Skip to main content

Avoid car salespeople and talk to an Edmunds.com chat bot instead

Don’t want to talk to a car salesperson? Consider talking to a Facebook chat bot instead. On Tuesday, car sales website Edmunds.com debuted a new tool that enables prospective buyers to avoid talking to humans, and permits them to interact with artificial intelligence instead. The beta form of the chat bot lives inside Facebook Messenger and aims to help customers find their way to the right place to get the right car.

At his presentation at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Nick Gorton, vice president of product innovation at Edmunds, noted that the new bot would allow the company to “meet customers where they are.” Increasingly, he noted, this means going to mobile messaging apps. Gorton said that this type of chat service will allow customers to communicate in the way they prefer — increasingly, on mobile messaging apps — but still get the information they want.

Trace Przyblowicz, automotive lead for Facebook, echoed these sentiments, noting, “A.I. will free resources at the dealer, [and] the consumer then really gets to control their time.”

To use the bot, a buyer simply sends an inquiry via Facebook, whereupon Edmund’s new tool responds with “a personalized comment,” which hopefully leads to a broader conversation about the desired car type. The bot can then search Edmund’s website and send the buyer to the appropriate dealer. At some point, of course, the conversation moves out of the automated realm, as a live representative is needed to either offer a test drive or close the deal.

While this may seem like an easy solution to all your car-buying woes, the LA Times reports that audiences at the LA Auto Show were a bit wary of the new technology. David Shapiro, CEO of car buying and leasing service Cartelligent, said, “I don’t think we’re going to shift to buying cars through chat bots that use A.I. to respond. Buying a car is complex — more complex than buying a pair of shoes or a plane ticket.” he said.

All the same, if you want to try a machine-based car-buying process, now’s your chance!

Lulu Chang
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Plug-in hybrids are becoming more popular. Why? And will it continue?
Kia Niro EV Charging Port

There's a lot of talk about the idea that the growth in electric car sales has kind of slowed a little. It's not all that surprising -- EVs are still expensive, early adopters all have one by now, and they're still new enough to where there aren't too many ultra-affordable used EVs available. But plenty of people still want a greener vehicle, and that has given rise to an explosion in hybrid vehicle sales.

That's especially true of plug-in hybrid vehicles, which can be charged like an EV and driven in all-electric mode for short distances, and have a gas engine as a backup for longer distances or to be used in combination with electric mode for more efficient driving.

Read more
EV drivers are not going back to gas cars, global survey says
ev drivers are not going back to gas cars global survey says screenshot

Nearly all current owners of electric vehicles (EVs) are either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, and 92% of them plan to buy another EV, according to a survey by the Global EV Drivers Alliance.

The survey of 23,000 EV drivers worldwide found that only 1% would return to a petrol or diesel car, while 4% would opt for a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) if they had to replace their car.

Read more
Trump team in sync with Tesla on ending crash-reporting requirements, report says
Beta of Tesla's FSD in a car.

The transition team of President-elect Donald Trump is planning to end existing car-crash reporting requirements to safety regulators, according to a Reuters report.

The report cites a document obtained by Reuters that lays out the transition team’s 100-day strategy for automotive policy. In the document, the team says the crash-reporting requirement leads to “excessive” data collection, Reuters says.

Read more