Arguably one of the worst parts of buying a new car, dealing with a smarmy salesman, has been improved by artificial intelligence for both Kia and Fiat.
Axios reports the automakers have set up showrooms in Facebook’s VR environment, known as the Metaverse, and staffed them with AI salespeople ready to help potential buyers, thanks to ChatGPT technology.
While you don’t need to strap on a VR headset to virtually kick the tires, that does help the immersive experience. For Fiat, their virtual showroom works similarly to Microsoft Teams: A “Fiat Genius” will greet you and answer whatever questions you may have about a particular model, armed with all the information it needs from ChatGPT’s ability to mine data from the internet. You’ll even be able to purchase a car without leaving home when the site deploys in the States.
Kia Germany’s platform uses VR tech from the company ENGAGE and works best with one of the headsets, which allows your “hands” to open doors, honk the horn and pop the hatch. By contrast, its current, lower tech virtual showroom lets you use your mouse to tour its cars and even fill the trunk with “luggage” to see how much you can pack into your new car.