Technology is moving at an unprecedented pace and it’s changing the way industries operate, including the automotive industry. What was once thought of as impossible, AI (Artificial Intelligence) is becoming increasingly popular, and will only continue to grow until its a staple in most industries. While many businesses are already using AI as a customer service tool, others are still on the fence about taking the leap into the world of AI. For automotive specifically, it’s worth considering how AI can make dealerships more effective. In this article, we’re going to predict how we think AI will change dealerships' websites in the future.
AI is an incredibly smart and complex technology that learns through interactions. AI relies on data collection from the interactions it has and becomes more and more efficient in dealing with these interactions. Much like a human, the more practice it has at its job, the better it gets. So for an AI chatbot for example, as the AI deals with customer interactions and repeated questions, it will become better at managing these interactions and answering questions more efficiently. The more times an AI chatbot gets asked the same question, the more refined the answer will get.
Take a minute and think about some of the questions you get at your dealership every single day. You’ve probably answered them dozens of times throughout the course of your career and it can get tedious needing to give the same answer day after day. This is why the “Frequently Asked Questions” section was introduced on most businesses' websites so you don’t need to have someone answer for you, instead the answer is on your website for anyone to read. It should be noted that many customers don’t think to look at the FAQ page on a website and would rather call, email or ask their question in person which can sometimes lead to a frustrated answer from a dealer employee. While it’s not acceptable or appropriate for any one of your team members to answer with a frustrated tone, it does happen and it will not reflect well on your dealership. The beauty of AI is that it will never get frustrated when it has been asked the same question 10 times in a single day. In fact, it will only become more effective in answering the question and helping your customers.
At most dealerships, customers will only be able to get their questions answered by a customer service member during their open hours. With an AI chatbot, regardless of when the customer needs the answer to a question, the chatbot will be able to answer. As we mentioned in the earlier points, the AI chatbot will have all the information at its disposal and most likely have refined many of its answers through repeated questions. This is an extremely powerful tool as it will allow customers to get the answers they want, on their schedule without the hassle of trying to get ahold of someone. On top of helping out your customers, that chatbot serves as a great first point of contact for the dealership. So you could potentially be generating leads at all hours of the day without actually needing a human to initiate or respond to the customer.
With how quickly AI has become an effective tool for all types of industries, it should be of no surprise that within this decade, everyone will be using AI in some form. Currently, we’re seeing a big shift in consumer trust while using bots and as AI continues to evolve that trust will as well. The bottom line is that AI will be a part of most dealer's websites in the next decade so you may want to consider incorporating it soon so you can be ahead of the curve.
It learns from interactions and data it collects during conversations. As it handles more of the same questions, it gets better at answering them and responding faster with more consistent replies.
AI can handle common questions that usually end up in a dealership FAQ, like store hours, basic service questions, and general vehicle or process questions. It can also serve as the first point of contact and route shoppers to the next step.
Most dealerships only answer questions during business hours. AI chat can respond any time, which helps shoppers who research at night or on weekends, and it can capture leads when staff is offline.
The article positions AI as a support tool, not a full replacement. It handles repeat questions and first contact so staff can focus on higher value conversations and in store help.
The article’s stance is that AI will be common within the next decade. Adding it sooner helps you build experience, improve responses over time, and avoid playing catch up later.
