Commonwealth Bank says the platform will help customers compare and calculate the total cost of car ownership among models. (Source: Getty)
Purchasing a car requires Aussies to be armed with a lot of information to get the best deal and to avoid making any major mistakes. But not everyone has the requisite knowledge when entering the car market.
Now AutoGrab and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have teamed up to launch the first-of-its-kind AI assistant in Australia to help those looking for their new set of wheels. AutoGrab COO Saxon Odgers told Yahoo Finance that industry data which underpins the AI platform has previously only been available to car dealerships, but now it’s being released to the public.
“If you look at the housing market, information is so accessible to consumers around supply, demand, auction clearance rates, and what areas are doing well. In the automotive industry, that information isn’t accessible,” he explained.
There is currently about 338,000 cars listed for sale across the country, meaning buyers have plenty of choice.
CBA’s personal lending lead Joel Larsen told Yahoo Finance that consumer facing tool will be a game-changer for people who want tailored information when looking for a car.
“People ask a lot of different questions about buying a car and they might go and speak to a car dealer, who might only tell them the comparison that they want to make with one brand, for example,” he said.
“Our tool is actually helping customers compare different features and settings across the whole market of what’s available to them.
“There might be certain things that are really important to them, like the size of a car, safety, what they can fit in it, whether it’s appropriate for a small family, whether it’s appropriate for commuting, and it helps them really compare different brands.”
He said it takes roughly three months for people to complete their car buying journey, and hopefully this tech will empower even the most fastidious buyers to shorten that timeframe.
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AutoGrab’s Saxon Odgers said this AI technology will make buying and selling a car much easier. (Source: Supplied/Getty)
The AI assistant is available on the Cars for CommBank platform, a marketplace featuring more than 15,000 new and used vehicles.
Anyone can browse the platform, but CBA customers will be able to connect with car dealers selling the vehicles and access discounted finance.
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The AI assistant uses the millions of points of data about the automotive industry that AutoGrab has access to and acts as a directory for any and all questions.
If a person is looking to buy a car on the platform, they might not know what they want or need.
Most car platforms will make buyers pick from individual car brands and models and then cycle through the vehicles that are available.
But if someone had no clue what they were looking for, they could tell the AI chatbot about their situation and preferences to surface applicable vehicles.
For example, they could say they have kids, a pet, love going off-road, need room for a pram, are a business owner and need plenty of boot space. Whatever it is, explaining who they are will help the AI assistant come up with a list of vehicles that would be suited to them.
You’ll be able to ask the AI assistant questions about certain vehicles and whether they will cater to your lifestyle and needs. (Source: CBA/Supplied)
If a buyer finds a car they like, they can ask the AI tech virtually any question under the sun about it to see if it suits their needs.
“You can query it on specification information,” Odgers said. “What towing capacity does this vehicle have? What’s the fuel efficiency? In the electric vehicle market, how many kilometres does a charge get me?”
Sellers can also ask questions like “how long does it take for this model to sell?”
The AI assistant is set to be updated in a few weeks to provide buyers and sellers with plenty of information about price.
A person might have an idea of how much their car is worth when they take it to a dealership, but the dealer might come in with a price much lower than expected.
This update will ensure people know exactly how much they should offload their vehicle for to ensure they don’t get lowballed.
“It’s designed to give consumers confidence around the price,” Odgers said, meaning they won’t have to spend too much time “going down an extensive task of comparison.”
It’ll show them what the car is worth compared to others in the market in similar condition and whether it’s above, below, or bang-on market value.
“Pricing can be a little bit opaque in the automotive industry or have starting prices, and then you’ll have add ons and add ons and add ons,” Larsen said.
“We’re looking at more ways to help customers calculate the total cost of ownership.
“An example of that is not just the upfront cost of the vehicle, but also things like fuel costs versus if I was to buy a hybrid, or if I was to buy an electric vehicle.
“You can give people an overall picture of what the cost of ownership is going to be for the car, not just the upfront cost.”
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