TrueCar, an automotive marketplace for new and used cars, has entered into a multi-year strategic partnership with Impel, a leader in automotive AI solutions. The agreement names Impel as the exclusive provider of AI technology for TrueCar, setting the stage for a next-generation car-buying experience for its network of 11,500 certified dealers and the millions of members they serve through affinity partners like AAA and Sam’s Club.
The collaboration will integrate Impel’s enterprise-grade AI Operating System directly into the TrueCar ecosystem. This move is designed to create a more seamless, personalized, and efficient journey for shoppers while driving higher-quality leads and greater sales conversions for dealers. By deploying customized AI agents, the partnership tackles a key challenge for third-party marketplaces: delivering a consistent, branded, and compliant experience across diverse partner programs, a complexity that often strains traditional dealership BDCs.
TrueCar and Impel Working Together
At the core of the partnership is a custom-built AI agent designed specifically for TrueCar’s unique model. This agent is capable of supporting every individual membership program powered by the TrueCar network, ensuring that whether a customer is a member of a credit union, AAA, or a military family, they receive a concierge-level experience that adheres to specific brand and compliance standards.
“By choosing Impel as our strategic AI partner, we are ensuring that every shopper receives an immediate, intelligent, and highly personalized concierge experience,” said Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of TrueCar. “In our evaluation of the landscape, Impel consistently outperformed other solutions by a wide margin, proving itself to be the most performant engine for driving complex transactions.”
How Does this Affect Dealers?
TrueCar is hoping this agreement will bring immediate benefit to its 11,500 certified dealers. The platform’s AI will handle initial engagement and nurturing, providing 24/7, “contextually-aware” support to high-intent shoppers. This frees up dealership staff from administrative tasks and allows them to focus on high-value interactions, ultimately aiming to boost sales conversions and long-term loyalty. Impel reports that its platform has increased sales conversions by an average of 27% for its existing dealer partners.
The partnership also involves embedding Impel’s Chat AI and Sales AI agents directly into the TrueCar website and mobile app. This will provide shoppers with a “digital concierge” experience, answering vehicle-specific questions, facilitating trade-in inquiries, and guiding them through financing options before they ever set foot in a dealership.
The collaboration extends benefits to TrueCar’s 250 partner organizations, enhancing their ability to offer valuable car-buying programs. The AI-powered experience ensures that their members receive a consistently high-quality journey that reflects the partner’s brand standards.
“As TrueCar enters this new chapter as a private company, it creates the perfect opportunity to deploy a fully AI-native marketplace experience for the 11,500 dealerships and the millions of shoppers they serve,” said Devin Daly, Co-Founder and CEO of Impel. “Impel’s Automotive AI Operating System was designed to handle precisely these kinds of enterprise-level complexities across the entire customer lifecycle. By pairing our autonomous AI agents with TrueCar’s expansive network, we are set to deliver a high-performance experience that redefines the car-buying model for the digital era.”
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