Digital Retailing and Technology

CDK Unveils AI-Powered Dealership Xperience and Revenue Tools at NADA 2026

January 27, 2026
8:20 pm

Summary

Overview

CDK Global announced an expanded Dealership Xperience Platform (DXP) featuring new artificial intelligence tools and a central Customer Data Platform, aiming to simplify dealership operations and drive measurable results across sales, service, parts, and back-office. The announcement, dated Jan. 27 in Austin, Texas, positions the rollout as a step toward unifying workflows on a modern, data-centric platform.

Platform highlights

Customer Data Platform (CDP): Centralizes and enriches customer data, enabling unified profiles with a 360-degree view, including lifetime value and predictive LTV. Serves as the foundation for new capabilities across DXP.
AIVA (agentic AI assistant): Integrated across DXP to handle tasks like scheduling and communications. CDK reports a 25% uplift in consumer appointment scheduling in Modern Retail (no sample size or timeframe provided).
AI Summary for CRM and Service: Condenses multi-touch records into digestible updates; the CRM adds a “My Day” sales hub, lead management enhancements, and writing assistance tools.
Open APIs and Intelligence: Expanded APIs connect CDK data and workflows to external systems; advanced custom analytics and AI-driven forecasting insights are available to dealers.

Department-specific updates

Dealership Operations: Unified customer profiles and streamlined document management within existing workflows.
Inventory Management: AI-driven appraisal and pricing for trade-ins and retail pricing; automated photo and video tools for vehicle merchandising.
Payments: Embedded Buy Now, Pay Later for parts and service via DigniFi, integrated directly in the payments flow.
Fixed Operations: AI-assisted cause-and-correction support for diagnostics and documentation; tools to better match parts inventory with demand; predictive scheduling insights for work and parts.
F&I workflow: Built-in lien payoff validation leveraging SimplePay to streamline verification and speed trade-in processing.

Programs and claimed outcomes

Warranty Revenue Assistance Program: Designed to optimize OEM warranty reimbursement and accelerate claim submission. CDK asserts potential gains of over $100,000 annually and near-100% first-time acceptance, without providing methodology or dealer references.
Cited metrics: Technician videos in inspections increased labor hours sold per RO by 29%; Intelligence Suite improved forecasting accuracy by 20% and reduced daily KPI review time by 80%; AIVA increased appointment conversions by 25%. No supporting study details were provided.

Customer services and support

Expanded role- and product-based certifications, AI-powered support, and data-driven Customer Success led by agents averaging more than 10 years of experience.
CDK reports customer satisfaction above 90% across services, without external validation.

Claims and caveats

CDK characterizes itself as the leading provider and cites the “largest dataset” and “largest investment” in automotive retail; these claims were not substantiated with third-party data.
Pricing, availability dates, and pilot participants were not disclosed; some features may not be available in all locations.
Unaddressed details include the number of dealers using the upgraded features, how the CDP interacts with third-party data sources, and governance/privacy controls across Open APIs. Partners beyond DigniFi and internal SimplePay were not specified.