Monday, December 22, 2025
Cerence Inc. (Cerence AI), a global leader known for conversational AI experiences in the automotive industry, has announced the launch of two new intelligent agents designed to broaden its influence beyond in-car assistants. The new dealer assist agent and ownership companion agent will make their official debut at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. These solutions expand Cerence AI’s portfolio of domain-specific agents, addressing growing challenges faced by automakers, dealers, and drivers. The announcement follows the company’s recent introduction of its mobile work AI agent, developed in partnership with Microsoft, signaling a strategic evolution toward a more holistic automotive ecosystem.
Sai Yagnyamurthy, GM of Growth & Strategic Verticals at Cerence AI, highlighted the significance of this expansion, stating,
“The introduction of these two domain-specific agents marks a significant evolution in our strategy to extend Cerence’s conversational and agentic AI leadership beyond the vehicle and into new areas of the automotive ecosystem and beyond. By combining our deep expertise in in-car assistants with enterprise automation capabilities, we’re expanding the reach of Cerence AI to deliver intelligent, connected experiences that transform how drivers, dealers, and automakers engage across the entire customer journey.”
Automotive dealerships continue to struggle with rising customer expectations for seamless, rapid service while dealing with staffing limitations and disconnected technology systems. Research shows that nearly half of online leads do not receive a response within the first 24 hours—despite the fact that companies responding within one hour are seven times more likely to qualify a lead. This delay results in lost revenue, with approximately 15–20% of potential monthly sales slipping away because no staff is available to respond during peak or after-hours periods.
Cerence’s dealer assist agent is designed to close these gaps. Acting as both a sales and service assistant, the agent automates lead follow-up, schedules test drives, manages service bookings, and delivers real-time updates. It can escalate high-priority inquiries directly to dealership staff.
By deeply integrating with CRM and Dealer Management System (DMS) platforms, dealerships can deliver consistent and personalized customer interactions at every touchpoint. The agent helps reduce response times, improves customer satisfaction, and allows staff to focus on high-value tasks.
This technology is not limited to automotive use cases. Yagnyamurthy noted,
“What we’ve built for automotive is just the beginning. The same agentic intelligence that powers sales and service automation for dealers can be adapted to any industry that relies on high-volume customer engagement and complex workflows. We see enormous potential in expanding our ecosystem of purpose-built agents into new enterprise verticals, bringing Cerence’s AI leadership to markets beyond automotive.”
Although vehicles today contain numerous advanced features, over 60% of drivers still do not use them. The ownership companion agent aims to bridge that gap by helping drivers understand their car’s features, manage maintenance tasks, and access support proactively.
This in-car AI agent continuously assists drivers by diagnosing issues, interpreting alerts, and scheduling service appointments. It also highlights upgrades or trade-in opportunities, strengthening brand loyalty and helping OEMs deliver personalized experiences throughout the ownership lifecycle.
The agent recognizes each driver, their preferences, and their vehicle history. Whether accessed through the car, a mobile app, messaging channels, or the web, the experience remains unified and consistent, allowing OEMs to reinforce brand identity across all customer touchpoints.
Together, the dealer assist agent and ownership companion agent create a connected service loop that bridges the gap between dealership operations and the in-car experience. With real-time, context-aware transitions between the vehicle and the dealership, OEMs and dealers can deliver proactive engagement precisely when the customer needs it most. This marks a major advancement in extending the automotive brand experience beyond the dashboard and into the broader customer journey.
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