Month-over-month movement identifies changes worth investigating; it does not by itself establish the cause of those changes.

Next Step

The Public Benchmark Shows Where a Brand Is Winning or Losing. A Company-Level Audit Shows Why.

Beneath the aggregate percentage sit the questions that matter: which high-intent prompts are won, which competitor appears in a brand's place when it loses, what attributes AI systems associate with each option, and which external sources shape those answers. The continuing decline for Fairway Independent Mortgage, the rank-one strength of Finance of America Reverse, or the recovery of Guild Mortgage each has a prompt-level explanation that the category benchmark does not expose.

A company-specific AI visibility audit maps those prompt, surface, competitor, ranking, sentiment, and evidence-source patterns into a prioritized visibility strategy.

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