What's the one place aside from the DMV that sucks more than anything? If you answered a dealership, you are correct. Despite universal loathing, it's the one place we're forced to use whenever we want a new vehicle. And that's largely thanks to the incredibly powerful and corrupt dealership association here in the States and its unwillingness to change its predatory ways.
Why bother fixing what isn't broke? Well, at least not broke in hoodwinking folks into massive amounts of debt at high interest rates and hiding all sorts of fees only to spring them onto you in the finance office. I mean, what's wrong with a system like that!? Oh, subprime loans are back at an all time high? Oops.
I digress, but not really, as even the manufacturers know that the dealership experience is truly and utterly trash. But Moto Morini's solution, one in which it leverages AI salespeople, is one I'm scratching my head at. Because instead of spending all this money on AI this or AI that, what the hell is wrong with just making dealerships suck less?
According to Powersport Business, the AI salesperson was developed by the company, Ekho, and is designed to "engage shoppers in real time on MotoMoriniUSA.com — answering product questions, qualifying purchase intent, and routing leads directly to dealers across the brand’s expanding U.S. network. For Moto Morini, the move addresses a familiar challenge tied to rapid growth: increasing website traffic, rising consumer inquiries, and more leads than traditional contact forms can efficiently handle."
So it doesn't necessarily replace salespeople, but does a lot of the initial work to get folks into the door. But here's really where I take issue with what Moto Morini hopes to us Ekho for.
From Powersport Business' reporting, "The AI agent replaces static lead forms with conversational interactions, helping guide potential buyers to the right model based on riding style, experience level, and budget." Emphasis mine. I'm sorry, but we already know that AI hallucinates. We already know that AI is largely based on forums and Reddit posts and more user-based information, which inevitably means it gets a lot of things wrong. And we already know that AIs, as a whole, are deeply sycophantic. To the point where they're leading vulnerable folks off real cliffs. And that you can argue with it until it finally relents and tells you your choice is right.
How the hell is that going to give you the right suggestion for your first motorcycle? Or your second? Or that you want to upgrade from something to something bigger? It's not only going to get people hurt, but it's likely to cause financial strains, too. And, yes, this is supposedly where human salespeople come in, but we all know that human salespeople absolutely, positively suck. They're there to make a buck however they can, damn the consequences for you. I know, I was one, and left after a very brief stint because it was so slimy.
Seriously, how does this help with anything? Why can't manufacturers just finally tell dealerships to stop being awful? Why do we need to pivot to AI when all you have to do is tell bad dealerships, "Hey, if you don't fix how people see you, we're cutting you off." It's that simple, and I wish more manufacturers would grow a spine.
