Now that Day 2 is in the books, let’s take a look at what went down during a second exciting day of Digital Dealer Conference & Expo!
Just like Day 1, the day started with attendees getting fueled up at the networking breakfast!
Then it was time for the crowd to make its way to the start of Day 2’s hand-on workshop sessions.
One such valuable workshop was “Using AI Tools to Become an Elite Sales Manager – Tools and Techniques for the Next Level” with Jake Hales, Digital Operations Manager at Gee Automotive. Attendees were exposed to and utilized AI tools in a hands-on environment to organize their day, reduce their workload, and identify KPI opportunities. They walked away with a list of AI tools designed to improve their efficiency and enhance their skills and their team’s skills.
At the same time Anu Roberts, Sr. Director, Product Marketing at CDK and Andrew Lumsden, Senior Vice President of Platform Services at Impel were leading their session: “From Chaos to Intelligence: How AI Orchestrates the Future of Automotive Retail.” There they explored how emerging AI capabilities – like agentic orchestration, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and domain-specific intelligence – are transforming dealerships and OEMs from fragmented networks into adaptive, insight-driven businesses.
After the morning sessions, it was once again time for dedicated expo hall and networking time for all attendees! Out on the expo hall floor Ross Tinkhan, VP, Auto OEM at Podium gave his talk “Fast Lane to the Sale: Real Tactics to Supercharge Your Workforce With AI” on the DealerTech Live Stage.
There were also plenty of innovative and exciting booths out on the floor such as TradePending, Aviloo and CDK just to name a few.
A networking lunch followed up expo hall time and then it was once again time for more hands-on sessions.
Ian Cruickshank, President & CEO of Leadbox Inc. had his workshop: “Beyond the Basics: Practical AI Strategies for Auto Dealerships” where attendees explored the next stage of AI adoption for auto dealerships. They learned how to use AI for smarter inventory management, reducing aged stock and optimizing pricing, and saw how dealers are measuring and maximizing AI ROI, ensuring that every AI-powered initiative delivers results.
Then the day wrapped up with Brett Wees talk “AI Hacks: Best Practices & Takeaways from AI Hackathon” on the DealerTech Live Stage and the announcement of AI Hackathon winners.
Then Show Director Jaymie Nielsen announced a big update for Digital Dealer during the Closing Reception. Digital Dealer 2026 is moving to Detroit!
Thank you all for attending another great year of Digital Dealer! From our team, our speakers, our exhibitors and our attendees, everyone came together to make it a valuable and exceptional experience. See you all in Detroit next year!