AI Delivers More Value For Strong Dealers’ Dollars

Artificial Intelligence Is the Answer

It is way too early to proclaim Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the winner of The Most Important Word of the Year for the automotive industry – tariff may give AI a run for the top spot – but there is no doubt AI is going to be the tool that successfully propels a dealer forward in the pursuit of profitability. AI is not the only jewel of technology, as Strong Automotive Vice President of Innovation/Technology Ivan Wright commented, “We look at how AI (and really any technology) can make our teams more efficient in the jobs they are doing.” But there is no doubt, AI is making our team more efficient by giving them more information and insights, speeding them up, or taking the mundane off their plates completely. 

Avery Arthur, Director of Paid Ads and the driving force in Strong achieving Google Premier status, reiterates the value of eliminating the mundane, “AI-driven analytics refine our targeting and cut out wasted ad spend, while also expanding our reach to users who may not be physically searching for a vehicle, but whose user activity indicates that they are likely to make a car purchase in the near future.”

More Efficient & Effective Social Media

According to Kerri Boozer, Director of Social Content at Strong, our bread-and-butter social media ad type is Meta’s AIA—Automotive Inventory Ads. These ads are purpose-built for car dealerships and powered by machine learning AI, making them one of the most efficient and effective tools in our paid social arsenal. Meta’s AI continuously analyzes real-time user behavior, including signals like website visits, clicks, time spent browsing, and engagement with similar inventory across Meta’s platforms. This data allows the system to automatically identify and target high-intent, in-market car shoppers, unlocking valuable audiences that traditional targeting methods often overlook.

What makes AIA particularly powerful is the way it dynamically adapts. The machine learning engine doesn’t just set and forget; it continuously optimizes campaign delivery. Budget is automatically shifted minute by minute to the best-performing audiences, placements, and even creative variations, based on what’s delivering the strongest results in real time. That means your ad dollars are always being funneled toward strategies that are actually working, reducing waste and increasing conversions.

It’s Good to be Smarter

Additionally, AI-driven retargeting allows these ads to follow up with users who’ve shown interest in specific vehicles, delivering hyper-relevant inventory listings to them across Facebook and Instagram. Combined with dynamic catalog integration, AIA ensures that the right car from your live inventory is shown to the right shopper at the right time.

This level of automation, precision, and usage of AI is what sets Meta’s AIA ads apart—and it’s exactly why we’ve made it the foundation of our social ads strategy. It’s not just smarter advertising; it’s smarter selling.

Beyond paid ads, we use AI-driven tools to supercharge our organic social strategy by helping us stay deeply connected to the communities each store serves. These tools scan local news sources, social conversations, event calendars, and trending topics in real time, giving our team a constant stream of insights into what’s happening at the local level. Whether it’s a high school football game, a charity event, or even a community milestone, AI helps surface content opportunities that are timely, relevant, and unique to each dealership’s market.

Perfect Match!

Using geo-targeted content suggestions, we’re able to craft posts that feel authentic and hyperlocal, because they genuinely reflect what matters to the people living in that area. This approach ensures every store’s feed doesn’t just feel like a brand channel, but a true part of the local conversation.

AI also plays a critical role in optimizing our posting strategy. By analyzing engagement data, it identifies patterns in when local audiences are most active online and what types of community content generate the most interaction. This allows us to fine-tune our publishing schedule and tailor content formats—whether they’re photos, videos, polls, or shoutouts—to match audience preferences.

The result? A smarter, more responsive approach to organic social that strengthens community presence, boosts engagement, and builds brand affinity at the hyperlocal level.