Recently, Airbnb announced that around one third of its customer support interactions in the United States and Canada are now handled by AI. Not as a pilot. Not as a side experiment. But as a structural service layer. This is not simply a technology story. It is an operational one. When a global platform begins […]
Why routing calls is not the future Last week, we called two dealerships shortly after closing time. The first message was simple: “We are closed.” The line disconnected. The second dealership used AI. It sounded modern. Confident. Efficient. Until it transferred the call to a closed department. Another recorded message followed: “This department is closed. […]
Automotive retail talks a lot about efficiency. But very rarely do we pause and ask a simple question: What does a service advisor actually do all day? On paper, the role seems straightforward: advise customers, manage workshop bookings, ensure smooth communication between customer and technician. In reality, it is one of the most complex operational […]
A CEO Perspective on Automotive Retail in 2026 and Beyond Margins are under pressure. Cashflow is tighter than it has been in years. The transition to electric vehicles is reshaping aftersales economics. Labour costs continue to rise. Cybersecurity risks are no longer theoretical. For many dealer groups, this is not a temporary phase. It is […]
Let’s start with a reasonable assumption. By 2040, most new cars on European roads will be electric. Not as a bold prediction, but as a logical outcome of regulation, manufacturer strategies and technological development. Many OEMs are already working towards fully electric line-ups well before that date, and from 2035 onwards the sale of new […]
Back from NADA, one thing is impossible to ignore. AI is everywhere. Almost every stand talks about it. Almost every solution is presented as “AI-powered”. Chat. Voice. Automation. Analytics. Assistants. Agents. Walking through the halls, it quickly becomes overwhelming. Not because there is a lack of innovation — quite the opposite — but because for […]
why premium dealers’ profit model is being squeezed from all sides — and why AI is no longer optional A BMW dealer visited us recently and described something many dealer groups can feel, but rarely put into words so clearly: we’re living in The Perfect Storm. Not because of one single issue. But because three […]
When dealerships introduce WhatsApp with AI, the first surprise is rarely technical. It’s behavioural. Customers don’t write one clear message. They send five short ones. They pause. They continue later. They assume the conversation remembers context — because humans do. Messaging feels familiar. Operating it at scale is not. Messaging is not just another channel […]
January usually starts with plans. New targets, new forecasts, new intentions. Yet for many dealerships, the year didn’t start with more calm. It started with full diaries, overflowing inboxes and teams that felt behind before the first week was over. Nothing dramatic happened. No sudden drop in demand. No unexpected crisis. And that is exactly […]
If you’ve been researching ways to automate customer communication, you’ve probably come across the term chatbot. Maybe you’ve even tried one. Most dealerships have — and most were disappointed. So when someone tells you that AI can now handle your customer conversations, it’s only natural to think: “Isn’t that just another chatbot?” It’s not. And […]