Artificial Intelligence Drives Success for Carousel Online

In August 2022, I wrote an article highlighting Carousel Online as a great example of digital transformation done right. Since then, the online pre-owned vehicle purchasing channel continues to excel in delivering an industry-leading customer experience.

It has been a little over a year since Carousel Online launched with a commitment to redefine the pre-owned car-buying experience by putting the driver before everything else. General Manager, Dan Olson, says that the team has learned a lot in that time and continues to adapt as they learn. After the first year, they noticed that 24% of their sales were electric vehicles (EVs). They dug in further and learned that the most automated transactions (those which involved the least interaction between the consumer and live employees) were primarily EV purchases. They made the assumption that EV consumers are more comfortable with the online car-buying process, and accordingly increased their inventory of electric vehicles earlier this summer. For the past two months since that change, EVs including Teslas, Kias and Chevy Volts have comprised 52% of their sales volume.

One of the keys to their success is their relentless commitment to continuous improvement and focus on the future. They gather customer feedback on every transaction and combine that with their own analysis of the process, looking for ways to enhance the client experience. So, it comes as no surprise that Carousel Online is leveraging artificial intelligence to drive those improvements.

Like most retail organizations, Carousel Online is employing AI-enabled tools to increase the impact and effectiveness of their digital marketing and brand-building efforts. But that is just fundamentals at this point.

Far more impressive is Carousel Online’s use of an AI virtual business development center and 24/7 lead response system that helps guide potential customers through the pre-sales process, leading up to the scheduling of an appointment. The goal is to handle higher volumes of client interactions in a more streamlined way, especially for those who prefer an automated process and do not want, or care about, the human interaction in the early stages. Artificial intelligence makes the process much easier and more efficient for the consumer.

For example, if a customer is looking at a particular vehicle and wants to know if it has heated seats and all-wheel drive, they do not need to wade through pages of features and specifications to find the answer. They can simply submit an inquiry online and the AI attendant will parse through the vehicles details and provide the response instantly, in conversational English.

The chatbot is also smart enough to defer to a human if the customer asks a question it does not know how – or is not authorized – to answer. Dan offered the example of a recent customer who questioned whether the offered price for their trade-in was fair. The AI wisely responded that it would relay the customer’s concerns to her superiors right away and have someone get in touch with them first thing in the morning. It will then send them a Calendly link to schedule an appointment with a human representative.

Carousel Online believes that transparency is critical to building trust with consumers, especially those who are purchasing a vehicle through an entirely online channel. So, they clearly indicate to customers when they are communicating with the AI chatbot, named “Ava”. However, despite their transparency, they have found that many clients can not tell the difference and will sometimes mention something that “Ava” told them as though she was a real person. No word yet on whether Ava is eligible for “Employee of the Month”.

As impressive as an informative, helpful chatbot that gets mistaken for a live employee might be, I was far more impressed by the third application of AI, the automated lender selection tool. For some time now, Carousel along with Cox Automotive has employed an automated credit matching algorithm in their purchasing process for customers seeking financing. The system captures information about the purchaser and the vehicle they are buying and recommends a bank. Earlier versions of the credit matching prioritized dealer profitability. But Dan was not satisfied with that approach. He pushed the developers to rethink the process from the perspective of the consumer. Today, the AI-enabled algorithm looks at the geographics, demographics and psychographics of the consumer, the vehicle, the dealership and the customer’s purchasing style to determine the financing offer that the consumer is most likely to accept, and is also based on what is the best deal for the consumer, and finally considers dealer profitability. This is yet another example of Carousel Online’s commitment to redefining the pre-owned car buying experience to put the driver first.

Dan related to me that his CEO, Chase Hawkins, frequently asks him about the progress towards completely unassisted, fully automated vehicle purchasing by asking “Dan, am I selling cars in my sleep yet?” The automated credit matching tool, combined with “Ava” the AI chatbot, and digital signature technology are making Chase’s dream come very close to reality. For the tech-savvy consumer who sees little to no need for in-person interaction, that experience means placing an order for a used vehicle can be similar to ordering a new vacuum cleaner on Amazon. The customer can browse available models online, research features and capabilities, make their selection, process a trade-in, apply for financing, complete the purchase paperwork, and expect their car to be delivered in their driveway as soon as 48 hours from completion.

Carousel Online is leading the way in redefining the customer experience for pre-owned vehicle purchasing and is leveraging artificial intelligence to do it. ?