A Versatile Guide to AI in the Automotive Industry

In today’s world, it seems everyone is talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI)—and for good reason. AI has seemingly limitless data processing capabilities and, in the right situations, it can be trained to complete tasks autonomously. This opens the door for many exciting possible applications within every industry.

Though we’re still exploring the limits of AI and learning how to capitalize on its vast abilities, certain industries, like the automotive sector, are already seeing huge benefits from implementing AI-powered tools into their day-to-day processes.

Learn how AI in the automotive industry is improving car sales and how AI-powered platforms like Podium can give you the tools your company needs to take your business to the next level and develop better strategies for record sales.

What is AI in Automotive?

There are many areas in the automotive sector in which AI is currently being applied to optimize workflows and automate manual, repetitive tasks. Anywhere an AI-powered tool or AI software is used to accomplish a specific task the action can be classified as an example of AI use in the automotive industry. Because AI can be applied in a variety of ways, examples of AI in the automotive industry can look very different from each other.

On a smaller scale, it could look like a chatbot on your website that automatically responds to customer questions, or, on the opposite side of the spectrum, it could look like advanced driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles that drive themselves. Though very different, both qualify as examples of how AI is being used in the automotive industry.

5 Benefits of AI in the Automotive Industry

1. Improved Safety Features

AI has facilitated the development of several very important safety systems such as lane assist, automatic cruise control, emergency braking, and others. These systems auto-recognize specific conditions or road hazards and alert the driver. In some cases, like emergency braking, the technology can act without additional input from the driver and complete an action such as braking when a hazard is detected.

2. Predictive Maintenance

Cars today are equipped with many different smart sensors that auto-detect problems like low tire pressure and warn the driver that maintenance is needed. Because many of these sensors are internet-enabled, AI in cars can make it much easier to perform predictive maintenance. By comparing real-time car data to historical records, AI can predict when maintenance will be needed and alert the necessary parties. AI can even take it one step further and automate text messaging in the automotive industry to send reminder texts to customers automatically when maintenance is predicted to be due.

3. Cost Savings

AI is really good at recognizing patterns, which means it can be used to help optimize workflows by identifying problem areas and suggesting ways to improve efficiency. This ability has significantly impacted the automobile manufacturing process and supply chain logistics as well as dealerships, helping to reduce operational costs. AI can also be trained to spot imperfections in assembly lines and can do so with much higher accuracy than human workers. This enables manufacturers to catch flaws and pull faulty parts off the production line earlier so they don’t cause bigger, more expensive problems later.

4. Enhanced In-Car Infotainment and User Experience

One of AI’s greatest strengths is its ability to customize and personalize processes to an individual. A great example of how it’s being used to tailor experiences to customers in the automotive sector is enhanced infotainment centers equipped with a voice-activated virtual assistant. These virtual assistants are capable of understanding spoken commands in the driver’s native tongue and can learn from their behaviors to make personalized recommendations for what music to play next or where to navigate. This enables the car to deliver a more satisfactory user experience for customers.

5. Personalized Sales and Customer Experience

AI is particularly useful in sales and customer service. It’s able to analyze online customer behavior and compare it to historical data to pull key insights that help sales reps and support agents deliver more personalized experiences. AI is most commonly used as a communication tool in this area of the automotive industry, helping perform tasks like drafting persuasive sales email templates and fielding questions in managed sales chats to help improve response times.

The Integration of AI Across the Automotive Value Chain

The automotive value chain has three main categories: design and manufacturing, transportation, and service and AI has been successfully integrated into all three.

In design and manufacturing, AI has made it possible to generate a digital twin of a potential vehicle model that can be used for testing. This is a much more cost-effective design solution and saves manufacturers time since modifications and repairs can be made more easily in the virtual testing environment. AI is also helping on the manufacturing front by automating the repetitive tasks on an assembly line so human workers can focus on more complicated tasks that require a human touch.

In transportation, AI in cars is filling the gaps in a driver’s experience with enhanced safety features like blind spot monitoring and driver fatigue detection as well as helping with more technical driving skills via programs such as parking assistance. Tesla has successfully implemented many of these safety features in their cars to the point that a Tesla car can practically operate itself.

AI is also helpful in performing driver assessments. It can quickly look at its history and flag potential issues or future problems based on what it finds.

Finally, in service AI is making waves with its ability to predict maintenance and automatically send reminders to drivers. It’s also helpful in calculating how risky a driver may be for insurance programs. AI can compare historical data to real-time behavior and quickly analyze how likely a driver is to be in an accident.

How AI Is Shaping the Automotive Industry in 4 Key Ways

The benefits of AI are still being discovered, but the automotive industry has already been heavily influenced by this technology. Here are just a few of the major changes AI has inspired:

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Many of the enhanced safety features in cars wouldn’t be possible without AI. Thanks to their significant help in accident prevention, these advanced driver assistance systems powered by AI have become an industry standard.

