About 72% of Australians say automotive review sites influence them most when researching new cars while nearly three-quarters (74%) are indifferent or unlikely to use artificial intelligence (AI) to help them research a new car.
That’s according to online financial broker Savvy in surveying about 1000 Australians on attitudes to automotive purchases for new (or new to them) cars.
Some 46% of 18-to-24-year-olds say they would use social media to research their next car purchase, while 72% of 55-64s and over 65s respectively say that manufacturer websites are an influence on their purchase.
The male/female split was near even (71% vs 72%) and the 35–44-year-old cohort had the highest support for automotive review websites at 81%.
This was followed by manufacturer websites at 66% and online forums or discussion groups at 42%.
Social media platforms are favoured among 18–24-year-olds as well as YouTube channels or videos at 33%. The 25–34-year-old demographic cited YouTube as an influential source, 39%, the highest number out of all demographics.
The over 65s were most sceptical about using social media, with only 9% saying they regarded it as a research tool.
About 34% of 55 to 64s rated automotive blogs or publications as influential, the highest level of support of all cohorts surveyed.
Most Australians don’t feel AI can help them with finding and choosing the right car to buy in the future, with 42% indifferent to the idea.
About 24% said it was “likely” with 2% saying it was extremely likely and 32% adding it was either unlikely or not likely at all.
Men had slightly more confidence in AI’s usefulness for car selection than women (27% vs 20%) with 25-34s being the most supportive cohort at 35% total trust.
Interestingly, 18-24s were almost just as unlikely to rely on AI (32%) as they were to rely on it (28%).
Savvy spokesperson Adrian Edlington says use of AI as a decision-making and research tool is still in its infancy when it comes to automotive consumer purchases.
“Seventy-two percent of people read review sites because they trust the experience of a reviewer who may have 10, 20, 30 years of motoring under their belt,” he explains.
“People want to know how a car handles, if it has good storage options, or fuel economy – or range, in the case of electric vehicles.
“AI may have its place for fleet buying where analysing cars for cents per kilometre in terms of fuel efficiency matters over a large scale. Since an AI can’t and won’t be driving the car, it leaves the human element out entirely.
“Also, consumers may be using AI unwittingly already and simply not realise it. Increasingly, on page chat bots available to answer questions are powered by AI, which will only become more sophisticated as time goes on.”
Click here for the full survey report.
