What really changed in 2025 – and what needs to be on your agenda for 2026

Let’s be honest: 2025 was the year we all talked a lot about AI. But at the service desk or the sales workstation, often very little of it actually arrived. We are now standing at an exciting juncture at the start of 2026. The technology is there. The customers are ready. But our processes are lagging behind.

This outlook is not a theoretical white paper. It is a roadmap for practice on how to make your dealership weather-proof – both digitally and economically.

What we felt in day-to-day business in 2025

Three developments were impossible to ignore last year:

1. AI is powerful, but lacks a plan

Many dealers experimented with ChatGPT & Co. The result? Often isolated solutions without connection to the DMS. This matches the findings of the major industry study by ZDK and IfA: The technology works in principle, but often fails due to missing interfaces and undefined processes. AI only becomes profitable when it is firmly integrated into the workflow.

2. The customer won’t wait anymore

In Aftersales, “convenience” has become the hard currency. The current DAT Report confirms what your service assistants experience daily: Customers expect immediate appointment availability and proactive information. Those who slip up here often lose the customer to independent competitors or chains before the first workshop visit even happens.

3. The platforms are getting serious

Have you seen the new search on mobile.de? The assistant “mobee” shows where the journey is heading: Customers no longer search using filters; they converse with the platform. For your dealership, this means: If your data isn’t clean, the AI simply won’t find you.

Your priority list for 2026

Forget “digitisation” as a giant monster. Let’s break it down to what keeps the business running.

1. Homework No. 1: Tidying up (Data & Consent)

It doesn’t sound sexy, but it is the foundation for everything. If you have duplicates in the system or missing email addresses, even the best AI won’t help you.

• Goal: A clean index card per customer (Single Customer View).
• Important: Check your marketing consents (opt-ins). Without a legally compliant “Yes” from the customer, the screen remains black.

2. Omnichannel is not a channel, but a mindset

The customer does not distinguish between your website, the phone call to the BDC, and the visit to the showroom. For them, it is one process.

In practice: Ensure that the salesperson sees what the customer configured online yesterday. Define clear handovers: Who follows up and when? A lost lead is usually not a technical problem, but a responsibility problem.

3. First the standard, then the automation

A bad process only becomes bad faster through automation. Before you unleash bots on your customers, define the standard:

• How quickly do we reply to an email?
• Which steps belong to service preparation?
• What happens exactly 24 hours after vehicle collection?

4. AI needs guardrails (Governance)

Gartner calls it “Agentic AI” – AI that acts autonomously. This is the future, but it carries risks. By 2nd August 2026 at the latest, the full obligations of the EU AI Act (including AI literacy for employees) will also apply.

Our advice: Clarify now which data is allowed in which tools. The responsibility (“Human in the Loop”) must always remain with a human being.

5. Measure what counts

Stop reporting “reach” or “clicks”. That doesn’t pay any bills. In 2026, concentrate on hard currency:

Where Veact comes into play

We at Veact do not see ourselves as a software vendor who drops off a tool and leaves. We see ourselves as a partner who reduces complexity for you. Our platform connects your data sources, cleans them, and makes them usable for:

• Intelligent follow-up processes: So that no lead runs into the sand.
• Automated service communication: That reminds the customer exactly when it is relevant for them (and generates revenue).
• Real reporting: So you can see which campaign really generated workshop throughput.

Conclusion: Step by step

Do not let the speed of the market drive you crazy. You don’t have to solve everything at once. Start with a clean data basis and one really well-functioning process (e.g., service reminders). Measure the success, adjust – and then tackle the next topic.