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Car Dealership Guy Dealers are responding faster than ever to web leads, but automation risks linger

Car Dealership Guy
Dealers are responding faster than ever to web leads, but automation risks linger

February 2026

Responsiveness to sales leads submitted through dealership websites has improved overall, with Infiniti stores ranking as the most responsive to customer inquiries. The details: According to the 2026 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness (ILE) Auto Industry Study, the average Infiniti store scored 11 points higher than the industry average out of 100. Infiniti dealerships earned a score of 82 out of 100 in the study, which analyzed ... Read More >

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National Today Infiniti Dealers Rank Highest in 2026 Web Lead Response Study; AI and Automation Drive Industry Improvement

National Today
Infiniti Dealers Rank Highest in 2026 Web Lead Response Study; AI and Automation Drive Industry Improvement
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February 2026

“Automation and AI have improved dealer responsiveness, but the greatest risk is in the handoffs; between systems and from AI to dealership staff. Teams assume automation is working and that someone will step in if it fails. Too often, no one does. Independent measurement such as ILE reveals those hidden breakdowns before they cost sales and erode brand trust.” — Cameron O'Hagan, Vice President of Metrics and Analytics (Pied Piper Management ... Read More >

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Used Car News Study Ranks Dealership Lead Effectiveness

Used Car News
Study Ranks Dealership Lead Effectiveness

February 2026

Infiniti dealerships ranked highest in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness (ILE®) Auto Industry Study, which measured and ranked responsiveness to sales leads submitted through dealership websites. Now in its fifteenth year, the study measured response to customer inquiries sent to 3,290 dealership websites representing all major auto brands. The average Infiniti dealership achieved a score of 82 out of 100, while the total ... Read More >

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Auto Remarketing Study finds AI raises dealerships' internet lead responsiveness, but creates added risks

Auto Remarketing
Study finds AI raises dealerships' internet lead responsiveness, but creates added risks

February 2026

They say records are made to be broken. In the case of auto dealerships’ responsiveness to internet leads, it seems they’re made to be broken every year. For the fourth consecutive year, the industry average for responding to inquiries submitted through dealership websites soared to an all-time high in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Auto Industry Study. The study, in its 15th year, showed franchise dealerships representing ... Read More >

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Press Release: INFINITI DEALERS RANK HIGHEST IN 2026 WEB LEAD RESPONSE STUDY; AI AND AUTOMATION DRIVE INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT

Press Release: INFINITI DEALERS RANK HIGHEST IN 2026 WEB LEAD RESPONSE STUDY; AI AND AUTOMATION DRIVE INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT

February 2026

AI and automation: Customers received “perfect” responses more than half the time, a rate that has doubled in 5 years Risks of automation: When AI required human intervention, customer questions were twice as likely to go unanswered ChatGPT search results: Local customers for one in four dealers were sent to another dealer instead AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA – February 23, 2026 – Infiniti dealerships ranked highest in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI® Internet ... Read More >

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Rural Lifestyle Dealer Kubota Ranked Highest in 2026 Web Lead Response Study

Rural Lifestyle Dealer
Kubota Ranked Highest in 2026 Web Lead Response Study
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February 2026

Kubota dealerships were ranked highest in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Compact Tractor Industry Study, which measured dealership responsiveness to internet sales leads. Pied Piper submitted customer inquiries through 772 compact tractor dealership websites representing all major brands. Kubota dealerships achieved an average ILE score of 37 out of 100, while the total industry averaged 29, however both dropped five ... Read More >

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Wards Auto It looks like dealers' facility upgrades do sell more cars

Wards Auto
It looks like dealers' facility upgrades do sell more cars
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January 2026

Pied Piper, a consultancy, just did an inaugural Dealership Facility Consistency Study to see how well individual brands have achieved a common, appealing look of their sales points. The company used Google’s satellite and street imagery, matched with artificial intelligence, to visually analyze all 18,862 dealerships in the U.S. for its “look-alike index,” Pied Piper CEO Fran O’Hagan told WardsAuto. However, he said that sometimes it’s fine ... Read More >

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OPE Magazine Half of tractor shoppers get no response after submitting online inquiries, study says

OPE Magazine
Half of tractor shoppers get no response after submitting online inquiries, study says
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January 2026

Nearly half of all online inquiries submitted to compact tractor dealerships went unanswered in 2026, according to a new industry study that found little improvement in dealer web response performance over the past five years. Dealerships representing Kubota ranked highest in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Compact Tractor Industry Study, which measured how quickly and thoroughly dealers responded to online sales inquiries. ... Read More >

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Ag Daily Kubota Dealers Lead all Compact-Tractor Brands in Online Responsiveness

Ag Daily
Kubota Dealers Lead all Compact-Tractor Brands in Online Responsiveness

January 2026

In an industry where nearly half of all online customers inquiries receive no personal response from dealers, Kubota stands out as the top brand actually doing things right. The annual Pied Piper PSI Internet Lead Effectiveness Compact Tractor Industry Study, which measured dealership responsiveness to internet sales leads, showed Kubota at the top, followed by TYM, Mahindra, John Deere, and Yanmar. Pied Piper submitted customer inquiries ... Read More >

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Press Release: KUBOTA RANKED HIGHEST IN 2026 WEB LEAD RESPONSE STUDY; HALF OF TRACTOR INQUIRIES GO UNANSWERED INDUSTRYWIDE

Press Release: KUBOTA RANKED HIGHEST IN 2026 WEB LEAD RESPONSE STUDY; HALF OF TRACTOR INQUIRIES GO UNANSWERED INDUSTRYWIDE

January 2026

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA – January 12th, 2026 – Kubota dealerships were ranked highest in the 2026 Pied Piper PSI® Internet Lead Effectiveness® (ILE®) Compact Tractor Industry Study, which measured dealership responsiveness to internet sales leads. Pied Piper submitted customer inquiries through 772 compact tractor dealership websites representing all major brands. Kubota dealerships achieved an average ILE score of 37 out of 100, while the total ... Read More >

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Printed: March 16, 2026

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