Toronto, Ontario — On Thursday, CIECA held a webinar on the future of AI in the collision repair industry.
Driaan du Toit, vice president of strategy and development at Solera hosted the webinar, alongside Evan Davies, Solera’s chief technology officer (CTO).
The two covered a variety of topics ranging from the impact of COVID-19, to the current and future use of artificial intelligence in the collision industry.
du Toit explained that consumers are ready to adopt AI in claims, with 72 percent of those surveyed reporting that they desire a fully automated AI claims and repair experience, 83 percent would trust automotive claims driven by AI and two-thirds would switch insurers for a faster digital experience.
Although incorporating this kind of technology may seem daunting at first, du Toit says body shops can also benefit from digital adoption. He says AI can improve shop cycle times, productivity and customer service.
Bodyshops will get to focus more on repairing vehicles and will spend less time focusing on estimating and ordering.
Adding that three out of four consumers would favour bodyshops that provide more digital channels to quote, book and track repairs.
du Toit says the collision repair claims process will eventually become truly touchless.
“This will be the new normal, don’t fight it.”
