A report from automotive AI company Spyne indicates that U.S. car dealerships are poised to make 2026 their first true “AI Operations Year,” as a staggering 76 percent plan to increase their artificial intelligence budgets.
The findings, detailed in Spyne’s 2026 U.S. Automotive Market Sentiment & Dealer Operations Report, are based on a survey of nearly 1,200 dealership leaders. After a 2025 marked by optimism gave way to operational reality checks, dealers are now confronting the fact that manual workflows are no longer sufficient to protect margins in a volatile market.
“2025 reminded us that the fundamentals of retail can shift overnight,” said Sanjay Kumar Varnwal, Co-founder & CEO of Spyne. “Dealers started the year optimistic, but tariffs, payment shock, and shifting consumer behavior quickly exposed how fragile traditional workflows had become. As buyers moved online and affordability tightened, manual processes couldn’t keep up. That’s why 2026 has to be the year dealerships treat AI as core infrastructure, not an experiment.”
Dealers Investing in Technology
Automation was a clear focus of investment priorities for the coming year. The number one piece of technology that dealerships are targeting was AI voice agents. 74 percent of dealers are investing in voice agents, as they look to automate and accelerate lead response, inbound call management, and service scheduling. Close behind is merchandising and inspection automation at 68 percent, as dealers try to reduce time-to-market with AI-standardized vehicle photos and videos. Other top areas of investment are pricing and analytics at 62 percent, sales development for sales and fixed ops at 54 percent, and CRM modernization at 49 percent.
This rush to adopt AI is no longer based on speculation but on increasingly proven results. Spyne highlights that dealerships who were early AI adopters in 2025 have already seen significant performance gains. These stores reported up to a 30 percent increase in showroom appointments, a reduction in BDC operating costs of up to 33 percent, and a 67 percent lift in online listing engagement. It also allowed dealerships to save around 12-15 hours a week in operational efficiency. These metrics create a clear and widening performance gap between AI-enabled dealers and those relying on traditional, manual operations.
“Speed of response and quality of presentation now determine who converts more traffic into appointments and hence makes more margin,” said Varnwal. “With profitability expected to tighten even further in 2026, AI is becoming the operating backbone of the dealership, not a side tool.”
AI May Create a Dealership Performance Gap
Spyne’s analysis identifies three distinct dealership cohorts emerging for 2026: the Early Majority, who have already embedded AI across their operations; the Fast Followers, who have begun partial adoption; and the Laggards, who continue to rely on manual workflows. The report projects that the performance gap will widen rapidly, with laggards facing significant margin compression.
“The performance gap between AI adopters and manual operators isn’t linear — it widens quickly,” said Varnwal. “With projected 25 percent reductions in PVR [profit per vehicle retailed] in 2026 (Blue & Co.), dealerships can no longer absorb process inefficiencies. Speed of response and quality of presentation now determine who captures shrinking margins.”
A key factor driving this AI adoption surge is what Spyne terms the “intent gap”—the growing hesitation between a customer’s initial interest and their final purchase decision, largely fueled by affordability concerns. With rising prices and longer loan terms, consumers are taking more time to research and commit. AI helps dealerships bridge this gap by providing instant responses to inquiries, offering personalized payment-based guidance, automating lead nurturing over longer decision cycles, and building trust through high-quality, consistent vehicle visuals.
What Does the Future Hold for Automotive AI Investment?
Looking ahead, the report concludes that 2026 will still be a year of recalibration rather than explosive growth. Successful dealers will be targeting “margin over volume.” Profitability will depend on maximizing gross per vehicle, strengthening F&I performance, and optimizing fixed operations. In this environment, operational efficiency is no longer a luxury but a necessity for survival. As dealership consolidation continues and the digital-to-showroom journey becomes the dominant sales path, the retailers who invest in intelligent, automated systems will be the ones to navigate the market’s complexities and continue to profit.
“2026 won’t be a boom year, rather, it will be a year of clarity,” said Varnwal. “Dealers who invest in digital consistency, price transparency, and smarter inventory decisions will outperform those chasing old playbooks. The winners will be the retailers who treat every lead, every image, and every customer touchpoint as a revenue moment.”
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