What could Artificial Intelligence mean for dealers?

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3/3/2023

As a company that is very much tech-driven, we are naturally interested in the magic of constantly evolving technology, and that includes Artificial Intelligence (AI). So, when we heard about ChatGPT, a chatbot from OpenAI storming the internet, we were intrigued enough to see what it could potentially do for our network of dealers.

Intelligent automation could be as transformative as cloud computing and is already helping companies cut costs. In this blog entry, we explain what it is and how your business can benefit.

What is Intelligent Automation (IA)?

IA combines Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI), analytics, data, and more to create an end–to-end process that can learn and adapt on its own. Organisations that have already moved beyond piloting intelligent automation achieved an average cost reduction of 32%, according to Deloitte’s most recent automation survey.

Two-thirds of companies have implemented some task-based automation, which is the fairly simple automation of a single process within one business unit. For example, creating a service ticket, automatic credit approval, or automated email promotions.

IA provides context

Intelligent automation provides context around your data so you get a deeper understanding of what’s happening. The context, which gleans meaning from images, text, and speech, detects patterns and can make recommendations, predictions, and decisions.

Real-time connected data is a key to contextual automation, whether it’s internally automated business processes or the ways in which companies automate interactions with partners and customers. We are in the relatively early stages of this advanced automation, but it’s on the radar of many organisations. Deloitte’s survey found that AI is the next most desirable automation technology, with 46% planning to implement it in the next three years.

What is ChatGPT?

In essence, ChatGPT is a chatbot, and chatbots have been around for a while; it’s not a new notion within marketing. Have you ever ‘spoken’ to a chatbot on a website when you need help with a query? This is a concept that ChatGPT has supercharged, building on OpenAI’s language model called GPT3 so that it can ‘speak’ to you conversationally as if it were a real human being typing away. As you can imagine, this opens a world of possibilities, thanks to the breadth of knowledge this internet-sweeping technology has access to, and the speed at which it can communicate it.

Whilst we are not afraid to admit that we (and what feels like everyone else that occupies the tech space) are still getting our heads around everything it’s capable of and how it works, what we have discovered is that it can write. And it can write well.

How can ChatGPT help out a vehicle dealership?

This is a question we would ask of any technology that dazzles us, as that is, after all, what we are interested in. The somewhat niche aspect of ChatGPT that really piqued our curiosity was the way in which it could produce vehicle descriptions.

Just take a look at the example below:

We tried this a number of times, and each time it came up with something different. Not just that, but each one was true, readable, and engaging. It’s almost hard to believe, isn’t it?

Now, while we wouldn’t suggest blindly copying and pasting these descriptions into your vehicle listings without at least checking that they are grammatically and factually correct first, it is a starting point. And it certainly saves a heck of a lot of time.

Marketers across all industries are watching with interest to see how this technology could increase efficiency. This could be in areas like the aforementioned product descriptions, to other activities such as:

• Blog and page content
• Keyword research
• Paid advertising creatives
• Job descriptions

So can ChatGPT replace real writers?

We thought you might ask that. In short: no. While ChatGPT can indeed produce copy that reads well and is, by and large, accurate, we are not quaking in our boots as content marketers, and here’s why; nothing can replace the understanding, perception, and talent of a human writer.

As advanced as this technology is, it can’t understand the nuances of your businesses and your customers, which informs the tone of all your written output to the world, how it’s optimised for search engines and the natural creativity that human writers bring to the table.

First and foremost, content needs to be engaging and fit for purpose, and customers can spot anything that jars with this from a mile off. Can a chatbot make you memorable? We’re inclined to say that at this point, it’s a no.

Here at Geronimo, we would suggest using programmes like ChatGTP as a starting point; as inspiration for your vehicle descriptions, blogs, social media content, and the like.

Our Digital Content Managers (DCMs) write unique content for Geronimo clients daily, so are never short on things to say, but if you are going it alone, something like ChatGTP would bring you up to a good standard without having to learn a whole new skill.

Can I use ChatGTP?

At the moment, ChatGTP is so popular that is regularly displays an ‘at capacity’ message on its website. This is likely due to the fact that, since its launch in November 2022, usage has been FREE, but developers have dropped some heavy hints that it will be monetised in the future – and we’re not surprised. We would recommend checking back onto the site in case it becomes available for new users, as we think it will seriously impress you, and it might just help out with freshening up your vehicle listings.

For now, though, if you’re keen to get serious about your online activities, it’s our Digital Content Managers (DCMs) who can change the game for you. Our DCMs work with each individual dealership to develop effective campaigns and content appropriate to each business and culture.

Bringing you the latest news on developments within the technology industry that could benefit vehicle dealers is what we do, so we’ll be keeping an eye on all things ChatGPT as it no doubt goes from strength to strength.