While many find this frustrating, most are using AI to reply back to the customer – so how long before customers’ and dealers’ AI agents negotiate between themselves? But, with consumers already using AI to prepare enquiries and dealers deploying AI to respond to them, the direction of travel is clear. Poor reviews on Google or Trustpilot could make a dealership less likely to feature prominently in AI-generated recommendations of car dealerships, he warned. Impel said its research has found some 40% of calls to a typical car dealership service department go unanswered and that’s a major opportunity for AI. Part two, featuring car dealers discussing how they are using AI in their own businesses, will be published later this week.