Customers are getting less fussy about interacting with AI chatbots according to a recent study.
Analysis has shown a substantial change in customer interactions with vehicle dealerships, marked by a sharp decline in general inquiries and a significant rise in detailed discussions about specific service and sales needs.
This shift is primarily attributed to the growing trust consumers place in advanced AI-powered chatbots.
Data spanning 15 months reveals a notable increase in focused conversations regarding vehicle servicing, escalating from 12.8% to 36.2% of total interactions.
Similarly, discussions concerning vehicle purchases and trade-ins have risen from 13.1% to 37.5%.
General information requests and call-back requests have decreased substantially which would indicate that customers have a growing preference for immediate, AI-driven responses.
This data suggests that customers are increasingly comfortable engaging with sophisticated chatbots and consider them as a reliable source of information.
Buyers are confidently discussing their specific requirements, consequently, dealerships are observing a surge in high-quality leads generated through chatbot interactions, with nearly half of all chats now resulting in a qualified lead, compared to a third just twelve months ago.
This evolving customer behavior underscores the increasing significance of AI-powered chatbots within the vehicle dealership sector.
By offering immediate and tailored responses to customer inquiries, these chatbots are optimising sales and service processes, enhancing customer satisfaction, and fostering business growth for dealerships.
"The latest figures suggest that people are now getting down to talk business with bots, rather than simply using them as a timesaving device to find an email address or request a call-back," said AutoConverse co-founder, Ross Olsen, whose company published the research.
"A year ago the majority of customer-bot conversations were inquiries for miscellaneous bits of information but today the biggest slice of time is spent discussing sales or trade-ins.
"The bots were always providing a useful link with customers and delivering leads to the dealership but now that the topics of conversation have become more focused on specific customer needs, those interactions are producing much higher quality leads."
"We are seeing an increased willingness from people to treat a well-trained chatbot as if it were a friendly, well-informed member of the dealer's staff and therefore trust it with more relevant information. This trend is repeated across all commercial sectors as people grow generally more used to using technology such as AI assistants in their own devices.
"The best evidence for that comfort is now revealed by the increased focus of dealership customers on discussing their specific needs rather than scrolling through a website for answers that may not even be there."
