1:00 pm, March 19, 2025
New AI tech is already showing its worth to car dealers, who can now understand what consumers care about in their vehicle adverts.
It’s been around three weeks since Auto Trader launched its latest set of AI developments out into the wider world and already car dealers are seeing the benefits, explained principal product lead Peter Jones from the company.
He joined James Baggott and Jon Reay on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast and shared what these new features are showing consumers really want.
The new AI product Co-Driver can assist car dealers in writing their vehicle descriptions, with some saying they’re not just using it as a fresh start but going back to check they haven’t missed features in previous listings.
‘We built the tool to give you a really great starting point for new vehicles coming in,’ explained Jones, pictured below.
‘We’ve had a lot of retailers go back and rework their existing descriptions. We had a lot of feedback that the content we generate is touching on topics they hadn’t even mentioned in their description.
‘They said they hadn’t even thought of writing about these things or didn’t realise these were some of the benefits that the car had.’
Jones explained that the AI tech doesn’t just write factual descriptions about the cars, it’s able to identify what these cars can enable consumers to do and write compellingly about the possibilities.
The tech also tells car dealers where they might have missed something in their work, particularly in the photography.
Whereas previously Auto Trader knew more photos improved the advert, it can now see what images car buyers care most about.
He added: ‘What we have seen is taking a picture of every seatbelt for example, one seatbelt is probably enough. There is an element of efficiency there.
‘The key shots are the core exterior angles; front, right, rear, left. Close up images of the wheels, has it got scuffs on the alloys and things like that, and then shots of the cockpit are quite popular, as well with the infotainment or instruments and the boot.’
You can listen to the whole interview on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, wherever you get your podcasts.
