As technology evolves, so do challenges. For dealers trying to make sense of it all, having the right strategy in place is just as important as the technology itself. Joining us on the latest episode of Driving Solutions is David Steinberg, CEO and Founder of Foureyes, a company aiding dealers in turning data into action.
While AI is generating many opportunities for dealers, it’s also making things messier regarding customer communication and consent.
Consent management
The average dealer, Steinberg confirms, has over 9 vendors speaking with consumers, but those communications aren’t being centrally captured. That lack of centralization is where things get legally dangerous.
When a customer says “stop,” that signal has to travel through every active vendor, and right now, it often doesn’t. Steinberg points to dealers currently facing lawsuits because a customer had to opt out nine separate times, with no single system ensuring the message was received across the board.
Rather than limiting vendor usage, Steinberg urges dealers to focus on coordination. He said the industry must move toward systems that allow tools to work together while maintaining clear oversight of customer interactions.
The infrastructure gap
The problem, he added, is rooted in a long-standing gap in automotive data infrastructure. Unlike other industries, the automotive industry has struggled to develop systems that enable seamless data movement across platforms. Legal and structural barriers have historically restricted access, leaving dealerships with siloed data environments.
As AI adoption increases, those weaknesses are becoming more visible.
“It’s not that dealerships are trying to rip you off [or create a bad experience]…It’s a data problem.”
Steinberg compared the issue to similar challenges in healthcare, where poor data integration leads to inefficiencies and customer frustration. He also pushed back against the industry’s heavy focus on marketing, arguing that sales process improvements offer greater opportunities for performance gains.
“There’s no such thing as a great dealer with a bad sales process,” Steinberg said.
He explains that limited data access has historically pushed vendors toward marketing solutions, where integration requirements are lower. However, improved data connectivity now allows dealers to focus on identifying breakdowns in their sales funnel and improving close rates.
More data isn’t enough
Additionally, Steinberg cautions that simply collecting more data will not solve the problem. Instead, dealers must establish clear controls over how data is used, particularly when deploying AI.
He emphasizes the importance of “chain of custody,” or understanding where data originates and how it flows through systems. Without those controls, AI tools risk surfacing irrelevant or sensitive information in customer interactions. Data ownership, he adds, must also evolve beyond basic access. Dealers need real-time connectivity to fully leverage their data. Delays in data delivery can significantly reduce its value, particularly in time-sensitive moments such as financing decisions.
Many dealer groups, he notes, remain stuck in what he calls “collect and connect hell,” where they focus on gathering and integrating data but fail to activate it. To unlock value, dealerships must move beyond infrastructure challenges and begin using data to drive decision-making and customer engagement.
Improved connectivity also opens the door to a broader range of technology solutions. Steinberg pointed out that many high-value tools outside the automotive industry remain underutilized due to integration barriers.
As the industry evolves, he said dealers must prioritize accessibility and connectivity as core components of their strategy. Modern data systems should allow real-time access, flexible querying, and seamless integration across platforms.
“Dealers have the opportunity to create something much more powerful than what existed before.”
