There’s no question that artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the retail automotive industry by promising to streamline operations and elevate the digital customer experience. However, as dealers eagerly embrace these tools, many fall into the trap of assuming that an AI-generated answer is inherently accurate.
On the latest episode of Inside Automotive, Robert DeGeorge, Director of Product Consulting for Dealer.com and VinSolutions, joins us to break down where AI creates real value for dealership websites, why its recommendations can sound deceptively convincing, and how dealers can build a smarter, data-first strategy.
One of the biggest misconceptions in the market today, DeGeorge asserts, is that large language models can directly measure website performance. According to DeGeorge, AI excels at summarizing text, interpreting ideas, and explaining complex topics, but it was never designed to replace established tracking tools.
Additionally, he emphasized that AI results rely on high-quality data, a point that echoes the well-known saying “garbage in, garbage out.” He warns that if dealers use an AI model with poor or inaccurate data, they could make decisions based on flawed or incomplete information. This issue becomes even more complicated because AI tools write with remarkable authority, he says.
DeGeorge also alludes that AI can produce highly convincing responses without needing access to a dealer’s real website traffic, conversion rates, crawl data, or overall performance metrics. Since language models rely on probabilities instead of verified facts, their suggestions may sound fully confident even when they aren’t.
Verifying AI output
To protect their marketing dollars and brand strategy, DeGeorge says that dealers must approach AI-generated advice with healthy skepticism. He also recommends treating every AI recommendation as an unverified claim until internal teams can cross-reference it with primary data sources.
However, before making any changes to budgets, vendor relationships, or website merchandising based on an AI prompt, dealers should validate those insights against trusted platforms:
- Google analytics: To verify actual site traffic, user flows, and engagement levels.
- CRM data: To confirm lead routing, customer history, and real sales conversions.
- Call tracking reporting: To measure phone lead volume and customer contact quality.
- Website provider analytics: To check technical crawl health, page load speeds, and on-site conversions.
However, DeGeorge emphasizes that if an AI recommendation could impact marketing budgets or website structures, human experts must review and verify the data beforehand. He also notes that AI should not be used as a standalone reporting tool, but it remains highly valuable when provided with appropriate context.
"AI is really the most effective when dealers provide specific content or specific data for it to review.”
According to DeGeorge, AI offers the greatest return on investment when dealers provide precise and accurate data for analysis. He also believes that dealership teams can leverage AI to find content gaps on vehicle display pages, compare website messaging with local competitors, and improve call-to-action text for better clarity. Since language is AI’s main strength, it’s particularly effective at refining customer-facing content and easing the online shopping experience.
Ultimately, driving digital growth is not a choice between AI and traditional analytics. The real winning formula, DeGeorge confirmed, is pairing trusted measurement tools with AI-powered interpretation. By letting analytics handle the facts and using AI to help explain and act on those numbers, dealers can make faster, smarter decisions that drive real bottom-line results.
