A study by digital marketing company Savvy Dealer reveals that most dealership websites fail at being AI-search compatible.
The details: The study (based on a test of 100 dealer sites across multiple OEMs, regions, and website providers) found that when customers ask ChatGPT for dealer recommendations, 84 of the 100 dealer sites (84%) had a failing score below 60 (a D grade) on a 0–100 scale.
34 out of 100 was the average score among the dealer sites tested by Savvy Dealer.
Only 14 of 100 sites passed and earned a B grade, scoring 80 or more out of 100.
And store brand wasn’t a factor. Of 16 Toyota stores tested, scores ranged from 2 to 82.
Worth noting: Savvy Dealer’s testing method scanned websites for both AI access and structured data optimization, with up to 25 points allocated for blocking prevention, 56 for structured data, and 15 points for discoverability.
Why it matters: As more shoppers use AI tools to ask questions like: Where should I buy a car? or Who’s the best dealer near me? the stores AI can’t see or understand, simply won’t show up. And that means decreased visibility for dealers.
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Between the lines: The issue for most dealership websites boils down to a two-part problem: access and optimization.
Nearly half of the sites tested (48%) are actively telling ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude to go away (via robots.txt rules, Cloudflare settings, or HTTP-level blocks).
Even websites that allow AI access often lack the structured data (Schema.org, JSON-LD) that helps AI understand a dealer’s inventory, location, hours, and services.
The elephant in the room: Savvy Dealer’s findings highlight a major missed opportunity, especially as a recent Cox Automotive study shows 19% of all buyers and 25% of new-vehicle buyers are now using either AI websites (e.g., ChatGPT, Copilot) or AI-generated overviews (e.g., Google Overview).
What they’re saying: “It's about whether AI can understand your business once it gets in... Dealers are paying for websites that make them invisible to the future of search. Most don't even know it," the study reads.
Bottom line: Stores that audit their AI access settings, fix blocking issues, and invest in proper structured data will be the ones showing up when shoppers ask AI where to buy next.
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