Robert DeGeorge on Why AI Needs Analytics to Win

Robert DeGeorge, Director of Product Consulting for Dealer.com and VinSolutions, explains how dealers can use AI alongside traditional analytics to make smarter decisions about their websites and digital marketing. While AI can analyze language, identify content gaps, and suggest improvements, DeGeorge cautions that its recommendations should not replace verified performance data.

Key discussion points include:

• Why AI cannot replace analytics for measuring website performance 
•  The risks of making decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete data
•  How dealers can verify AI recommendations using analytics, CRM, call tracking, and website data 
•  Using AI to identify content gaps and merchandising opportunities
•  Improving calls to action and customer-facing website content
•  Why combining trusted measurement with AI interpretation creates a stronger digital strategy 

DeGeorge also discusses how dealerships can provide AI with better context and specific data to generate more useful insights, while keeping human expertise involved in decisions that affect budgets, vendors, and website strategy.

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Transcript

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Why AI Answers Can Mislead

Announcer 0:06

Welcome to Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:11

Just because AI gives you an answer doesn't necessarily mean it's the right answer. So how should dealers use it? And more importantly, how do they know when to trust it? Which I'm having a problem with. Joining us now is Robert DeGeorge, who's the director of product consulting for dealer.com and uh Vin Solutions, Retail Solutions Sales. So to talk about where AI can actually help dealers, where it can miss the mark, and what dealers should do before acting on an AI generated recommendation. So I'm looking forward to today's uh discussion with you, Robert. So thank you so much for joining me.

Robert DeGeorge 0:48

Pleasure to be here, Jim.

The Big Misconception About AI

Robert DeGeorge 0:49

Sure.

Jim Fitzpatrick 0:49

So uh dealers are embracing AI at a rapid pace. What's the biggest misconception about using AI to elevate the dealership websites?

Robert DeGeorge 1:00

So a lot of dealers today uh assume that AI can measure website performance. But the thing is, is that's not what large language models are designed to do. Okay. Um AI is excellent at summarizing, at interpreting, at explaining information, but ultimately it's not a replacement for Google Analytics or SEO platforms, website reporting tools, or other systems that actually measure performance. Okay. And reliable outputs, AI outputs, depend on reliable data inputs. It's like the old adage, Jim, garbage in, garbage out, and that's exactly what's going to happen with AI.

Confident Output Is Not Proof

Jim Fitzpatrick 1:43

What can AI generated recommendations uh, you know, why can they sound so convincing even when they're not always accurate?

Robert DeGeorge 1:52

So one of the biggest myths is that, you know, if AI sounds confident, then it must be correct. And you know, AI can generate highly persuasive answers all without having access to a dealer's actual like website traffic, conversion data, sure, uh, website crawl data, or just overall performance data. And it's important to remember that AI generates explanations, it also generates probabilities, uh, but not necessarily generates facts.

Verify Before You Change Strategy

Jim Fitzpatrick 2:27

If a dealer receives an AI-generated assessment of their website, what should they do before acting on it?

Robert DeGeorge 2:33

Yeah, so they're gonna want to treat every AI generated recommendation as an unverified claim, really until proven otherwise. Um and dealers should do this, right? They should validate their findings against trusted sources. When I say trusted sources, I'm specifically referring to Google Analytics. I'm referring to their CRM data, their call tracking reporting, and their ultimately website provider reporting. The thing is, like if a recommendation can affect budget, if it could affect your website uh strategy, your merchandising strategy, or your vendor relationships, then it should always be reviewed and verified by human.

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:15

Yeah,

Where AI Truly Helps Dealers

Jim Fitzpatrick 3:16

for sure. Where does AI provide the most value from your perspective for dealers today?

Robert DeGeorge 3:22

Yeah, so in my from my perspective, you know, AI is really the most effective when dealers provide specific content or specific data for it to review. Okay. Um, because it can help summarize reports, it can identify content gaps, it can compare website messaging against competitor messaging, uh, and really uh evaluate customer-facing content for clarity. And the thing is, is like because AI is language-based, it can be especially uh useful for improving website messaging and the overall shopper experience.

AI Plus Analytics Wins

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:01

If dealers remember one thing from this conversation, what should it be?

Robert DeGeorge 4:07

Yeah, it should be this: that the winning approach is not AI versus analytics. Instead, the winning approach is AI plus analytics. And dealers should they should trust real data first. Then from there, they're gonna want to use AI to help interpret, to help explain, and then act on that information. Because the the most successful dealerships, Jim, they're gonna combine trusted measurement tools with AI-powered insights to help them make smarter decisions.

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:37

Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Closing Thanks And Wrap

Jim Fitzpatrick 4:39

Robert DeGeorge, director of product consulting for dealer.com and Vin Solutions Retail Solutions Sales. Thank you so much for stopping by CBT News. I know that our viewing audience, dealer audience, I should say, will get a lot out of your recommendations today. So thanks so much. My pleasure, Jim. Thanks.

Announcer 4:57

Thanks for watching Inside Automotive with Jim Fitzpatrick.