“A fully automated transaction is no longer theoretical — that is something that is going to happen soon,” Baker said. “We think that 80% automation is achievable this year.”
The timeline represents a significant compression of earlier forecasts.
When Qualia launched the original Clear system in September 2025, the company predicted 80% automation would arrive within 24 months.
“I thought this was about a two-year process to basically transform our industry,” Baker said. “And now, six months later, I think inside of this calendar year, there’s going to be tremendous change in how our industry works and how we deliver the services.”
That revised timeline reflects what Baker described as a fundamental underestimation of artificial intelligence’s (AI) capability by the broader public.
Research firm METR has found that the length of tasks AI can perform doubles roughly every four to seven months — which Baker said demands urgent attention from industry players.
“I generally think that people are massively under reacting to what is happening right now,” Baker said. “The level of breakthrough we’re talking about with what’s happened over the last few years in AI, and what’s going to happen this year, is similar to prior inventions like fire or language.
“I think AI is as significant as language and fire.”
Email processing transforms workflow
The new Advanced Email Processing feature targets what Qualia identified as the industry’s largest time sink.
Title professionals typically manage more than 100 emails per transaction, often working with two screens open — email and Qualia side by side, Baker said.
“What Clear is able to do is sit in your email, see the email and then put in front of you all of the actions that need to happen,” Baker said. “You can just look down the list of recommended actions and hit approve, and those actions actually just happen.”
The system can automatically respond to emails, draft proactive messages and organize inboxes by topic and urgency.
When documents arrive via email — invoices, HOA estoppels, closing date changes — Qualia Clear can ingest the data, present it for human review and update the file automatically.
Early data shows customers using draft replies respond to emails three times faster.
“That is a profound change in how the work gets done,” Baker said. “All of a sudden, you’re sitting there approving things that Clear is putting in front of you, rather than having to go through and enter all the data from those documents.”
Specialized agents, curative work
Qualia Clear 2.0 introduces Specialized Agents focused on curative workflows — complex, multi-step processes required to clear title exceptions and move files to closing.
New agents handle property tax verification, entity validation, mortgage payoffs and HOA estoppels.
The property tax agent scans county websites for tax records and updates file data automatically, while the entity verification agent validates the good standing of LLCs and other entities.
Mortgage payoff and HOA agents leverage the Qualia Marketplace to secure statements and estoppel letters.
“You can gather them automatically through specialized agents that make phone calls to go out in the world to collect the information, put it in front of you and help you say, ‘OK, this is a payoff — this is now what I need to do based on that information,’” Baker said. “It’s an incredible time saver.”
Phone agents can make automated calls to gather information on behalf of teams and web agents navigate websites to capture data essential for closings.
All actions maintain a comprehensive audit trail, with humans remaining in the loop as reviewers, according to Qualia.
Proactive QA and liability
The update also includes Proactive Quality Assurance Monitoring, which continuously scans files for errors, inconsistencies and potential issues before they reach closing.
“People make mistakes — everybody makes mistakes,” Baker said. “To have a second set of eyes reviewing every single document that you’re producing before it goes to the closing table to make sure it’s correct is a huge deal. And then after they sign, with reviewing and making sure the notary didn’t miss any signatures — it’s a tremendous efficiency gain.”
On questions of liability as automation advances, Baker said the structure is likely to remain similar to current industry norms.
“The way to think about an agentic system is fundamentally as a system that’s helping you do your job, that is an assistant for you, that makes it easier to do what you’re already doing,” he said. “These have been norms that have evolved over a long period of time for good reason, and I think that you end up with a similar structure.”
Adoption hurdles and competition
Baker acknowledged that adoption of total or mostly automated closings may not be uniform across the industry, with some firms moving faster than others.
But he framed the moment as a competitive inflection point.
“The vast majority of businesses are going to compete for quality of service,” Baker said. “What’s going to happen is an all-out battle lifting the quality of service, and that ultimately benefits the consumer and the homebuyer.”
Zillow data has shown that 50% of homebuyers cry during the purchase process — a statistic Baker said reflects unnecessary complication that AI can help eliminate.
“It is an inherently emotional and difficult and important process — the single largest transaction for most people,” he said. “It’s not as understandable and simple as it could be. The goal of our industry really needs to be to lift that service level massively.
“The next 12 months are actually going to see true gains for the homebuyer, in a way which has been elusive for years.”
On the competitive front, Baker said independent agents using Qualia currently have technology advantages over most larger incumbents — but warned that window is shrinking.
“The competitive window is closing in some way right now,” Baker said. “Firms basically need to be on the cutting-edge with AI tools to be competitive going forward. That is the case.”
New capabilities in Qualia Clear 2.0 are available now and will continue rolling out through the second quarter.
