Auto Trader’s new AI technology is already proving its value to car dealerships, helping them understand consumer preferences in vehicle advertisements. Peter Jones, Principal Product Lead at Auto Trader, discussed the positive impact of the company’s recent AI developments on a recent episode of the Car Dealer Podcast with James Baggott and Jon Reay.
Launched approximately three weeks ago, the AI, known as Co-Driver, is designed to assist car dealers in crafting more effective vehicle descriptions. Jones explained that retailers are finding the tool useful not only for new listings but also for revising older ones to ensure no key features are overlooked.
“We built the tool to give you a really great starting point for new vehicles coming in,” said Jones, pictured below. “We’ve had a lot of retailers go back and rework their existing descriptions. We had a lot of feedback that the content we generate is touching on topics they hadn’t even mentioned in their description. They said they hadn’t even thought of writing about these things or didn’t realise these were some of the benefits that the car had.”
Jones further elaborated that the AI goes beyond simply generating factual descriptions; it analyzes a vehicle’s capabilities and communicates the potential benefits to the consumer in a compelling way.
The technology also provides insights into photographic best practices. While it was previously understood that more photos generally improved an advert, the AI pinpoints the images that car buyers find most important. “What we have seen is taking a picture of every seatbelt for example, one seatbelt is probably enough. There is an element of efficiency there,” he added. “The key shots are the core exterior angles; front, right, rear, left. Close up images of the wheels, has it got scuffs on the alloys and things like that, and then shots of the cockpit are quite popular, as well with the infotainment or instruments and the boot.”
To hear the complete conversation, the full interview is available on the latest episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, available wherever you find your podcasts.
