AI and the car shopping funnel

The car-buying funnel continues to evolve as AI in search changes how shoppers discover, evaluate, and choose their next vehicle. Shoppers still progress through awareness, interest, consideration, and purchase and remain in control of their journey. What’s different now is how AI-powered search tools can influence which brands, vehicles, and dealers appear earlier in the process. From an SEO perspective, the biggest shift is how AI crawls and ranks relevance long before shoppers ever land on a dealer website.

Traditionally, shoppers ran multiple searches, browsed third-party sites, and compared vehicles across dealer websites and marketplaces. Dealers influenced those steps with advertising, SEO, and strong digital experiences. Now, AI-powered assistants add another layer of guidance, helping shoppers narrow choices more quickly.

Still, search isn’t always where the journey begins. New research from Clarivoy shows 61% of shoppers start on a marketplace. That makes a dealer’s broader digital presence even more critical. AI doesn’t lessen that importance — it raises the bar. Dealers who keep their inventory accurate, reputation strong, and process seamless will remain competitive, no matter how AI evolves.

AI assistants are shaping the path

Shoppers no longer need to perform a series of disconnected searches to move through the funnel. With today’s AI tools, a single natural-language prompt can cover awareness, consideration, and purchase-stage questions all at once.

That means the entire car-shopping journey, from model discovery to feature comparison to financing, might happen in a single conversation. And if your dealership isn’t showing up in that interaction, consider tweaking your marketing strategy to help shoppers find you more often.

AI pulls from trusted sources like OEM sites, reviews, publications, and marketplaces to deliver a quick answer. When a shopper arrives on your dealer’s website, there’s a good chance one of your vehicles is already on their shortlist.

1 Top funnel (awareness): Winning the first impression

At the awareness stage, AI can help shape first impressions before a shopper ever reaches your site. Since many shoppers start on marketplaces, visibility also depends on whether your dealership’s data appears in the sources AI trusts.

AI-Powered search on Cars.com

Shoppers can now describe what they’re looking for — like “new SUVs under $35k” or “CPO trucks with a hitch” — without navigating menus or filters. The AI tool instantly matches their request to available inventory, creating a faster, easier path to relevant vehicles.

Try it out

Dealers can strengthen their position by maintaining clean SEO structures, structured data, and consistent marketplace listings. Digital ads and social campaigns also support visibility where AI pulls its answers. Leveraging Cars.com editorial content — a trusted source that drives over 60% of Cars.com traffic organically¹ — along with Dealer Inspire’s SEO and digital advertising services, helps ensure your inventory and brand appear in AI-sourced responses, reaching shoppers earlier in their journey.

Key takeaway: early visibility matters
If your listings appear where AI pulls data, you’re in the game early. Cars Commerce services — including Marketplace integrations, SEO, and digital advertising — help dealerships appear where shoppers are researching and comparing vehicles.

2 Upper-middle funnel (interest): Making inventory impossible to miss

Once a shopper selects a model, AI helps refine details like trims, features, incentives, and availability, often including local inventory. If your data isn’t clean, current, and structured, your listings may be skipped in favor of those that are.

Dealer Inspire websites are AI-ready by design. With structured data and fast inventory updates, they ensure your pricing, availability, and promotions can be surfaced accurately by AI tools — right when shoppers are looking.

Key takeaway: accurate inventory builds confidence
Shoppers rely on accurate inventory, pricing, and incentives to make confident decisions. Dealer Inspire websites surface this information clearly and reliably, keeping your dealership in the mix when AI narrows the list.

3 Lower-middle funnel (consideration): Trust is the differentiator

As shoppers narrow their list, AI highlights five-star teams. Reviews, ratings, and clear answers often carry as much weight as price.

Dealers who consistently build and respond to reviews, offer interactive tools, and provide transparent pricing stand out. What we’re seeing is that reputation and credibility are becoming just as searchable as inventory.

Key takeaway: trust sells
Reputation influences AI rankings and shopper decisions. Managing reviews, offering interactive tools, and displaying transparent pricing strengthen your dealership’s credibility. Cars Commerce tools like Conversations help dealers engage directly and provide confidence signals during this key moment.

4 Bottom funnel (purchase): Removing friction from the finish line

The final purchase step still happens at the dealership, but shoppers now use AI to validate their decision before they step inside. AI assistants can verify trade-in offers, compare quotes, and help buyers feel more confident.

Dealers can respond by making the process as transparent and convenient as possible. Offering instant trade-in estimates, online financing options, and a smooth desking experience bridges digital research with in-store visits. This makes the transition seamless and aligned with shopper expectations.

Key takeaway: Frictionless processes convert
Streamlined trade-in, financing, and desking tools reduce barriers and turn interest into sales. AccuTrade and digital desking tools from Dealer Inspire simplify every step from click to close.

The shopping funnel isn’t gone, it’s changing

AI is reshaping how shoppers move through the funnel. The stages are still awareness, interest, consideration, and purchase, but AI shortens the path and narrows choices sooner.

Key takeaways for dealers:

• Compete earlier in the journey: The funnel starts before a shopper visits your site. Be present where AI begins — on marketplaces, review sites, and trusted sources.

• Keep inventory and promotional data accurate: Structured, real-time data helps AI surface your listings clearly and consistently.
• Build and maintain strong reviews and trust signals: AI responds to sentiment signals, and so do shoppers.
• Simplify the purchase process: Fast, transparent tools meet modern expectations and help close the deal.