Automotive News reports that dealership F&I offices are deploying AI training tools to help employees meet customers’ changing expectations for a more transparent, faster process. The story features Preston Stewart of Napleton Automotive Group, who is using technology to help the group’s F&I office serve tech-savvy buyers.
Why it matters
- Buyers arrive informed. Many have already worked out payments and read about protection products online. A long, opaque F&I visit at the end of the deal now feels out of step.
- Transparency is a skill. Explaining APR, fees and term in plain words, and presenting optional products as options, is something F&I managers can practice like any other conversation.
- Training has to keep up. Products, rates and rules change. Short, frequent practice keeps a team current in a way an annual course can’t.
How Dealership.Coach helps F&I teams
F&I managers can role-play with AI customers who question the rate, push back on products or are in a hurry, and get feedback on how clearly they explained the numbers. Managers can also send a spoken drill on a new product or a compliance topic, and the AI checks that each person can explain it.
Read the full article at Automotive News →
Summary of an article published in Automotive News on October 29, 2026. All credit to the author and publisher; the commentary is our own. Read the original article →