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Article Introducing the Next Generation of Sales AI from Impel Read More

For 30 years, dealers have chased the same promise: a single view of the customer. CRMs, CDPs, lead management systems — every wave of technology pledged to fix the fragmentation. And yet The average salesperson still sells 10 vehicles per month, , a rate that’s unchanged since the day the first lead management solution went live. So what’s different now? In this DMSC keynote, Impel Chief Product Officer Matt Muilenburg makes the case that AI isn’t another vendor on the stack. It’s a new class of workforce. And dealers who treat it that way are redefining what a dealership looks like — collapsing the funnel, redrawing the org chart, and turning fixed ops into a transformative growth engine.

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Key moments & highlights

  • [~01:30] The Ratio That Didn’t Move: Three decades of dealership technology. Same 10-to-1 vehicle-sales-to-rep ratio. Matt opens with the uncomfortable truth: the tools helped, but they didn’t transform — and explains why this era is structurally and technologically different.
  • [~04:00] The Hubris of the Single-Source Vendor: No vendor will ever own the full dealership stack. The real unlock isn’t consolidation — it’s orchestration. Why 50 vendors can coexist productively when a single AI brain coordinates the work between them.
  • [~07:30] AI as a First-Class Citizen: Most dealers think of AI as a switch you flip. The reality is more demanding: silicone employees need consoles, human partners, training, and access to every system the dealership runs. The new staffing model starts here.
  • [~11:00] The New Dealership Org Chart: Five emerging roles every store needs to staff for: integrity architect, lifecycle architect, data strategist, orchestrator, and governance guardian. The internet sales manager of 2027.
  • [~16:00] Why Most Voice AI Deployments Fail: Sixty percent of service callers want one thing: a status update on their car. If the AI can’t see the RO, the appointment, or the technician notes, you’re not solving the problem — you’re automating the frustration.
  • [~21:00] The Cost of Fragmented Communication: One trade-in lead. Four vendors. Four follow-ups from four different domains. One opt-out the customer thinks applies to your entire dealership. This is what fragmented vendor communication actually costs — and how orchestration fixes it.
  • [~24:00] Fixed Ops as the Premier Growth Engine: PACCAR runs a 105% service absorption rate. Their dealers don’t have to sell a single truck to keep the lights on. In a down market, this isn’t aspirational — it’s the new playbook for dealership profitability.
  • [~27:00] The Results: By the Numbers: Dealers running AI in service are seeing a 17% lift in first services completed (vs. 3% in the control group), 29% more incremental ROs closed per month, and 5.7 FTE-equivalent of work handled by silicone staff.

About the speaker

Matthew Muilenburg is a seasoned technology and product development executive with deep expertise in AI-powered solutions and market expansion. He is the Chief Product Officer at Impel, the automotive industry’s most advanced AI Operating System. Before joining Impel, he served as Chief Market Development Officer at Marchex, where he unified the company’s solutions into a verticalized technology platform, driving significant growth. As SVP and Head of Industry for Automotive, he helped establish Marchex as a leader in conversational intelligence, delivering OEM-specific solutions and securing key enterprise clients like General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, and Honda Motors of America. Prior to Marchex, Muilenburg was Vice President of Global OEM Solutions at CDK, leading global market expansion and product strategy for multiple acquisitions. He also held leadership roles at ADP and Cobalt Group, focusing on social media products and product solutions. With a strong track record of driving innovation and business growth, he continues to shape the future of AI-driven solutions in the automotive industry and beyond.