Car Buyers Are Already Using AI to Choose Their Next Vehicle

Car Buying Experience

When someone is looking to purchase a new car, the experience entails a lot of mixed emotions. Exhilaration and excitement from the prospect of a new car, sometimes tiring and frustrating, given the many processes that come with it.

Car shopping behavior has changed over the years. The ease and expansion of the internet have enabled people to gather as much information as possible before making a purchase. Another new frontier of tech is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is apparently already making its way into the car-buying sphere.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Automotive Newsreleased a report highlighting that some people have already used AI tools to purchase a new vehicle. Cited in the report was Cox Automotive, a company that provides end-to-end services of the whole automotive life cycle. Some of the products that Cox Automotive offers are digital marketing, financial software, and wholesale remarketing.

Cox Automotive published a 2025 Car Buyer Journey, and the interesting part of the report was its section on AI tools used for car buying. It said that although a relatively small number of car buyers used AI to buy new cars, they were highly satisfied with the experience and, crucially, had greater trust in dealerships and a quicker, easier purchase experience.

One of the main highlights of the report states that these buyers enjoyed real-time answers and personal recommendations, which we know AI tools can provide. In terms of demographics and age groups, the Cox Automotive report said that Gen Z, Millennials, multicultural buyers, and buyers with children were the most likely to use AI tools. To prepare the report, Cox surveyed 2,300 car buyers who purchased a new or used vehicle within 12 months.

Key Figures

As expansive as the report is, here are some key behavioral findings that give insight into the conducted study. First, 19% of all buyers and 25% of new-car buyers made a purchase after using and consulting AI tools like ChatGPT or Google AI Overview. 59% of buyers said they were highly satisfied after using the AI tools, and 83% of these buyers said AI will eventually impact car buying.