Most auto dealers are failing to harness AI's potential—survey

Artificial intelligence (AI) might be all the buzz in the industry right now, but a lot of auto dealers are not sure how to embrace it—potentially missing an opportunity to improve various facets of their operations.

First things first: A recent survey of 2,500 U.S. dealers by the dealership management company, Lotlinx, reveals that there is a huge gap between the benefits of artificial intelligence and how it is used in the business to improve a dealer’s overall operations.

• 78% of surveyed automotive dealerships indicated they don’t know how to use AI-generated predictive data.

• Only 5% of the dealers reported leveraging AI and predictive data for predictive maintenance in service departments.

• A mere 5% of dealers indicated using the technology for inventory management and pricing optimization.  

Between the lines: Even when AI is used by dealerships, many of them continue to also use “outdated practices” and/or face several challenges when using the tech.    

• Of the 21.36% of dealerships that use AI for customer relationship management (CRM) and lead scoring, most do not use the tools to improve customer management or operational efficiency. 

• Dealers’ ability to adopt to barriers—with 19% citing their ability to integrate into existing systems as their primary challenge to embracing predictive analytics. 

• 18% of those surveyed indicated that staff training and adoption was a major barrier to using the tech, with another 21% citing data quality or accuracy issues as the biggest challenge with predictive analytics.  

Why it matters: Nearly 80% of dealers plan to invest in AI by 2025. But those investments could pose a higher risk than return if not allocated towards the right tech or used to improve key facets of a particular store’s operations, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. The growing number of AI-based automotive offerings entering the market could make it more challenging to assess those risks while staying ahead of the curve.  

Become an automotive insider in just 5 minutes.

Get the weekly email that delivers transparent insights into the car market.

Join 90,000+ others now, it's free:

Experian Automotive discovered that 61% of dealer files have data issues, including outdated vehicle ownership, incorrect names and addresses, or wrong email addresses.

Life changes, such as new jobs, homes, or children, can make it challenging to keep up with your customers.

The solution? Ensure your data is accurate! Experian Automotive's first-party data management solution helps clean, verify, and enrich customer data, maximizing your marketing efforts.

By maintaining accurate data, you can better connect with your customers and stay ahead in the competitive automotive market.

Don't let data hygiene issues hold you back—take the first step towards better customer engagement with Experian Automotive's comprehensive first-party data management solutions!