The AI Brain that Listens, Learns, and Turns Leads into Lifelong Customers
Four key takeaways from The David Spisak Show with Devin Daly, Impel CEO and Co-Founder
The idea of an AI Operating System that’s unique to each dealership is becoming the new standard for the automotive industry, offering a unified customer experience and transforming processes across every department.
Recently on The David Spisak Show, Impel CEO and Co-Founder Devin Daly shared his insights on the emergence of AI as the central hub of modern automotive retail. Advanced AI that’s purpose-built for automotive can predict, adapt, and evolve to meet customer needs better than ever before while unifying dealership systems. Here are the key takeaways from their discussion and thoughts on how forward-thinking dealerships can adopt these innovations to thrive in the ever-competitive automotive landscape.
What is an AI Operating System?
An AI Operating System is more than just another addition to the dealer tech stack. It’s the central nervous system of all dealership activity, built to unify the customer experience (and the dealer tech stack) by seamlessly connecting every customer touchpoint—from the first lead to the next vehicle purchase.
Picture AI as the core of your dealership operations. It listens, learns, and responds to your customers, taking over repetitive tasks while freeing your employees to focus on high value activities. Whether assisting customers during vehicle research, offering trade-in assistance, or sending personalized maintenance alerts, the AI Operating System acts as the trusted hub that coordinates the entire dealership experience.
Spisak and Daly explored how an AI Operating System revolutionizes the automotive industry, becoming the “brain” of the dealership.
1. The AI Operating System unifies the customer experience
One of the biggest hurdles for many dealerships is the fragmented experience customers receive. A disconnected ecosystem leads to missed opportunities, generic follow-ups, duplicate or conflicting communications, and lost loyalty.
An AI Operating System blends agentic capabilities that seamlessly engage your customers, and co-pilot features that boost your team’s performance. It ensures you deliver an exceptional customer experience—anytime, day or night, whether your staff is on duty or not. It collects customer data throughout their entire buying and ownership journeys, enabling it to:
- Engage customers with personalized guidance while they shop
- Recommend the right vehicle based on their history and preferences
- Provide targeted service reminders aligned with their driving habits and VIN maintenance schedule
This next-level approach creates an enduring presence for your dealership—not just a sporadic connection during purchases or occasional email blasts. Customers build a consistent, meaningful relationship with your business, ensuring they come to you, not a competitor, when the next need arises.
Imagine your AI Agent being stored as a contact in your customer’s phone, a trusted assistant always ready to respond at any point of their ownership experience. An AI Operating System doesn’t just unify systems; it creates a customer experience that feels personal, proactive, and seamless.
2. AI customized for your dealership. It’s here.
At the heart of this technology is Impel’s new, groundbreaking Agent Knowledge Bank, powered by Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) technology.
This system allows dealerships to feed dealership-specific data to the AI, creating a customized central knowledge hub. It’s as if you’re training your smartest, most eager employee who never forgets anything and can change talk tracks on a dime. And of course, they can handle an infinite number of inquiries without taking a break.
For example, your AI system can absorb data about:
- Dealership policies and procedures
- Promotional offers
- Service offerings
- Guidance for responses based on seasonal or market-specific conditions
Think of Agent Knowledge Bank as your dealership’s “source of truth.” Based on your tailoring and the latest updates, it instantly informs customer interactions across all channels, from chat to email to service desk communications.
Beyond improving response speed and accuracy, this tailored AI positions your dealership as the go-to for a VIP customer experience. Whether answering a quick service query or building a follow-up based on customer preferences, this personal touch sets modern dealerships apart, and brings agentic capabilities to the next level.
3. Activating data to predict and delight
The most game-changing aspect of an AI Operating System? Its unmatched ability to process and activate massive data sets. With Impel, this isn’t just theoretical. In the podcast, Devin revisits the reasoning behind the company’s decision to acquire Outsell in June 2024. The acquisition provided access to more than 20 years of valuable consumer data and unmatched AI-driven marketing across the customer lifecycle. Specifically, Impel AI taps into an expansive data reservoir that’s been built over decades, fueled by insights from 71 million American households.
What does this mean for your dealership?
- Deeper Insights: Based on real-time behavioral signals, the AI Agent can identify major customer milestones, such as growing families needing larger vehicles or clients relocating to new areas.
- Real-Time Responses: It captures zero-party data – feedback directly from customers – like mentions of a new job or purchase plans, tailoring follow-up and future engagement accordingly.
- Luxury-Level Personalization: This isn’t generic marketing automation. It’s individualized customer interactions akin to having a high-end retail associate dedicated to their needs.
Instead of focusing solely on past behavior, it constantly looks forward, offering predictive insights that keep your dealership ahead of customer expectations.
For instance, think of the value in hearing, “Congratulations on your third child! As your family continues to grow, you may be considering larger vehicles. We have a variety of top-rated three-row SUVs…” before the customer even starts looking elsewhere.
4. Auto professionals must master this shift
The question many dealers are asking isn’t if AI is here to stay, but rather, how will an AI-driven dealership affect my employees? Devin addressed this concern head-on, explaining that AI isn’t about replacing people. Instead, it’s a way to release employees from tedious, repetitive tasks so they can focus on what truly matters. While answering questions about vehicle features, providing CarFax reports, and coordinating calendars are downright crucial to bringing customers into the showroom, it’s mundane work. AI can handle it all. In fact, Devin cited a direct correlation to heightened employee satisfaction when dealerships adopt AI – a trend managers shouldn’t take lightly, given 69% of automotive hiring managers facing challenges filling skilled positions.
Impel standardizes Automotive AI training
Impel has partnered with RockED to create an Automotive AI certification designed to empower dealership staff. This standardized training equips employees with the skills to work seamlessly alongside AI. Recruitment and retention have long been challenges in the industry, made even more difficult when specific experience with certain tools or software is required. With access to a universal AI certification and a focus on human-AI collaboration, dealerships can train and upskill any employee, eliminating the need to search for candidates with specialized technology skills. Instead, dealers can focus on hiring individuals based on qualities like emotional intelligence, cultural fit, teamwork, and critical thinking.
By giving employees tools to work smarter—not harder—AI improves job satisfaction while delivering improved results across the board. It’s about people AND technology coming together to create better customer experiences.
The true power of AI for dealerships lies in amplifying human connections. Each team member, from sales to service, is empowered to focus on meaningful interactions and creating truly personalized, white-glove experiences that foster customer loyalty. AI handles the rest.
With fragmented systems, dealerships can only manage so much. With a unified AI Operating System, auto retailers can unlock new levels of customer satisfaction, personalization, efficiency, and productivity that set them apart in a fiercely competitive market.
Start building your AI Operating System today
AI isn’t just a trend; it’s the new foundation for success in automotive retail. It’s time to align your dealership with the technologies that will define the next era of customer experiences.
Schedule your demo with Impel today and see firsthand how conversational AI can unify your systems, boost conversions, and foster lifelong customer loyalty.
Don’t adapt to change. Lead it.
