If you run a dealership in 2025, you’re already managing more information than most small businesses ever will. Thousands of customer records. Service histories. CRM notes. Inventory data. Emails. Ads. Phone logs.
That data is supposed to make life easier, not harder. But most of it just sits there, trapped in systems, waiting for someone to read a report or run an export.
Artificial intelligence changes that. It’s not a robot. It’s not magic. It’s the next evolution of how work gets done. And unlike most tech trends, this one is already in your hands.
For about $20 a month, any dealer can open ChatGPT, start typing, and get real work done faster and more efficiently. No integrations. No setup. Just thinking out loud to a machine that can summarize, analyze and help you act on what matters.
The question isn’t if AI fits into your store; it’s where you’ll use it first.
Here are five ways any dealer can put AI to work right now.
Handle the “Untouchable” Salesperson (With Public GPT)
I built a public GPT you can use to role-play a challenging conversation with a difficult salesperson. Launch it here. No setup required.
How to use it:
- Select the scenario prompt.
- Enter your situation in one sentence.
- Choose the tone you want: firm, supportive or corrective.
- Run the role-play and ask for feedback on your wording.
If you prefer to do it yourself in ChatGPT, use this prompt to get started:
“Act as a top-performing salesperson who ignores scheduling and policy rules. Help me practice this discussion as the GM. Challenge my reasoning. After the role-play, give me three notes to tighten my language and hold the line.”
Save your best version. Over time, this becomes your private playbook for tough conversations.
Get OEM Ad Approvals Faster
Ad rejections waste time. You send a campaign for approval, and it comes back for a single line of copy. Now you’ve lost a week of marketing time, reducing your monthly selling window.
Fix it before it happens. Upload your OEM ad guidelines into ChatGPT, then paste your ad draft and prompt:
“Review this ad against the OEM guidelines I uploaded. Flag any phrases or claims that could cause a rejection and show me a compliant rewrite.”
You will catch issues before submission, resulting in faster turnaround, fewer revisions, and less back and forth with corporate.
Bonus workflow:
“Now rewrite the approved ad for Facebook primary text, a 30-second video script and a service email. Keep the same tone and claims.”
That will save you hours every month.
Rewrite Job Postings to Attract Better People
Most job ads sound identical. “Busy store seeks motivated self-starter.” Boilerplate language can pull in the wrong crowd.
Paste your ad into ChatGPT and prompt:
“Rewrite this job ad for a high-performing service advisor who values teamwork, growth, technology and long-term opportunity. Make it clear, direct and human.”
Follow with:
“Give me five interview questions that test for teamwork, coachability and pride in workmanship.”
You will get sharper copy and better interviews. Good people respond to clarity and growth, not boilerplate.
Turn Reports Into Leadership Talking Points (While Protecting Privacy)
Reports pile up. Sales. Service. CSI. Marketing. Most get skimmed, and few drive action.
AI can turn those reports into insights if used correctly. First, protect customers; never upload personal information. Remove or replace anything that identifies someone: names, VINs, emails, phone numbers, addresses or proprietary data and information.
Then use a structured prompt with role, context and outcome:
Role: “You are a dealership performance analyst.”
Context: “I am a General Manager reviewing this week’s service report. The report has RO count, total gross, effective labor rate, tech hours, and customer pay versus warranty.”
Task: “Summarize for an ownership meeting. What is improving, what is slipping, and where are we leaving money on the table? Deliver five talking points I can use for a five-minute discussion.”
Deepen it with:
“Based on this report, list three questions I should ask my service manager, and the likely answers I should expect.”
You enter the meeting prepared, focused and in control of the conversation.
Write Better Customer Follow-Ups
Customers do not want automation. They want relevance.
Prompt ChatGPT:
“Write a short, friendly text to a customer who has not serviced their vehicle in eight months. Keep it conversational, professional and focused on why regular maintenance protects safety and value.”
You will get a few options. Pick one. Tweak it to match your tone. Send. Over time, your team will see what good follow-ups look like and become more consistent. That builds trust and retention.
Guardrails That Keep You Out of Trouble
- Privacy first. Strip names, VINs, emails and phone numbers before using AI. Replace them with placeholders.
- Clarity wins. Define role, context and outcome in every prompt. Vague inputs yield vague outputs.
- Save what works. Keep a shared folder of proven prompts for your managers. Standardize and improve them over time.
- Humans in the loop. Treat AI as a coach and editor. Your people make the final call.
The Takeaway
AI will not replace your people. It removes friction. It clears the noise so leaders can lead and teams can execute.
If you can type an email, you can use AI. Start small. Use the QR code to run the role-play GPT today. Pick one more idea from this article and test it this week.
The dealerships that treat AI as a teammate will work more efficiently, think more clearly and win more often. The smartest hire you make this year might not need a desk at all.
Todd Smith is the founder of QoreAI, a data intelligence company that helps dealerships turn information into profit. He has more than 25 years in automotive retail and technology, focusing on practical, no-fluff ways dealers can use AI to gain an advantage.
