A new Carleton survey finds lending, banking, finance and fintech professionals are both optimistic and cautious toward new systems designed to improve speed, accuracy and compliance. +

RouteOne has adopted machine learning and optical character recognition to identify and process “not electronically originated” documents included with econtracting packages. +

A SearchLab Digital study finds the average major-market auto dealer ranked No. 10 in Google search results would have to spend $2.94 million per year on PPC ads to climb to No. 1. +

The newest addition to DAS Technology’s Consumer Data and Experience Platform is AI-powered, “hyper-personalized” videos designed to help dealers engage car shoppers with tailored content. +

A Phyron survey of U.S. auto dealers finds 87% believe AI will replace some staff members by 2030, only 5% say AI will “never” fully take over some roles and about half believe AI will sell vehicles by 2028. +

A new reputation management platform promises to identify removable reviews found to be in violation of rules such as conflict of interest, prohibited content and competitor sabotage.+

DriveCentric has devised a “next-gen” CRM strategy to break down technology silos and manage the entire dealership customer lifecycle on one flexible platform. +

Lotlinx’s Len Short describes hidden inventory risk as a “silent threat” and “critical blind spot” that leaves units with correctable issues stagnating on dealer lots until they are flagged for deep discounts. +

inride has added Trade Agent AI, a new, agentic AI tool designed to proactively and autonomously identify trade-in and purchase opportunities and engage with vehicle owners. +

Protective Asset Protection has launched an AI-fueled expansion to its Protective Training Institute, including the integration of Anomaly Labs’ AutoTrainer coaching and roleplaying tool. +