AI agents are coming to dealerships—here’s what that means

Artificial intelligence (AI) isn’t new. In fact—it’s been leveraged by industries for decades. But given the never-ending media coverage of DeepSeek’s rise in the global AI race or the U.S. launching Stargate, a $500 billion private sector deal to scale AI infrastructure, it’s clear the stakes are getting higher and auto dealers are catching on.

Driving the news: While generative AI (a type of AI that can create new content and ideas, like text, images, and videos) has dominated the conversation in recent years—the next frontier is already here: AI agents.

Wait, what? AI agents are intelligent systems that operate with autonomy—setting goals, making decisions, and executing tasks without human intervention. For dealers—this includes things like booking appointments, sending updates and analyzing calls—without requiring human supervision. And on top of processing information—they can adapt to complex environments in real time and take action to achieve objectives. 

Okay, so AI agents is just a fancy term for chatbots?

No, not really.

You see— most chatbots stick to scripted workflows that require manual setup, while AI agents leverage extensive data, large language models (LLMs), and natural language processing (NLP) to understand, respond, and take action. Basically—chatbots regurgitate predefined answers—AI agents “think” beyond traditional AI and solve problems by taking action.

And it’s been a game-changer for companies like Microsoft, Google, and NVIDIA.

CDG News spoke with Tasso Roumeliotis, Founder and CEO of Numa, which unveiled its AI agent platform for dealerships at NADA a few weeks ago.

Yes, but car dealers don’t exactly have a reputation for staying up-to-date on the latest and greatest technology. But the tides may be changing. 

The reason: Agentic AI technology is exploding in the retailing sector.  

By the numbers: 

• By 2028, Gartner predicts that 33% of enterprise software applications will integrate agentic AI—up from less than 1% in 2024.

• Forrester Research projects that within five years, 90% of retail businesses expect agentic AI to give them a meaningful competitive advantage.

• Per Deloitte—companies leveraging AI for decision-making have boosted operational efficiency by 20%.

And it makes sense: As dealership profitability wanes from historic pandemic-era highs—operators are exploring new ways to maximize efficiency. Roumeliotis explained that essentially AI agents handle lower-level tasks for dealership employees, freeing them up to focus more deeply on what really matters—like customers.

Beyond the dealership customer experience, dealers themselves are missing up to $1.17M in untapped service revenue every year.

Between the lines: Many dealers are not yet sold on AI, (reasonably) fearing it could disrupt their current processes or frustrate consumers unnecessarily. 

• But AI agents are built differently. They can logically deduce when to escalate complex or sensitive issues—what Numa calls “heat cases”—to a human team member when needed.

• AI agents should enhance what employees do, not replace them, Roumeliotis added. 

Big picture: This could be a turning point in AI adoption. For the first time, machines won’t just assist—they’ll actively participate in corporate decision-making as more companies implement the tech. While the full impact of agentic AI is still unfolding, one thing is clear: more businesses—including dealerships—are getting on board.

EXCLUSIVE: Learn more about AI agents with Numa’s Guide to AI Agents for Dealerships. CDG readers are getting first access today and we encourage you to dig in.

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