POLL How far do you think agentic commerce (within auto) goes in the next 5 years?

[CarsonWhite]

I was speaking with the Pre-Owned Sales Director of a ~30 rooftop group who told me about a shopper in their late 60s who walked into their Buick store and purchased a vehicle purely because “ChatGPT told them to.”

AI agent influence on both the buy and sell side of a transaction only seems to be accelerating.

I’m more interested in dealer/operator opinions than sharing my own. Curious what y’all believe agentic commerce looks like in retail automotive circa 2030.

 

[joe.pistell]

shopper in their late 60s who walked into their Buick store and purchased a vehicle purely because “ChatGPT told them to.”

Carson,
This is the tip of the ice berg. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted in an interview 1yr ago (below) that he was surprised by how deeply personal daily discussions are between younger users and AI.

From my daily walk arounds, I'm seeing people of all ages move past treating AI like a basic Google search and instead learning to have real conversations with it.

One of my pals is a retired guy whose daughter's dryer broke. ChatGPT walked him through the repair process step by step, and he fixed it himself for $30. He was beaming with pride and told everyone about it. Everyday experiences like that build a high level of consumer trust.

IMO, This 'mastery' over complex problems will compel people to fully rely on AI agents for complex transactions, like buying a Buick.

 

[Alex Snyder]

I am beginning to find that Perplexity is better at picking my purchases than I am. This requires a lot of back-and-forth in the research phase, but I am constantly amazed at how good it has been at pointing me toward niche resources to address my issue that I never would have thought of.

Recently, I was looking for a gravel bike and was hunting all over used sites like Facebook, PinkBike, etc., and it found me a brand-new one at a local store that was on major sale.

What was most amazing was that I told it the way I like to ride, the terrain, and the characteristics I prefer in a bike. When a used one hit the market I thought looked interesting, it would say, "That is going to feel more numb than what you're looking for" or "That's a good option for you because it is nimble and light." It was right!

Outside of the regular non-research purchases, in 2026, I have used Perplexity, and it has yet to steer me wrong.

I can absolutely see this being a great influence on car buying and servicing. Much of the work I have done on my off-road truck has been suggested by Perplexity, not by my mechanic. It has had a minor pull under braking and acceleration that my mechanic hasn't been able to figure out. Over multiple Perplexity sessions, we have made a number of adjustments and replaced a few parts to get the pull a lot more sorted. Not 100% fixed yet, but it is at a point where the truck is totally sellable to someone else without that being a big issue.


P.S. I turned this thread into a poll.

 

[AlexCaradonna]

For the sake of my sanity I hope the AI voice offerings make some big leaps if they are sticking around. For every positive experience I have there are a good 15 others that make me pull my hair out. SPEAK TO A REPRESENTATIVE!

I think we can sometimes end up in a bit of an echo chamber here as a bunch of nerds who happen to be in auto, where we want to just slap the cool new tech into the process. I recently surveyed my hockey team which ranges from firefighters to finance bros. Hearing them talk about how much suspicion they have entering a car dealership and how they try to leverage AI in the process was quite interesting.

If AI can find a middle ground of removing friction in the shopping experience while still allowing dealers to add the human element I feel this will not just help dealers BUT also help the perception of dealers. For most, perception is the reality and dealers aren't perceived in the highest regard.

My two cents (once again all it is worth) is I see a world where AI turns (everything) into a race to the bottom for dealers where the buyer's AI agent is negotiating with a dealers AI agent.

Then again I am starting to lose some hair from this tin foil hat I have been wearing...