CarJiffy is preparing dealers for the shift from AI-powered shopping to AI buying. Since consumers already use AI to shop for vehicles, compare models, evaluate payments, and narrow inventory with tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude before they ever contact a dealer, the next shift moves beyond research. AI is starting to help consumers complete the purchase itself, and dealers who cannot support that transaction risk losing buyers to whoever can.
Joining us on this episode of Inside Automotive is Gary Ng-Wai, Chief Revenue Officer at CarJiffy, to break down how the company can turn your dealership into a 24/7 selling platform for both human buyers and AI agents.
Shopping is not buying
There’s a big difference between AI that helps consumers research their next car and AI that helps them act, Ng-Wai said. Shopping tools compare models and estimate payments while buying tools go much further. He believes that these tools can help a consumer find the right vehicle, structure a deal, evaluate a trade, move through financing and decide where the transaction happens.
"The future is AI plus the dealership if the dealer has the infrastructure to support it."
As technology has advanced, people’s methods of shopping and paying for travel, banking, and food delivery have changed significantly. According to Ng-Wai, the automotive retail industry has fallen behind because of its complexity, which encompasses numerous components, including trade valuations, credit approvals, F&I, and delivery logistics. But an AI assistant helping a buyer choose where to purchase will favor whichever dealer removes the most friction. Ng-Wai believes that a site with inventory but no way to transact loses out to one that lets a buyer handle payment, trade, and financing in a single sitting.
The midnight test
Ng-Wai shared an example of how CarJiffy can fully complete a sale, even in the middle of the night, noting that an AI agent searches dealer websites at midnight for a black 2024 Toyota Highlander. The agent rules out sites that only display inventory, then rules out a lead form and a callback line. Eventually, it settles on the one site built to finish a deal end to end, from valuing the trade to signing paperwork and booking pickup. In this example, the dealer wakes up to a completed sale rather than a lead.
Additionally, Ng-Wai stated that convenience, rather than price or proximity, determines the outcome. While most dealer websites only generate a lead, CarJiffy is designed to guide that lead all the way through signing, financing, and depositing to complete the transaction. By keeping that transaction on the dealer’s own website matters as much as offering it at all. He said that whoever owns the transaction owns the customer data, the brand experience and the handoff to F&I, delivery and service.
However, if AI-assisted buying routes through third-party marketplaces instead, Ng-Wai said that dealers risk becoming fulfillment points rather than the business that owns the customer relationship.
AI will replace friction, not people
According to Ng-Wai, dealers worried that AI will sideline their sales teams are asking the wrong question. He argues that AI will not replace trust, relationships or the confidence a buyer gets from a strong salesperson or F&I manager, but it will replace slow handoffs, repeated questions and unnecessary waiting.
Ng-Wai cited Blockbuster, Kodak, and the taxi industry as cautionary examples. Each saw disruption coming but still moved too slowly to adapt once consumer behavior shifted. He stated that dealers do not have to give up what currently functions well or overhaul their teams. Instead, they require the right infrastructure to stay competitive, especially as buyers increasingly expect to initiate a purchase online, continue in-store, or complete it after hours.
CarJiffy’s 60-day offer, no strings attached
CarJiffy turns a dealer’s existing website into a 24/7 sales channel, letting buyers structure payments, value trades, apply for credit, select F&I products, sign electronically, leave a deposit and schedule delivery. The platform works alongside a dealer’s current DMS and CRM rather than requiring a replacement, and Ng-Wai said it remains the only platform that carries a deal through to a signed bill of sale with a deposit.
Dealers who adopt the platform have also seen F&I reserves and per-vehicle revenue increase, Ng-Wai said, because buyers move through the process without the pressure of an in-person F&I presentation. Ng-Wai is offering dealers a 60-day trial of the platform at no cost and with no long-term commitment. Interested dealers can contact Gary Ng-Wai at CarJiffy by calling (647) 631-4488 or emailing gngwai@carjiffy.com
