How Agentic AI Can Fulfill the Promise of Connected Cars

Drivers consider connected features to be nearly as important as a car’s brand, according to Salesforce research. But automotive companies haven’t been able to tap into the full potential of these features — until now.

Connected cars have been in development for decades, yet their full potential remains frustratingly untapped. 

A typical connected vehicle can collect information from more than 100 different datapoints, thanks to embedded technologies and features like geolocation and navigation, cameras and sensors, companion apps, biometrics, voice recognition, on-board diagnostics, and driver assistance. What that data does for the car’s driver, however, is pretty limited. 

“Today’s connected car is like a smartphone that can only make emergency calls,” said Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM, Manufacturing & Automotive at Salesforce. 

Today’s connected car is like a smartphone that can only make emergency calls.

Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM, Manufacturing & Automotive at Salesforce

Put another way: A connected car has the data and capabilities to provide deeply personalized experiences, but often isn’t able to act on it. For example, a car can see your location and GPS data that you regularly avoid highways. But it can’t‌ use that data to personalize your route guidance or send you timely alerts for when you should leave home to get to work on time.

Jajoo continued, “To deliver on the promise of a fully connected driving experience, automakers and manufacturers need to break down siloes of trapped data in legacy and disparate systems. Once that data is connected, they can unleash digital labor to drive highly personalized, immersive, and truly connected experiences for customers.” 

This is increasingly important as we enter the era of software-defined vehicles — where software, rather than hardware, plays a much more significant role in defining a car’s features and capabilities.

And it’s not just about making driving experiences more connected and immersive. Every aspect of the car buying and ownership journey needs a refresh. And according to Jajoo, there’s a massive opportunity for AI agents to help automakers and dealers increase sales, drive customer loyalty, and build brand affinity by improving these experiences. 

How AI agents will enhance the connected car experience

AI agents are technology that can make decisions and take action with limited or no human supervision. While the automotive industry was quick to adapt AI for autonomous driving, AI agents will be the next frontier for OEMs and consumers alike. 

Here’s why: AI agents can act on behalf of drivers and automakers to anticipate needs, resolve issues, improve safety, and extend vehicle life, ultimately delivering seamless experiences across the entire automotive ecosystem. 

For example, you’re driving on the highway, and a warning light turns on that your tire pressure is low. You’re not sure how severe it is, and a sense of panic sets in. 

But what if instead of just displaying a warning light, your car could tell you the severity of the issue, suggest the best course of action, and then actually take that action — proactively scheduling an appointment with your preferred service center, with your availability and location considered.

This is how AI agents will help connected cars realize their full potential, said Jajoo. Currently, consumers still need a lot of hand-holding to get to the dealership or a service center to get repairs done. And carmakers don’t have the human capacity to call every driver and help them find a service center nearby.

“With agents, you’re turning insight into action without a human in the loop,” said Jajoo. “This can be done at scale, 24/7, leading to much better response rates and customer satisfaction.”  

With agents, you’re turning insight into action without a human in the loop. This can be done at scale, 24/7, leading to much better response rates and customer satisfaction.

Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM, Manufacturing & Automotive at Salesforce

Consumers are eager for AI assistance. In fact, a recent study by Salesforce found that 70% want an AI agent to diagnose and address car issues in real time, and 80% of drivers want an AI agent that can alert them of mechanical problems. 

Agentic AI will streamline operations, optimize sales and marketing efforts for connected cars

Agentic AI is poised to revolutionize not just the customer-facing aspects of connected cars, but also the behind-the-scenes operations. From design and engineering to sales and marketing, AI agents can optimize processes and unlock new levels of efficiency for automakers. For example:

Goodyear Tire expects Agentforce to unlock significant value 

Connected cars generate and utilize data from a variety of sources, including connected accessories. Goodyear Tire identified an opportunity to unify disparate sales tracking systems, better leverage data in product and customer strategy, and elevate the end consumer’s buying experience, and they chose Salesforce to partner on this transition.

By using agents to drive more frequent engagement and targeted offers, the company will be able to increase marketing campaign effectiveness and drive frequent and targeted customer communication to drive loyalty, service revenue, and ultimately customer retention rates. Agentforce will also help with autonomous scheduling.

Goodyear expanded its relationship with Salesforce and is also adopting Agentforce to automate and increase the effectiveness of its sales efforts. In addition, Agentforce for Field Service will reduce repair time by assisting technicians with answers to vehicle-related questions, and autonomously scheduling field tech appointments when needed.

Overcoming trapped data, hallucinations

While the potential of agentic AI for connected cars is vast, automakers face challenges in adopting and implementing the technology. Legacy systems, data silos, and hallucinations are some of the hurdles that need to be addressed to capitalize on the agentic opportunity.  

“Legacy automakers face a significant challenge in connecting vehicle data with customer experience,” said Jajoo. “Unlike newer automakers who started with a clean slate, established companies often have data scattered across various systems, making it difficult to leverage that data for personalized customer interactions.”

Unlike newer automakers who started with a clean slate, established companies often have data scattered across various systems, making it difficult to leverage that data for personalized customer interactions.

Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM, Manufacturing & Automotive at Salesforce

Many consumers also harbor doubts about the automotive industry’s transparency and reliability. That makes it even more essential that customer-facing AI outputs are factually correct and reliable. 

Platforms like Salesforce Automotive Cloud and Agentforce are specifically designed to help automakers overcome these challenges. Automotive Cloud provides industry-specific capabilities and data models that integrate vehicle, telemetry, customer, and financial account data into a single model that can power your digital workforce. This unified view of customer data breaks down data silos and enables personalized interactions across the entire automotive ecosystem. Agentforce empowers automakers to build and deploy AI agents that deliver accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information to customers, building trust, and enhancing the customer experience. 

By leveraging these platforms, automakers can confidently embrace agentic AI and unlock its full potential to transform the connected car experience.

Driving the future of automotive

Connected cars — and the industry that drives them — are inherently complex. But Jajoo is optimistic about agentic AI’s role.

“Every time a new technology comes to the horizon, it chips away at the walls that slow organizations down. Agentic AI is going to do the same. It’s going to force the industry to work together, and ultimately help organizations get closer to their customers.” 

By embracing this technology, automakers can unlock new levels of efficiency, personalization, and connectivity that consumers expect.  

Go further:

• Explore Salesforce’s automotive solutions and learn how agentic AI can transform your business
• Read the latest industry report on the impact of AI in the automotive sector and why Gen Z is shaking up the market