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Article The High-Stakes Reality of AI Exposure: Why Rising Wages are a Dealer’s Best Signal Read More

By: Mark Hollmer

Key Takeaways

  • More than 40 AI-focused exhibitors will be at the 2026 NADA Show, a big jump from the 10 in 2025.
  • Vendors will present AI tools targeting specific dealership operations including sales and service.
  • Dealerships will be considering technology that drives cost savings and a return on investment.

As artificial intelligence has become increasingly sophisticated, its supporters have preached about its potential to transform businesses and lives. In 2026, technology experts say, the potential will move from hype to reality.

The 2026 NADA Show, Feb. 3-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, will give technology companies a chance to present their case. They’ll tell thousands of dealership attendees that their sophisticated AI tools and platforms can become a natural part of dealership operations.

More than 630 exhibitors have registered for the show as of December. Of that number, more than 40 identified themselves as focused on artificial intelligence. That’s up from just 10 in 2025, according to an NADA spokesperson.

Inga Maurer, a senior partner at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., said dealership attendees will likely see many more exhibitors who have AI in at least some of their products.

“Every booth is going to have a ‘dot.AI’ aspect to it,” she said. “For those players, it’s been a very significant investment to upskill and enhance their solutions and service offerings.”

Mo Zahabi, Cox Automotive’s assistant vice president of product consulting, said AI representation will be strong at the show, but without many new breakthroughs.

“I think you’re going to just see different variations because it’s almost like Baskin-Robbins’ 31 flavors — everybody has the same ice cream. It’s just flavored a little bit different,” Zahabi said. “You will see some more partnerships, different companies that are trying to group and pair to get to where other companies already are.”

AI in 2026 will target specific parts of the dealership

Expect two kinds of AI exhibitors at the NADA Show: Larger companies that enhance their existing technology with AI along with smaller startups solely focused on it, Maurer said.

Lead engagement, sales process intelligence and an increase in AI chatbots that engage shoppers in real time are likely, she said, along with marketing that relies on AI for lead scoring and routing engines that enhance predictability about customers who are ready to buy a car.

Another big focus will be on inventory, pricing and proactively predicting when a customer’s vehicle needs maintenance. While it has been tested at some dealerships, the technology will become more widespread in 2026, she said.

“We’re going to see next-level AI co-piloting and productivity [tools] for some of the service technicians,” Maurer said.

More AI agents and variations are on the way

AI agents combine generative AI with other technologies to create tools that can perform specific functions and act independently. They started to pop up in dealership back offices and on their websites in 2025, and more are likely coming at the NADA Show and through 2026, said Leigh Ann Conver, senior director of product marketing for dealership management system provider CDK Global.

“We’re starting at the cusp for more agentic AI to come out,” Conver said. “You [program] in the rules and it can do the work for you.”

Beyond more AI in sales and service and parts, Conver expects it to expand into the back office in accounting and finance and insurance, among other areas.

Zahabi said the show likely will feature some companies focused on AI orchestration engines for customer data platforms.

AI orchestration links technologies such as AI agents, data and workflow platforms to enhance decision-making. Customer data platforms contain customer information from past inquiries or transactions. A seamless combination will help dealerships better predict what a customer is most likely to buy, Zahabi said.

While these combinations reflect a greater maturity in AI offerings for dealerships, Zahabi said they represent more incremental advances rather than profound change.

“You’re going to see some more maturity in the offerings that are out there, that are more thought out and integrated into the features,” Zahabi said. “But again, I think you’re also going to see a lot of independent startups that go: ‘Well, that company did it, we think we can do it a little bit better,’ and they’re going to try to get into that market as well.”

Return on investment

Dealerships likely will be looking for AI at the NADA Show that drives cost savings and a return on investment, said Devin Daly, CEO of Impel, a retail technology company that produces AI-based customer life cycle management software for dealerships.

Daly said a heavier focus will be on the ROI.

Dealerships will be looking for vendors who have figured out how to best use AI for infrastructure and core operations, and not as an add-on to existing technology, he said.

To enhance those two elements, dealerships will search for technology tools that help them maximize their use of data so their AI installations work optimally, Daly said.

“They will realize the importance of having a clean, normalized data repository that sits alongside AI, which allows for … personalization, that conciergelike experience and really drives a lot more of the AI products that are being implemented,” he said.

Zahabi views data as a crucial tool that will help dealerships both increase their AI usage and maximize its benefit in 2026.

“Whoever has the best pool of data is going to have the best AI tools,” he said.

Will vendor pitches work?

AI-focused technology vendors will find their potential customers are at varying stages of adoption.

Ken Schnitzer, incoming chairman of the Mercedes-Benz Dealer Board, is chairman of Avondale Group, which operates a Mercedes store in Grapevine, Texas. He said the company actively uses AI, including managing client records and updates, and automating responses to clients through its business development center.

Others are more cautious.

Will Bonilla, chairman of the Infiniti National Dealer Advisory Board and manager of Sewell Infiniti of North Houston, Texas, said his dealership is “still in the boat of relationships above AI.” That means it hasn’t moved much yet in terms of relying on AI chats or AI call centers over primarily human interaction.

“I’m sure over time, we’ll adapt more to it, but we’re still kind of old school,” Bonilla said. “After getting through COVID, we felt like there was an opportunity to reengage in personal relationship type of transactions, instead of quick AI-supported transactions, if that makes sense.”

Automotive News reporters Vince Bond Jr. and Urvaksh Karkaria contributed to this report.