Whitepaper offers dealership-ready guardrails for responsible, profitable AI adoption alongside use cases and demand forecasting
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- STAR (Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail) today released its first AI Governance whitepaper designed specifically for franchised automobile dealers. The resource explains how AI—from machine learning to generative and conversational tools—is currently reshaping dealership sales, service, inventory, and customer experience. STAR's AI Governance Guidance also provides clear guardrails to deploy AI responsibly in retail automotive.
"STAR has delivered a truly industry-defining resource. This work stands apart not only for its practical overview of AI use cases in automotive retail, but for addressing the governance, risk, and operational realities dealerships must confront as AI adoption accelerates." said Dan Hoban, Vice President of Network and Security at PDI Technologies. "As dealers race to adopt AI, STAR is a valuable resource to help dealerships embrace AI with responsible innovation."
The guide lays out definitions, dealership-specific use cases, and a balanced view of risk, including data privacy, security, transparency, bias, and misinformation. It then offers a step-by-step governance framework—policy and strategy alignment, data management and consent, security and vendor due diligence, staff training, and continuous monitoring—so dealers can innovate with confidence and measure ROI. Additionally, it spotlights dealership AI use cases delivering measurable results, from chatbots that capture leads around the clock to machine learning models that forecast inventory needs and optimize pricing. Predictive maintenance is improving service diagnostics and inspections while AI-enabled fraud detection adds another layer of protection as vehicle transactions continue to move online.
The white paper details how these applications increase efficiency and personalize customer journeys, freeing staff for higher-value conversations while boosting engagement and throughput. Benefits include faster operations, smarter, data-driven decisions, tailored outreach, and 24/7 coverage—all contributing to competitive advantage.
"AI is already improving the dealership experience," said Steve Zadoorian, Executive Director at STAR. "Our goal is to help dealers capture the benefits—primarily efficient operations and better customer engagement—while putting smart guardrails in place."
STAR encourages dealers to start with a high-value pilot, keep humans in the loop, and document success metrics to scale what works. STAR's AI Governance Guidance includes checklists and practical examples to make adoption straightforward for any store— regardless of whether it's a single point or large dealer group.
Leadership teams across retail automotive are encouraged to download the whitepaper and share it to accelerate responsible AI adoption.
About STAR
Standards for Technology in Automotive Retail (STAR) is a nonprofit organization whose members include dealers, original equipment manufacturers, retail system providers, and automotive-related industry organizations. STAR uses non-proprietary technology (IT) standards as a catalyst in fulfilling the business information needs of dealers and manufacturers while reducing the time and effort required to support related activities. Collectively, STAR develops industry standards and emerging technologies for the benefit of retail automotive dealers. Incorporated in 2001, STAR defines industry standards for automotive retail, standard architecture that supports global data interoperability, and standardizes the dealership's IT infrastructure. To learn more about joining STAR, please visit starstandard.org or follow the latest updates on LinkedIn.
Media Relations:
Peyton Hoffman
CP Consulting Group
Media Contact
Peyton Hoffman, STAR Standard, 1 7577484533, [email protected], https://www.starstandard.org/
SOURCE STAR Standard
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