Dave Syke, product director for Autotrader, joins AM to explain how search habits are changing in the age of AI and how dealers can make their stock stand out.
This video interview was completed for Innovation Week 2026, hosted by AM. Syke spoke as a representative of Autotrader.
AM Innovation Week runs from September 21 to 25 to examine which technologies are delivering measurable results for dealerships.
Across five days, AM will examine how innovation can reduce costs, improve conversion, strengthen customer retention and create new revenue, while also questioning when technology adds unnecessary expense and complexity.
Search is changing
Syke begins by talking about how people search is changing and highlights the move towards smaller mobile devices. “It was first spoken about when more than 50% of people using mobile devices, we’re now at a point where over 80% of product page views are on a small screen device.”
The emergence of AI search is also a big topic for Syke. He talks about the growth of AI search and its integration into search engines. Syke goes on to talk about how it liberates customers to search for their specific needs without being limited by the filters of more traditional search functions.
“We can see that people are using that a bit differently because it does let them express themselves freely,” he says in relation to Autotrader’s AI search function.
Syke also discusses Autotrader’s integration into ChatGPT. “We can start pulling livestock into the Chat GPT experience in a native format, and it’s really about trying to make sure that our retailers’ cars are wherever those buyers are.”
How to make your stock stand out
Syke goes on to discuss how dealers can optimise adverts on Autotrader to ensure that they stand out and capitalise on these changing customer habits. He begins with the importance of optimising for mobile viewing.
“What I’d recommend is make sure that you’re reviewing your adverts, your imagery, your layout, everything on a small screen because that’s most likely how buyers are going to see it,” he says.
He then goes on to talk about the important of fleshing out descriptions with quality information as this will help with advert visibility. “The LLMs will do their best to show the best quality adverts at the top of search,” he says.
“The depth and accuracy of data within advertising vehicles is going to become more and more important. So again, make sure that all of those fields are populated correctly and accurately,” he adds.
Navigating the influx of new manufacturers
The final topic of discussion centred around the explosion of new manufacturers and models available for customers, and how a lack of familiarity with these new products means that traditional search functions don’t serve the needs of buyers.
“Most searches are predicated on choosing a make and a model, what search categories allows you to do is express your need,” he says.
The ability for customers to express themselves freely and AI to translate that into subjective data points helps customers explore new brands and models that can suit their needs without research requirements.
Syke says: “it breaks those barriers of needing to be automotive literate and up to speed on all of these new brands.”
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