Death of the Car Salesman? BMW Makes AI App To Sell Electric Cars 168
cartechboy writes "You thought Willy Loman had it bad. BMW is launching an artificial intelligence app allowing consumers to ask questions about its new BMW i3 electric car without the hassle of having to pick up the phone or go into a dealership. Potential customers can text a simple question about the i3 and the system builds an appropriate response in real-time using AI — interpreting words, sentiment, and context. The futuristic robo-car salesman was developed by 19-year-old entrepreneur Dmitry Aksenov and operates around the clock. No word on whether the app says, 'Wait here — I'll check with my sales manager,' like human car dealers often do."
Re:oh please please please (Score:4, Informative)
Yes. The Internet already does 90% of what a realtor does.
Which makes me wonder what I need them for and why I am legally required to only sell my real-estate through a realtor. They only use I can see for a realtor like person is to act as a trusted intermediary who checks buyers/sellers criminal records and verifies everything is in order before a sale is finalised (ya'know basic stuff like does he actually own or have authority to sell the house?) but unfortunately, as the system currently works in my country, they are not required by law to do either because I regularly read news of people being cheated.
If your understanding of what is involved in a real-estate transaction is so ... well "off", to be polite... I'd strongly suggest if you ever do so, use a real estate agent. In the buying and selling side, I think they provide value, but not good value at a split of 5% of a transaction. On the selling side, some do earn that with sufficient work but most don't. On the buying side, some earn it with dozens or hundreds of hours of showing houses to inexperienced buyers. As a seller I'd prefer a buyer with one because the odds are higher that the process will go smoothly.
But, at least in the US, there's no law requiring it for sale or purchase. Your might need to drop a few hundred more in lawyer fees, but the forms you need are public and easy to fill out. And, as a seller without one, you do have to understand that you're not likely to find a buyer if you're not willing to pony up the 2.5% to a buyer's agent that they would've gotten from the seller's agent if you had one.
Its a staggeringly inefficient process, but there are too many people with their fingers in the pie to ever optimize it. At least the Internet has streamlined the mortgage process and passing around documents.