Ford Launches New Dealer Training Program With A.I. Integration

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Ford has announced its new dealership training platform for the United States, noting that it will utilize artificial intelligence to better familiarize sales teams with product knowledge, corporate history, while likewise making them better at engaging with customers.


Entitled “Ford University,” the program has been under development for roughly a year and looks to be composed of instructional videos that can be accessed over the internet.


From Ford:

It features a personalized, data-driven dashboard for each dealer employee, gamified learning experiences, 24/7 on-demand AI-supported virtual coaching, and a cinematic-style content library produced by award-winning producers and creatives who have spent all or portions of their careers creating popular television shows and feature films across major networks and streaming services. 
We're rolling out Ford University to Ford dealers across the United States starting May 1, with plans to expand further. This platform represents our commitment to providing customers with the even more knowledgeable and skilled dealers, enhancing the value of every customer experience. I'm excited for the positive changes Ford University will bring to our customers and dealers alike. It's a win-win for everyone.


Blue Oval appears to be leveraging all the latest trends with this one. Gamification has long been a tactic used by casinos and video game publishers to maximize interaction times. But it has gradually been seeping into other industries. We’ve even seen automakers toying with the concept as a way to encourage drivers to routinely interface with infotainment systems.


But the “cinematic-style content library” just sounds like it’s going to be a bunch of video clips with above-average production values. While the impulse may be to mock this, if the extra effort encourages dealers to stay more engaged than they otherwise would have, it is probably worth the time and effort required to pull everything together. Dealership experiences vary between brands and it’s always better when you’re dealing with someone that’s informed, especially if you’re likewise the kind of person who goes into buying a car having done some research in advance.


Videos are supposed to include everything from dry technical items and vehicle features to how to interact with customers and ensure one is representing the brand in a favorable light.


However, it’s the artificial intelligence that’s probably the most interesting aspect of Ford University. Here, salespeople will be asked to submit videos of themselves simulating how they would speak to a customer. The video is then graded by A.I. and will be keeping track of the dealer’s tone, whether they are speaking with confidence, and if they are comparing Ford products in a favorable light vs other brands. Ford said the system was powered by Microsoft Copilot and GPT. It likewise will have access to the relevant training data, including how each store scores on the tests. But it has said that there is currently no plan to punish or reward dealerships based on those results.


The stated goal will be to lift all showrooms using the training, regardless of their performance. However, the resulting data may be used to manage which subjects are focused on in future training programs while providing Ford with insight on any topics storefronts might be struggling with. Our guess is that’s all subject to change further down the line, as the company just launched the program.


Dealerships will have access today with the focus being on dealership employees working beyond vehicle servicing and repairs. However, the manufacturer has said it would like to add courses that cater to more technical employees later this year.


[Image: Ford]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by  subscribing to our newsletter.

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

More by Matt Posky

Comments
Join the conversation
3 of 17 comments
  • Wjtinfwb Wjtinfwb on May 02, 2024

    Ford can produce all the training and instructional videos they want, and issue whatever mandates they can pursuant to state Franchise laws. The dealer principal and staff are the tip of the spear and if they don't give a damn, the training is a waste of time. Where legal, link CSI and feedback scores to allocations and financial incentives (or penalties). I'm very happy with my Ford products (3 at current) as I was with my Jeeps. But the dealer experience is as maddening and off-putting as possible. I refuse now to spend my money at a retailer who treats me and my investment like trash so I now shop for a dealer who does provide professional and courteous service. That led to the Jeep giving way to an Acura, which has not been trouble free but the dealer is at least courteous and responsive. It's the same owner group as the local Ford dealer so it's not the owners DNA, it's how American Honda manages the dealer interface with American Honda's customer. Ford would do well to adopt the same posture. It's their big, blue oval sign that's out front.

  • Cprescott Cprescott on May 02, 2024

    So is this going to lie and tell you that they have quality products at affordable costs that won't get recalled?

    • EBFlex EBFlex on May 03, 2024

      Ford has 23 recalls so far this year affecting almost three million vehicles. Bold Moves indeed…


  • Varezhka The biggest underlying issue of Mitsubishi Motors was that for most of its history the commercial vehicles division was where all the profit was being made, subsidizing the passenger vehicle division losses. Just like Isuzu.And because it was a runt of a giant conglomerate who mainly operated B2G and B2B, it never got the attention it needed to really succeed. So when Daimler came in early 2000s and took away the money making Mitsubishi-Fuso commercial division, it was screwed.Right now it's living off of its legacy user base in SE Asia, while its new parent Nissan is sucking away at its remaining engineering expertise in EV and kei cars. I'd love to see the upcoming US market Delica, so crossing fingers they will last that long.
  • ToolGuy A deep-dive of the TTAC Podcast Archives gleans some valuable insight here.
  • Tassos I heard the same clueless, bigoted BULLSHEET about the Chinese brands, 40 years ago about the Japanese Brands, and more recently about the Koreans.If the Japanese and the Koreans have succeeded in the US market, at the expense of losers such as Fiat, Alfa, Peugeot, and the Domestics,there is ZERO DOUBT in my mind, that if the Chinese want to succeed here, THEY WILL. No matter what one or two bigots do about it.PS try to distinguish between the hard working CHINESE PEOPLE and their GOVERNMENT once in your miserable lives.
  • 28-Cars-Later I guess Santa showed up with bales of cash for Mitsu this past Christmas.
  • Lou_BC I was looking at an extended warranty for my truck. The F&I guy was trying to sell me on the idea by telling me how his wife's Cadillac had 2 infotainment failures costing $4,600 dollars each and how it was very common in all of their products. These idiots can't build a reliable vehicle and they want me to trust them with the vehicle "taking over" for me.
Next