A shopper who calls a CarMax store to ask about hours or whether a car is still on the lot now reaches an artificial intelligence agent first. The agent asks clarifying questions, answers what it can and hands the rest to an associate.
CarMax has scaled that AI voice technology to every inbound call. The system now covers “100% of both inbound store and customer experience center calls,” CEO Keith Barr said on the used-car retailer’s fiscal second-quarter earnings call Sept. 29. Customers can resolve requests through the company’s “agentic AI tools or directly connect to the right associate,” he said.
CarMax built the system with Sierra, the AI customer service company led by CEO Bret Taylor. The voice agents went live in May and answer common questions such as store hours and vehicle availability, CarMax said in August. They also make transfers to associates smoother.
The deployment covers a large operation. CarMax runs more than 255 stores with about 28,000 associates and sold about 780,000 used vehicles, the company said.
Sierra is scaling just as fast. The company raised $950 million in May at a $15.8 billion valuation and serves a third of the world’s biggest banks, PYMNTS reported.
CarMax Extends Agents Toward Appraisals and Test Drives
Barr has said the company’s online and in-store experiences need to connect better. “Our digital experience is too complex and not seamlessly connected to the in-person experience,” he said in June, as PYMNTS reported.
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The voice agents are the next link. CarMax is working to add appointment management for scheduling appraisals, browsing visits and test drives, the company said.
Car search is shifting into AI assistants, too. In February, CarMax became the first U.S. auto retailer with an app in the ChatGPT app store, putting more than 45,000 vehicles in front of ChatGPT users, the company announced. Shoppers can describe the car they want in plain language. Sellers can get an instant value estimate and a path to CarMax’s online offer tool. “Used car shopping online can often feel overwhelming,” Chief Innovation and People Officer Diane Cafritz said at the launch.
Shoppers are ready for it. About 63% plan to use AI for their next vehicle purchase, Cox Automotive’s AI in Auto Retail Tracker found in August in a survey of 1,502 consumers and 483 dealers. Only 22% of AI-using dealers have seen sales and revenue growth from it. “AI is changing where car shopping starts,” said Lori Wittman, president of Retail Solutions at Cox Automotive.
Every Used Car Is Its Own SKU
Barr sees limits at the point of sale. Every vehicle “is an individual SKU,” he said on the earnings call, which makes it difficult for AI to take over used-car transactions. To decide where AI fits, CarMax runs an AI center of excellence that reviews each use case, he said.
Buyers also want the car in front of them. They have “a strong desire to see, touch and test drive a vehicle,” Barr said in June. CarMax stores reach 85% of the U.S. population, he added.
The company’s digital tools already touch most sales. Digital capabilities supported 81% of retail unit sales in the quarter ended Aug. 31, CarMax reported. Total net revenues rose 19.5% to $7.9 billion, and comparable-store used unit sales grew 13%.
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