6. LotLinx
LotLinx, a Chicago-based VIN-specific digital marketing solution for the auto industry, recently released two new CX solutions designed to enhance and customize the customer experience, according to a company press release. The new products include: CX – Photo AI, which uses artificial intelligence to boost under-performing ads with optimized stock photos proven to convert shoppers at a higher rate, and CX – Amplified Mobile Pages, which offers dealers fast-loading, mobile-friendly VIN landing pages optimized to drive high-value conversions, such as click-to-contact and click-for-price for every car in their inventory.
“Because today’s online car shoppers are 90% more likely to view an ad that contains an image, and will wait justthree seconds for a page to load before abandoning, the logical next step for LotLinx was to release the consumer experience-oriented CX suite,” the release said.
7. Blinker
Blinker, an app for buying and selling cars, uses AI to power its image-recognition technology. The app allows users to take a photo of any car in the United States and learn the make, model, year, mileage, and estimated value. With a driver’s license photo, a seller can list their car and a buyer can get approved for financing in minutes. The Blinker app handles purchase offers and payments and makes sure the seller is paid in full; it also completes official title documents.
Blinker plans to integrate insurance, parts, and services into its peer-to-peer platform in 2018, after securing lender partners and expanding nationwide, President Danny Martinez told AFN.
8. Outsell
Outsell, a Minneapolis, Minn.-based multi-channel marketing automation platform for dealers, recently introduced a new AI-backed tool called Inventory Mover in addition to its already existent BuyerScout. Inventory Mover takes AI to the “next level” and can enhance a dealer’s ability to move inventory off the lot quicker and reduces overhead costs, Bryan Harwood, president of Outsell told AFN. Inventory Mover works in three steps to help dealers: First, the solution predicts what consumers are most interested in; second, it determines which vehicle the dealer needs and/or wants to move; and lastly, it combines the data of what a consumer wants and the dealer’s recommendations.
In addition to Inventory Mover, Outsell has been working this year on building out NeuroMotics AI, which powers the company’s marketing suite, Harwood said.
9. Insurify
With dozens of auto insurers to pick from, choosing the right company and policy can be a hassle. That’s where chatbots can be helpful. Companies like Insurify have taken the chatbot and integrated it deeper into our everyday lives by putting its bot on Facebook Messenger. The purpose here is to provide people shopping for car insurance a quick and painless way to get insurance advice and compare quotes, directly from their smartphones — providing an easy way to tackle a necessary task without disrupting a person’s schedule.
10. ALD Automotive
Chatbots are also being used in finance — by companies such as EV leasing provider ALD Automotive — to provide 24/7 communication to clients and employees. The principle behind ALD’s chatbot is that its clients “shouldn’t have to step out of their busy lives to contact or interact with ALD,” John Saffrett, ALD’s chief administrative officer, previously told AFN. “So, we open up a part of their world by becoming a friend on Facebook and allowing them to interact with us 24/7 via a chatbot, which has an AI engine behind it. [The engine] is being built up to understand and respond to queries, and interpret using natural language techniques.”
