The AI Imperative

By Matt Gruhn, MRAA

I am afraid that you are falling behind, and more so that you are putting your business at risk by not engaging with AI.

I am staring at MRAA’s latest Marine Retailer Pulse Report. Flip past the sentiment charts, the retail trends, the inventory pages, all telling a familiar story of soft demand, fragile confidence and high inventory levels. I arrive at a page with a simple question: “How would you describe your dealership’s approach to AI use?”

The responses land like a cold splash of water.

Most dealers still describe their approach to AI as informal. A few say they are dabbling. Very few say they have a defined strategy. When we ask what feels hardest about using AI in the dealership, the comments pour in.

“Figuring out the best places to use it and how to integrate.” “Staff not trusting it.” “Learning curve.” “Getting comfortable with using it.” “Another learning or training expense. Time will tell the real value.” “Getting everyone on board.” And my personal favorite, which is honest enough to sting: “I’ll try not to think about it.”

In other words, after more than three years of AI tools like ChatGPT being in the wild, and after two years of MRAA sharing AI insights at Dealer Week, a large share of dealers still do not have a real plan.

If you find yourself in this camp of fear and reluctance, this is a direct threat to your very own relevance.

The Pulse Report gives us a window into the mindset behind those survey boxes. “We do not use AI, as we like to keep it personal with our customers,” commented one dealer. “Everything is too fake, so we try to keep it real and intentional.”

“The biggest challenge with AI,” noted another dealer, “is customers feeling that the AI research could possibly be as accurate, if not more accurate, than the years of experience from a dealership.”

Those are not the words of lazy leaders. They are the words of people who care deeply about their customers, their reputations and the craft they have built over many years. From that perspective, AI can feel like an intruder. It can feel like the thing that steals the “personal” from the experience and replaces it with something canned and synthetic.

The irony is that, in the hands of your customer, AI is already very personal. It is sitting on their phone late at night while they ask about which brand has the best reputation for reliability. It is comparing prices across markets. It is answering questions about interest rates and monthly payments and trade values. It is filling in the knowledge gaps that used to belong to your sales team alone.

When dealers tell me they are resisting AI because they want to keep it personal, I believe them. But I also know that their customers are using AI whether they like it or not. The choice is not between AI and human connection. The choice is whether you will join your customer in that conversation or pretend it is not happening.

The comments in the Pulse also reveal another layer of hesitancy that will sound familiar to any dealer principal. “Still trying to figure out a strategy of how to use AI that actually makes us more efficient,” admitted one dealer. “Learning fast enough to keep up,” suggested another. And finally, another shared that, “Knowing what we should apply AI to and at what time. We’ve been using it for random tasks with good success, but we’re not sure how to deploy it at scale.”

Behind those quotes, I know inventory flooring costs are stacked up in a spreadsheet. A staff issue waits in your inbox. A manufacturer asks for bigger commitments. You know AI is important; you also know you cannot add one more “project” to your list.

Last month, we talked about the mental load you carry as a dealer principal, the way so many contradictions converge in your head and threaten to burn you out if you keep leading by default. AI sits right inside that tension. If you treat it as one more thing you personally have to master, it will feel unbearable. If you treat it as a leadership decision about how your business will operate in the future, it looks different.

Consider this scenario: A dealership just like yours recognizes issues with learning curves and staff not trusting the tools. They decide that doing nothing is more dangerous than doing something imperfectly. Instead of trying to “launch AI” across the whole dealership, they start where their pain is sharpest — the service department. Launch season is coming, the schedule is already under pressure, and customers are frustrated by slow communication. The owner sits down with a trusted manager and one younger team member who has been playing with AI on their own. Together, they walk through the service process from first contact to final pickup. They circle every point where the ball gets dropped or the response lags.

Then they give themselves permission to try one thing. They do not buy an expensive, unproven platform. They simply start using AI to draft status updates and explanations that service advisors will review and personalize before sending. Within a week, the advisor has a bank of clear, friendly messages that explain delays, outline next steps and recap work performed. The team still approves every word that goes to the customer, but they no longer have to write every message from scratch.

Over the next month, they notice fewer inbound “just checking on it” calls and feel a little less stretched. Customers feel more informed. The owner begins to see that AI is a way to make the work you already do more consistent, more efficient and more human where it counts.

They look for other choke points. Inconsistent lead response times. Inventory decisions that depend on gut feel. Follow‑up calls that happen in bursts instead of as a rhythm. They ask: “Where could AI help us see patterns and respond faster, so our people can focus on the conversations and decisions that require judgment and empathy?” Their blueprint grows out of those conversations.

When I say I am afraid you are putting your business at risk by not engaging with AI, I am suggesting that, in a market where retail demand is fragile, prices have outrun incomes and interest rates are still a headwind, you simply do not have the margin to operate with yesterday’s level of inefficiency.

Too many dealers are still in the “I’ll try not to think about it” stage. It also tells us that your customers are moving ahead regardless. They are researching more deeply online. They are using AI to compare brands and experiences. They are forming opinions about your dealership long before they walk through the door.

You do not need a perfect AI strategy to respond to that reality. You do need to decide that AI will not remain a side project.

Please talk with your team about one part of your operation where faster, more consistent communication or better decision‑making would make a meaningful difference. Then give someone in your organization permission to try something small, tell you what they learn and build from there.

The technology will keep evolving with or without us. The question is whether your dealership will still feel relevant to a customer who expects the speed and clarity those tools can bring.