Debunking Common Misconceptions About AI in Automotive Marketing

Artificial intelligence has become a buzzword that nearly every automotive marketing vendor claims to offer. Yet as the technology evolves, misconceptions about AI's capabilities and limitations continue to spread throughout the industry. Many dealers believe AI will completely replace human roles, while others dismiss it as just another overhyped trend with little practical application. 

With recent market volatility driven by tariff concerns and record-breaking vehicle movement numbers, dealerships need clarity more than ever. According to ZeroSum's May 2025 State of the Dealer report, the anticipation of tariff-related price increases caused a pull-ahead sales effect of 341,000 new vehicles in March and April alone. Even if prices do not go up as much as anticipated, these early purchases are still likely to act as a drag on vehicle sales in the interim. 

In this challenging environment, understanding the true value of AI is essential for dealerships looking to navigate the rapidly changing market conditions. 

Demystifying Common AI Misconceptions 

The most prevalent misconception about AI is that it completely replaces human roles and decision-making. Many dealers mistakenly believe that automotive marketing AI tools solely create ads, run ads, decide what is run, and then provide all the other context. While AI can automate many of these processes, the human element remains crucial for providing market context and strategic direction. 

Another major misconception involves confusion between true AI and simple automation. True AI involves predictive modeling and learning from data patterns. Automation simply follows predefined rules while AI works through modeling and learning. True AI analyzes patterns in data and makes decisions based on what it discovers. For example, ZeroSum’s MarketAI advertising platform can examine inventory data to determine the optimal frequency of ad placements for specific vehicles to maximize sales and turn rates, rather than just following rigid, predetermined guidelines. 

Where AI Adds Real Value in Dealerships 

Inventory Management and Analysis 
Perhaps the most powerful application of AI for dealerships today is inventory management. AI excels at crunching numbers and information to understand what inventory needs what support from a marketing approach. 

With market shifts driven by tariff concerns similar to what the industry experienced during COVID, AI tools like ZeroSum’s MarketAI provide crucial insights on which inventory is turning quickest in the market. This intelligence is invaluable as used car prices are going to continue to grow as new vehicle inventory tightens and manufacturers change how they're making cars and sourcing parts.  

The technology can determine how many Vehicle Detail Page (VDP) views are needed to sell specific inventory, helping dealers allocate marketing resources efficiently. It can also provide market-specific insights that human analysis would take significantly longer to produce. 

Marketing Optimization 
AI excels at matching the right inventory with the right potential buyers through sophisticated audience targeting. The technology can deliver ads for dealer inventory while optimizing campaign performance in real-time. 

This approach is particularly valuable during periods of uncertainty and ambiguity. Our May 2025 State of the Dealer report indicates that used and certified vehicles are acting as an effective backstop against new vehicle inventory shortages, with used vehicle movement remaining 12% higher than the previous year. 

AI-driven marketing can dynamically adjust to these rapidly changing conditions, ensuring dealers are promoting the right inventory to the right audience at the right time. 

Where Human Expertise Remains Essential 

Despite AI's capabilities, certain aspects of dealership operations will always need human expertise. The emotional and personal context is the element AI can never fully replace. 

Strategic Decision-Making with Context 
While AI can process vast amounts of data and identify patterns, it lacks the ability to fully understand market nuances and dealership-specific contexts. Without humans behind the technology to build the stories as to why, for example, a vehicle’s turn rate was good or bad—and tie the strings together using deductive reasoning between operations, marketing, and inventory management —a dealership won't succeed. 

This human context allows for strategic decisions that factor in local market conditions, competitive dynamics, and organizational goals—elements that pure data analysis might miss. 

Customer Relationships 
Despite advances in AI-powered communication tools for Business Development Centers (BDCs), human connection will always be needed to create lasting customer relationships. Dealers are incredibly good at selling to somebody sitting directly across from them, showcasing the irreplaceable value of in-person interactions. 

AI tools can help maintain contact with leads who have gone cold, but the emotional intelligence required to close deals and create customer loyalty can't be fully automated. The best approach combines AI for efficiency with human touchpoints for relationship building. 

Finding the Right Balance: A Hybrid Approach 

For dealerships considering AI implementation, start by asking this question: What problem are you trying to solve? It's easy to get excited about this technology, but dealers need to decide what their pain point is, what they're trying to solve for, and whether what they're investing in actually addresses that need. 

This problem-first approach helps ensure that AI adoption addresses genuine business needs rather than simply chasing technological trends. Dealer involvement remains crucial even with automated systems; just because dealerships are trying to automate and leaning on technology doesn't mean that their input, feedback, and involvement is any less valuable. 

Beyond the AI Misconceptions 

The most successful dealers will be those who move past common misconceptions about AI and strategically implement it where it adds the most value while preserving the human elements that create meaningful customer experiences and informed business decisions. 

The best advice for dealers looking to implement AI? Give it a shot and ask every question you can. There's so much human context that's still important in making sure that dealerships can be successful in utilizing AI and the data that it provides. 

Want to learn how MarketAI can provide practical solutions for enhancing your dealership operations? Schedule a time for a 15-minute demo, and discover how our solution strikes the perfect balance between powerful AI tools and human expertise to drive your dealership's success. 

Contributor: Josh Stoll, VP of Dealer Success, ZeroSum