63% of buyers will shop with AI. Only 29% of dealers are ready.

Last week I promised you a hands-on test of one AI tool, tried properly before I wrote about it. That’s still coming — I’m working through it rather than rushing a first impression. This week, three things that changed or landed since the last issue.

1. Your shoppers moved to AI search. Most stores haven’t.

Cox Automotive's AI in Auto Retail Tracker (Q2 2026, 483 dealers and 1,502 in-market shoppers) puts it plainly: 63% of shoppers say they will definitely or probably use AI to shop for their next vehicle. AI tools are already a research channel for 36% of shoppers — nearly level with automotive-specific websites at 38%.

Only 29% of dealers have started adjusting for AI-powered search. That number actually fell from 32% in Q1. Another 32% know they need to act and haven't started. And 26% of dealers say they're not sure what AI search means for them.

What that means for you, practically:

• Ask ChatGPT and Gemini what they say about your store — your inventory, your prices, your reputation. What comes back is what your next customer read before they called you.

• Your website and Google Business Profile are now the facts AI quotes. If a VDP is thin, the price is stale, or your hours are wrong somewhere, the AI will repeat the wrong version with confidence.

• Shoppers aren't using AI to avoid you. Only 17% say it helps them avoid dealership staff — 24% say it helps them feel more prepared when they get to you. The customer walking in tomorrow has already done the homework.

2. The VinSolutions breach now has a clock on it

On November 5, NADA published an update on the Cox Automotive / VinSolutions incident. Cox confirmed on October 26 that it detected and contained suspicious activity in VinSolutions, the CRM used by roughly 7,000 dealerships. Cox says a limited subset of dealers appears to be affected and it is still investigating what information was compromised and how many dealers were hit. Cox will notify dealers directly if its investigation identifies their customers' information.

Here's the part that matters for your store: under the FTC Safeguards Rule, the dealer — not the vendor — is responsible for customer data, even when a vendor holds it. If a breach involves the unencrypted information of 500 or more consumers, you must notify the FTC as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after discovery. Earlier this year the FTC updated its breach form so a third-party vendor can file that notification on a dealer's behalf.

What that means for you, practically:

• Ask Cox, in writing, whether your store's data was involved — don't wait for a letter that may or may not come.

• Check your vendor contracts for Safeguards oversight language. If a vendor holds your customer data, your contract should say how they protect it and how they tell you when something goes wrong.

• Talk to your lawyer about the 30-day clock now, not after a notice lands. State laws can add their own notification duties on top of the FTC's.

3. The dealers hitting their profit goals aren’t buying more tools

Cox Automotive's 2026 Dealer Success Study, published this month, found something that should make every dealer pause before signing another software contract. Only 22% of franchised dealers say their decisions are primarily driven by data rather than gut instinct. But that small group is nearly twice as likely to be meeting its profitability goals: 36%, compared with 19% of all other dealers.

The difference isn't the tools. It's how they're used. Data-driven dealers are more likely to say a tool is being used to its full potential — 55%, versus 39% of other dealers. And before they sign anything, 42% of them weigh whether a tool will improve their data quality, compared with 22% of other dealers.

What that means for you, practically:

• Before you buy the next AI tool, pick one you already pay for and ask your team what it's actually doing. If nobody can name the outcome it's supposed to improve, that's your next move — not a new contract.

• Ask your vendor rep what you're not using. In the study, 76% of data-driven dealers regularly consult vendor reps to optimize how they use a tool, versus 61% of other dealers. The relationship shouldn't end at install.

• Measure one thing per tool. Cox found about 1 in 3 AI-using dealers either aren't measuring AI's impact or have no clarity on how they measure it. If you can't see what a tool is doing, you can't tell if it's working.

That's it for this week. Short, on purpose.

Reply and tell me: have you asked an AI assistant about your own store yet? I'm curious what it said.

— Adam

P.S. Know another dealer who'd find this useful? Forward them this email — if 3 dealers sign up from your link, I'll send you my 50 AI Prompts for Car Dealers guide, free: https://muse.ai/s/50-ai-prompts-for-car-dealers-xvxf6sxcxkhxixuxrxf/VjdAVuN_xD9dvS_kqQVaBYpMFxkZD_svxnbjSDImn5E — your referral link is also at the bottom of this email.