Even though I’m writing a new series of LinkedIn articles to help General Managers navigate the rapidly shifting landscape of technology and marketing, I’m taking a quick diversion today.
A few people have recently approached me with the same question:
Do you think hosting Claude workshops will hurt your relationships with automotive vendors?
At first, I wasn’t sure what they meant. Then it clicked.
If Gray Scott and I are building a world-class, hands-on AI and coding experience for dealers—showing them how to create reports, applications, dashboards, automations, and connectors—will some members of the vendor community see us as a threat to their business?
I see it completely differently.
Vendors should not fear AI educators. That horse has already left the barn.
What vendors should be concerned about is whether they are prepared for a world in which dealers expect robust APIs, MCP connectors, and practical access to their own data.
The best example of what is happening is right inside my own household.
With very little coaching from me, Carrie Pasch built an enterprise application for her EquipHer Conference and ConnectHer coaching groups in three days. She also updated her personal website and built an entirely new website for another project she recently launched—all within two weeks.
That is the power shift we are witnessing.
Companies such as J.D. Power, Urban Science, Client Command®, and Equifax possess tremendous amounts of valuable data that give them a competitive advantage. AI creates entirely new ways to unlock that data and turn it into actionable intelligence.
I hope these companies—and others like them—embrace the opportunity.
In the AI era, companies that embrace open data access and modern connectors will increasingly be viewed as companies that support dealer innovation rather than restrict it.
Education should never be seen as a threat
There was a famous menswear advertising line:
“An educated consumer is our best customer.”
I believe AI is going to change the balance of power between dealers and technology companies.
That does not mean dealers suddenly want to build their own DMS, CRM, or CDP.
For the most part, they don’t.
What dealers do want is the ability to create highly customized experiences for their businesses, including:
- Customized dashboards that bring data from multiple vendors into one view or portal
- Deeper analysis of operational and financial data
- Simpler ways to understand website and marketing performance
- Proactive alerts when data or trends fall outside normal patterns
- Better ways to create personalized customer experiences across every department
- Auditing tools that identify waste, errors, and opportunities to save money
At the Learn Claude for Dealers Conference in Atlanta last September, I was amazed by the applications, dashboards, reports, and tools dealers built themselves.
I haven’t seen this level of excitement from dealers since the early DrivingSales conferences hosted by Jared Hamilton, when Google search, digital marketing, and social media were becoming disruptive forces in automotive retail.
AI feels like another one of those moments.
Perhaps an even bigger one.
Dealers do not want to be in the software business
For the most part, dealers do not want to become software development companies.
But the doors of the data prisons are opening.
The walls around traditional vendor ecosystems are coming down.
Dealers can now do more with their data than ever before—provided their vendor partners give them reasonable access to it.
That is the excitement Gray and I see on dealers’ faces.
When a dealership employee realizes, “I can build this,” something changes.
They can create a report that saves hours every week.
They can analyze data that previously required a vendor request.
They can connect information that previously lived in separate systems.
They can build a tool specifically designed around the way their dealership operates.
That education is a blessing, not a threat.
Of course, dealers also need to understand the risks associated with building their own applications—especially applications with public logins, customer data, or external interfaces.
That is why data security, permissions, governance, and responsible AI development will be an even larger part of our upcoming conferences.
Education has to include both capability and responsibility.
Dealers and vendors need each other
Look at the agenda for the 2026 Modern Retailing Conference (MRC) and you will see that we are intentionally bringing dealers and vendors together to have the conversations our industry needs to have:
Who will control customer engagement and communications?
Which platform should become the system of record?
What will dealership websites look like as agent-to-agent technology becomes more common?
How should dealers balance human resources with AI agents?
These questions will not be solved by dealers alone.
They will not be solved by vendors alone.
They will require both sides to work together.
That is why I’m proud to be educating dealers about AI.
Earlier in my career, I was one of the first people in automotive retail to train dealers on Google Analytics and to publish comprehensive guides on digital marketing.
Today, AI represents another major technology shift.
Dealer education is needed.
Stronger vendor partnerships will be needed.
Better data access will be needed.
And a willingness to rethink old business models will definitely be needed.
For 21 years, I have tried to put the dealer first, and I intend to remain true to that commitment.
If a vendor decides not to support a dealer education conference because I taught dealers how to use Claude to become smarter, more productive, and more capable with their own data, that is certainly their choice.
But I believe the vendors that win in the AI era will take the opposite approach.
They will make their products easier to connect.
They will make their data easier to use.
And they will see educated, capable dealers as their best customers—not their biggest threat.
