The End of Dealer Software as We Know It + Reacting to Live Dealer Comments | Pre-NADA AI #7

Описание: Today I’m joined by Eric Rea, CEO of Podium. We unpack why dealers no longer care about more software—and only care about solving the people problem. Eric breaks down how AI agents are replacing labor across sales and service, why speed is now the ultimate competitive advantage, and how fixed ops is finally getting real AI help instead of glorified answering services.

This episode is brought to you by:

1. ‪@cnanational‬CNA National is the premier F&I provider for dealerships nationwide. With more than four decades in the industry, we’ve earned a reputation for service excellence. Plus, we are backed by one of the largest insurers in the U.S. If you are looking for stability, consistency and experience, look no further than CNA National. Register for your commitment-free F&I profitability analysis by visiting @ https://www.cnanational.com/NADA.

2. ‪@Ikon.Technologies‬Ikon Technologies delivers a connected vehicle program for dealers that maximizes Customer Lifetime Value by driving sales efficiency and securing non-cancellable PVR on your front end while delivering an average of 50 additional customer-pay ROs every single month for your service bays. At NADA 2026 in Las Vegas, visit Stand 1763 West to see the benefits for yourself and take your chance to roll the dice to win a Rolls Royce (terms and conditions apply; no purchase necessary). Plus, as an exclusive offer for listeners, mention “Car Dealership Guy” when you sign up at NADA to have your entire initial installation fee waived—book your demo today @ https://ikontechnologies.com.

3. ‪@Podiumsoftware‬78% of customers buy from the first business that responds, yet most businesses reply an hour or more late. In 2023 Podium deployed AI Employees to close that gap. In 2025 Podium released Jerry 2.0, a massive update that completely reimagines the AI Employee. Jerry 2.0 is the only fully customizable AI Employee. Jerry learns your playbooks, understands your inventory, schedules appointments, books test drives, handles trade-ins, books consultations, sends promotions, requests reviews, and learns from your feedback—within minutes, day or night. In the past year alone, Jerry influenced more than $30B in sales and handled 4.5M+ leads, 350K+ appointments, and 125K+ calls. Businesses now let Podium’s AI Employees handle 40% of their inbound leads, giving teams more time for their customers—and more time home for dinner. Learn what Jerry can do for you @ https://bit.ly/45OROup

Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:

For dealers:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com
Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://cdgguest.com

For industry vendors:
Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://cdgpartner.com
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://cdgguest.com

Topics:
01:08 How is AI changing dealerships?
04:03 What are the software challenges in dealerships?
06:42 How is AI added to dealerships?
18:45 How does AI personalize customer service?
19:14 What makes a CRM good?
20:03 What is the future of AI?
25:30 How does voice AI help service?
30:07 What are the upcoming plans for Podium?

Car Dealership Guy Socials:
X ➤ https://www.x.com/GuyDealership
Instagram ➤   / cardealershipguy  
TikTok ➤   / guydealership  
LinkedIn ➤   / cardealershipguy  
Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershi...
Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...
Everything else ➤ https://www.dealershipguy.com