It is probably 'Robo-Approval' of mortgages where you put in your salary and work status (full time/part time/contract/temp, etc.) and the computer algorithm spits out a dollar figure or advises you to contact one of their representatives if your situation isn't 'vanilla-enough' to qualify. 

Aside from putting the mortgage approval employees out of work, it isn't necessarily bad if they use criteria that only pre-approve you for a reasonable amount of money. In the olden days, banks didn't want more that 1/3 of your take-home pay devoted to your mortgage payment. So your salary and current interest rate dictated how much you could borrow. 

They seem to have a different standard these days.