Buyers using AI for car research are missing the details that really matter

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for years, you will be aware that AI Overviews present online users with an easy-to-read, bulleted synopsis gathered from multiple sources to answer whatever request was typed into a search engine. 

Sounds great! I’ve used AI Overviews when trying to remember which actor appeared in what film or other such trivia, but surely people aren’t using aggregated information when making serious buying decisions, such as purchasing a car?

I recently heard a radio news report claiming that the majority of web users preferred AI Overviews to an old-school Google search to find their information. This came as a shock to me, as someone who likes to know where my data is coming from.

As consumers, the risk is in the prompts we use, or perhaps the lack of them. Without requesting a certain level of detail, you’re missing out on the bigger picture. For example, if I type ‘Dacia Bigster review’ into Google, I get an overview of the fleet car that I’m currently running and have enthused about in our long-term test reports. It’s practical, frugal and great value. All that information appears, but without using a prompt such as ‘Dacia Bigster problems’, I’ll see little sign of some of the minor niggles that could be the difference between long-term satisfaction and being plagued by a car that isn’t up to scratch.

It’s like making a buying decision using only the ‘Pros and Cons’ subheads of a magazine review, without reading the full report – and the specific points feeding into those one-liners. The devil is in the detail, and some of this stuff is important.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Bigster; the minor issues are no big deal to me and the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. But we test hundreds of cars each year and, despite an overwhelming improvement in the quality of tech, powertrains and safety equipment, not all are equal. Poor and sub-standard cars still exist.

If you want to know what a new car is really like, read more than the overview. Simply add the trusted source of your choice to your search request: ‘Dacia Bigster review, Auto Express’, for example.

Clearly we have a vested interest in encouraging people to click through to read our content. Revenue is generated by those actually reaching our website and engaging with our excellent content, but the same principle works whoever you trust, whether it’s a new car, smartphone or dishwasher.

Did you know you can sell your car through Auto Express? We’ll help you get a great price and find a great deal on a new car, too.