An article in this weekend’s New York Times Magazine explored AI chatbot-to-chatbot communications.
It’s hard to find anyone who isn’t at a minimum leveraging their AI bot to draft and proofread emails before they go out. We are increasingly turning to AI for financial advice, medical diagnoses and even companionship.
The NYT article discusses the use of AI in job searches; how job seekers use AI chatbots to churn out resumes and cover letters, while employers use AI to sift through an overwhelming number of applications; high school students who ask their AI chatbot to write essays and teachers who then use AI to grade them; and people who send their AI agent to argue with a company’s AI customer service system.
Customer support may become two bots locked in a recursive loop, sure to become more common as we all grow to trust our AI bot to do our bidding.
What are the implications for the future of car buying?
In the near future, car buyers may turn to their trusted bot to reach out to ten different dealerships to confirm that their preferred vehicle is in stock and to initiate price negotiations. From there, it isn’t too much of a stretch to think that many consumers will ask the bot to negotiate the entire deal: the valuation of the trade, negotiation of price, submitting a credit application, getting a monthly payment, and even negotiating the F&I products. The consumer will sit back and watch their bot do their work for them.
But if that future is in the cards, dealers will soon be overwhelmed by the influx of calls, emails, and texts from these tireless AI agents. The dealer will have no choice but to stand up their own agent to handle their side of negotiations.
If this all plays out, what about the employees at the dealership?
Humans seem hardwired to be pessimists; it’s always been easier to be a doomsdayer and resist new transformational technologies. But history shows disruptive technologies do the opposite of destroying jobs; they automate tasks and shift labor, ultimately increasing total employment.
We should be optimistic about the future but start planning now to anticipate how this change comes to automotive. We’re entering a new world, where the role of both buyer and seller will evolve, not only aided by, but potentially replaced by outsourcing the negotiation to AI-powered bots.
All of this does beg the question: what if the pendulum swings so far towards automation that consumers end up craving human contact during the buying process? Will the dealership of the future be able to differentiate (or even charge a premium) to allow the customer to sit down across the table from a real human being?
Our industry has an interesting future ahead.
