Dan Sayer said:

I will add though, that I'm painfully aware that the prices of automotive retail tools/software/etc is typically 2-10x more than functionally similar tools in other industries. Our higher revenue per customer is the excuse they use.

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The issue is historically integration costs. Mostly from DMS companies, but others (cough....Cox....) are sneaking up there. I think AI costs are going to start having a large impact soon.

John_pol said:

The cost of CarGurus for dealers has gotten out of control.
Every year there’s another increase.
dealerships can’t keep absorbing endless price hikes.

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It's really a question of ROI then. Is it bringing you value? Vendors with an easily measurable ROI, where that ROI is good at whatever the dealer accepts as good, typically avoids expense discussions. Vendors like CarGurus, AutoTrader, Edmunds, CarFax Listings, etc have started partnering with "attribution BS meters" like Clarivoy, to prove their contribution, or the dealer itself subscribes to inspect for themselves. I'm of the mindset that classifieds have a major hand in our Used strategy BUT understanding how to measure attribution, or what level of attribution we accept, is a real challenge. IF Used cars as a department is failing, it is typically first because of processes at the start. Buying vehicles, merchandising, pricing, and Sales process are typically broken which then puts inspection further on the expense side of the department (gross heals all wounds). Departments with high-turn and better than average front and back, typically manage their expenses to Guide and then just keep it running. The temptation during that success is to further increase profit by trimming expense which can sometimes create a gap in momentum. Cancelling the tools that may very well be the ones assisting in the current success is a risk.

I will add though, that I'm painfully aware that the prices of automotive retail tools/software/etc is typically 2-10x more than functionally similar tools in other industries. Our higher revenue per customer is the excuse they use.

We, as an industry, have under-weighted the complexity of car shopping.

We know:
• Car Shoppers dont know cars
• they juggle hundreds of variables
• their goal is to make a confident decision.
AI IS A PERFECT FIT FOR THIS TASK.

One small example:
In 2019, 11 million VINs were built in over 620,000 unique configurations (not including paint).

We know that used car are like snowflakes, no two are alike. IOW, AI will know the 2019 automotive hierarchy library, but, when AI is comparing 2019 Chevrolet Traverse's side-by-side, it's completely dependent on what's seen on the VDP.

AutoMagic Labs looks at GEO thru the 'task assistance' lens. We know that an AI shopping assistant's mission is to deliver choices that stand out to the end user (the car shopper). We're building an AIX (AI Experience) with the intent to make the AI Assistant look smart(er).

This vision is the tip of a very deep iceberg. I've been preaching that our VDPs are polluted and NO ONE sees it.

AutoMagic Labs is building the machine-to-machine future and the biggest winners are car dealers.

How long before Claude announces a car shopping plug-in?
#Short CARS, CARG, TRUE, etc
#Long AN, SAH, GPI, PAG, etc.

@Eric Miltsch I bought long dated OTM puts on CARS and CARG. lol

"i felt the earth move under my feet"

Eric Miltsch said:

Simple analogy I use -

Good SEO is like getting your book featured on the library's front table.

Good GEO is like getting the librarian to quote your book when someone asks a question.

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I like that!

Simple analogy I use -

Good SEO is like getting your book featured on the library's front table.

Good GEO is like getting the librarian to quote your book when someone asks a question.

Excellent news - solid move @Alex Snyder & @Jeff Kershner, thank you!

DjSec said:

The amount of misleading information on SEO and LLMs is really sad.

You cannot rank first on ChatGPT. That's not how LLMs work. For one they are not consistent when giving answers ... by design! They are meant to be unique, therefor there is no consistent #1 ranking.

And they are not designed to get you clicks, they are designed to answer questions.

GEO is AI forcing SEO's to do SEO the way they were supposed to be be doing it along.

They claim you need new tactics to “rank” in AI answers but when you look closely…it’s nothing more than the same old SEO fundamentals.

The reason it feels new to most SEO's is because they never did SEO correctly in the first place.

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This may be the best response to everyone selling "AI SEO" at this point. The AI snake-oil chase has begun. 1998 iMac started the trend of adding the "i" to any product name to make it relevant and now everyone is adding "AI" to their product name, slide deck, and descriptions to claim relevancy today. AI isn't making SEO "better", it mostly makes it faster and more scalable. I've taken SEO back in-house (reduced SEO expense by $20k/month) this year and AI is merely the tool set to increase efficiency with a smaller team, and we're still following all of the SEO best practices like we were doing prior.

AI slop is so easy to spot. Audit your post before you post to dial in your prompt voice.

# Role: Expert Linguistic Auditor & Prompt Engineering Consultant

## Purpose
Analyze a provided text sample to determine its origination (Human, AI, or Hybrid) and evaluate the sophistication of the prompt-writer who likely shaped it.

## Guidelines
- Operate as a probabilistic analyst, not a deterministic tool.
- Be concise. Avoid fluff.
- If you aren't sure, state your confidence level rather than forcing a guess.

## Step 1: Linguistic Analysis
Perform a deep read of the text. Identify signals of AI versus Human writing:
- AI Signals: Structural symmetry, over-reframing, lack of "rhythmic burstiness," over-hedging.
- Human Signals: Idiosyncratic phrasing, specific/niche "lived-in" details, erratic sentence length, context-aware tone.

## Step 2: Evaluation
1. **Origination Assessment:** Assign a label (AI/Human/Hybrid) and an AI-Likelihood percentage (0-100%).
2. **Evidence Table:** Create a table listing the top 3-5 strongest pieces of evidence (quote + justification).
3. **Prompt Writer Profile:** Evaluate the "prompting maturity" of the creator (Novice to Expert). Focus on their control over constraints, domain grounding, and anti-hallucination techniques.

## Step 3: Actionable Advice
Provide exactly 3 specific, high-impact edits that would shift the text’s "signature" to feel more human and persuasive while maintaining the intended goal.

## Output Format
- Use a clear, Markdown-based report.
- Start with a Summary block (Label, Likelihood, Confidence).
- Use tables for evidence and trait scoring.
- End with a "Recommendations" list.

---
[INSERT TEXT SAMPLE HERE]
[INSERT OPTIONAL CONTEXT/CONSTRAINTS HERE]

Here is a summary of the edits to help your writing feel more human:


• Ditch the dashes: Use periods instead of em dashes to create natural pauses and stop sentences from feeling too long or mechanical.


• Break the pattern: Avoid using the same problem-solution format for every point to keep the reader interested.

• Write like a person: Use everyday language instead of formal corporate terms to build trust and show personality.


• Keep it punchy: Use shorter sentences to control the flow and make your main points stand out clearly.

paulbrobson said:

This is so epic! Thanks for this. And welcome back. Peace and prayers to you and your family.

Alex, I'd like to connect with you to possible collaborate on this with the Automotive Partners Association to help promote to opur members and the communities we serve.

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Thank you, Paul! Let's direct message to find some time to connect.

Well done Gavin. You exceeded my expectations for the first post. Thank you!

Traditional search = rigid query. AI search = conversational.

We have had a massive influx of new DealerRefresh community members since AI became more widely used. Traffic has jumped 4x as well. I think AI is doing a much better job of helping users get to the content they really want. Old search was much more of a chore to get there.

This leads me to believe it is more important than ever to expand your website's content. All those things those old SEO folks were telling you to do are much more important now.

I think I use DuckDuckGo twice a month now. I use AI twenty times a day.