A survey conducted by Reynolds and Reynolds to inform its Q1 2026 State of AI in Automotive Retail report finds dealer principals and dealership executives are more likely to use AI in their daily work than any of their managers or employees.

Seventy percent of executives and dealer principals say they personally use AI tools now, a higher rate than respondents working in sales or fixed ops. The majority (57%) of all respondents say they use AI for work. Remarkably, an even greater number (61%) believe that, given the choice, more customers would prefer to interact with AI tools than human workers.

The most commonly cited use cases are lead response, sales and service scheduling, and data reporting and analysis. The most commonly listed benefits are faster and more consistent lead follow-up, process automation, efficiency and improved data analysis.

Ninety percent of respondents feel “very comfortable” (55%) or “somewhat comfortable” (35%) with adopting and learning to use AI tools. In a recent, unrelated CDK survey, only 39% of dealers say AI is in use at their stores, but another 27% plan to invest in 2026.

Analysts say growing familiarity is breeding more rapid adoption. “But make no mistake, AI is here now. How the automotive retail industry adapts to it — and how quickly — will play a role in each dealership’s success.”

Read the full report at Reynolds and Reynolds