Predictive Maintenance and Vehicle Health Monitoring

Predictive maintenance has extended the average life of vehicles by helping drivers stay on top of regular maintenance and identify issues early on before they cause significant damage to the vehicle.

Autonomous Driving Revolution

AI’s ability to interpret external stimuli and respond autonomously has created a buzz around the possibility of self-driving vehicles. Many automotive manufacturers are currently testing and developing completely autonomous vehicles and, in the process, discovering new ways to further automate driving for customers.

Personalized Sales and Customer Experience

Customers expect quick responses to their questions and now, thanks to AI, the automotive industry can deliver near-instant responses that are not just fast, but accurate too. This greatly improves the overall customer experience.

8 Uses Cases of AI in The Automotive Industry

Though they may not consciously know it, today’s customers have come to expect AI features in cars and in their dealings with automotive businesses. Some of the most common use cases for AI in the automotive industry include:

Personal Voice Assistants

Alexa and Siri are two of the most well-known personal voice assistants. Many cars are compatible with these third-party AI assistants, and some automotive manufacturers have even developed their own voice-activated assistant that can automatically adjust user settings in the car and monitor vehicle health statistics—like how much gas or oil is left in the car.

Fraud Detection in Insurance

Fraudsters are very clever and the automotive industry faces its fair share, especially in the insurance world. AI can be trained to look at insurance claims and recognize common patterns of suspicious behavior or actions that corresponded to fraudulent claims in years past. The AI will then mark those claims so a human employee can give it an in-depth review. AI can also be used to measure a potential policyholder’s level of risk based on past driving data and behavior patterns.

Autonomous Vehicles

AI’s machine learning capabilities have made a future with self-driving cars more realistic than it was a few years ago. Complex visual sensors can read traffic lights and signs and communicate them to the AI so it can respond with the appropriate action. This makes it possible for vehicles to obey traffic laws and navigate streets without human intervention.

Emissions Reduction and Fuel Efficiency

AI in cars can be used to monitor and track carbon emissions more accurately so steps can be taken to reduce them. AI can also be used to analyze the incoming data and suggest ways to lower a business’s total carbon emissions, so they can be more eco-friendly and achieve their goals of going green.

Smart Manufacturing

Engineers and designers can now use AI to create a digital twin or copy of their automobile design and test different features or ideas. This virtual simulation is a much more cost-effective way to test and calculate a car’s performance and gain insights for improvement from the AI before building a physical model.

Marketing Automation

Successful automotive marketing strategies today almost always utilize AI because it can take in data from multiple sources like the company website or social media and mine key insights about each customer. This information helps marketing reps identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities, refine their SEO strategy for the dealership, and brainstorm new ideas to boost conversions.

Predictive Analytics of Sales Forecasting

Businesses can use AI to predict fluctuations in demand and manage sales forecasting more accurately. Demand forecasting requires a comparison of multiple data points, which AI can easily do in less time than it takes a human. It can take into account the current economic conditions and industry trends, as well as historical sales data, and generate a prediction that business owners can use to manage their inventory more efficiently. This reduces the chances of stockouts and surpluses, both of which eat into the company’s bottom line.

Gesture Recognition for Interior Controls

Using the same visual processing capabilities used to help autonomous vehicles take in their environment, one of the newest AI car features is the ability to recognize gestures from the driver and respond with an action, much like the voice commands that a virtual assistant would respond to. This feature helps keep drivers’ eyes on the road and improves safety.

Take Your Automotive Business to the Future With Podium

Podium is an innovative AI solution for business owners in the automotive industry. It’s specifically designed to help you get and convert more leads. Podium’s platform is powered by AI and includes several helpful AI-powered tools that can automate your BDC.

However, its standout feature by far is Podium’s AI Employee, which is an AI capable of using the Podium platform independently to perform tasks for you. The AI Employee operates 24/7 to schedule appointments with customers, answer customer inquiries, and follow up with potential leads via text. The best part is that it’s equipped with conversational AI, which means the AI Employee can hold a conversation with potential customers and sound completely human.

With Podium’s AI Employee on your side, you can respond faster than your competition and never miss another potential customer. Watch a demo of Podium’s AI Employee in action.

FAQs

What is an example of AI in automotive?

Self-driving vehicles are one great example of AI in the automotive industry that’s creating a lot of headlines, but a more common example is driver-assisted systems like blind spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, emergency braking, adaptive lighting, and others.

What is the future of AI in the automotive industry?

Businesses in the automotive sector are rapidly adopting AI and AI-powered tools. This trend will continue and will greatly influence business decisions moving forward. As the automotive industry continues to study and discover new applications for AI, it will become more commonplace and facilitate huge leaps forward in improving efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Which AI technique is most common in the automotive industry?

The most common AI application by far is in advanced driver assistance systems. Many of these systems are now industry standard because of the extra safety and protection they provide to drivers.