Fighting Fire with Fire: Fanning the AI Flame

by Chasidy Rae Sisk

Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. Call your credit card company to question a suspicious charge, and you’re likely to encounter an automated “customer service representative.” Or simply queue up Siri on your iPhone to initiate a search. 

AI has also made its way into the automotive industry with many ADAS features – including lane assist, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance and more – relying on this technology to analyze data from sensors and cameras to enhance vehicle safety and prevent accidents. Insurers have also embraced AI with an increasing use of chatbots and reliance on photo estimates which use AI to analyze damage. 

Still, many collision repair shops report reluctance to dive into the world of AI. “The progression of AI is happening at a faster rate than collision repairers can educate for,” one Commonwealth repairer suggested in response to the New England Automotive Report 2024 Industry Survey (available at bit.ly/NEAR0225). Other survey respondents’ relayed concerns related to insurers’ use of this technology:

“AI could be used wrong by insurance companies.” 

“If insurers use AI, it will increase the lack of ability to negotiate.” 

“It’s already hard enough to speak to insurance companies via the phone. AI will just add to that issue. It will be more difficult to get issues resolved.”

“Insurance companies have big pockets to influence dialogue.” 

Matthew Ciaschini (Full Tilt Auto Body & Collision; West Hatfield) has taken a different approach, “leaning in” to discover the ways that AI can benefit the shop. “I figured if insurance companies are going to use AI to slash estimates or simply write bad ones, the least I can do is fight fire with fire. I’ve got zero interest in falling behind,” he says, stressing, “AI won’t replace techs or estimators (yet), but it’s a damn good assistant when used right – and it doesn’t call out sick or forget to attach the PDF.”

His facility has begun dabbling in the AI functionality offered by CCC ONE, and they also “utilize ChatGPT every day for many office functions at the shop, such as helping draft emails, clarify processes or clean up our internal docs, tools and SOPs [standard operating procedures]. We have had it refine internal documents that would take a person weeks, and with AI technology, we have them done in days. 

“AI helps us cut through admin garbage, automate repetitive crap and make better decisions faster,” he adds, joking, “It also never complains about working weekends. Once insurers realize how much smarter it can make us, they’ll probably try to regulate it out of our hands and keep it for themselves.”

Of course, the decision to rely on any technology does not come without some reservations. Ciaschini acknowledges concerns about “turning decision-making over to something that doesn’t know what a proper repair is. AI is a tool, not a foreman, not a tech, not a blueprinter, not a business owner. If you forget that, you’re gonna make mistakes that a trained eye would catch in two seconds. 

“It’s not perfect – it can hallucinate, make assumptions or screw things up if you’re not paying attention,” he warns. “It also doesn’t get context like a human does. So it’s less of a ‘set it and forget it’ tool and more of a ‘watch it like a hawk’ kind of deal. It aids in the slow and mundane processes with high efficiency and speed.”

Ciaschini combats the potential drawbacks by “treating AI like it’s a new apprentice – fast, eager and sometimes a little too confident. I would never just publish an internal document directly from AI. You need to proofread and write prompts for exactly what you want.”

Alleviating administrative burdens could present a huge lift for many shops, but AI can offer much more throughout the process. 

“AI is currently assisting in many ways across the repair ecosystem,” says James Spears (Tractable). “AI helps identify repairable versus total loss vehicles at first notice of loss. It helps prepare faster and more accurate estimates using computer vision, machine learning and AI, and it helps with coordinating booking the appointment to secure a repair.”

“In the future, AI will permeate all aspects of the automotive and collision repair industries, resulting in dramatic improvements in repair planning, repair procedures, diagnostics, marketing, ADAS, claims processing, administrative processes and more,” Frank Terlep (Opus IVS) predicts. “It is only a matter of time before AI is incorporated into the major repair procedure and service information platforms. When this does happen, it will be a HUGE benefit for repairers and the rest of the industry!”

“AI is going to be the tool that becomes just like a part of us for the future.” Ryan Taylor (Bodyshop Booster) expresses the belief that this technology will pervade the industry to the point “where we can hardly imagine doing our jobs without some form of AI assisting us. It’s just starting, but we are going to see it coming faster in a big wave that impacts every area of our industry.”

Across the country, forward-thinking shops are implementing AI solutions to help with administrative and customer service tasks and allowing technology to assist with marketing, sales, HR, virtual assistants, chatbots, language translation, logo, image and video creation and more. According to Terlep, AI can aid shops with “reduced administrative tasks and expense, improved productivity, customer service, better and faster decision making, faster and more effective digital marketing and much more. AI-driven chatbots can provide 24/7 customer support, answer frequently asked questions and guide customers through the claims process, enhancing customer satisfaction. It can also analyze customer data to offer personalized services and recommendations, such as preferred repair shops or tailored insurance policies.

“AI will be able to predict and document most major parts and components with photos of a damaged vehicle,” he continues. “AI will optimize repair shop workflows by scheduling tasks, managing inventory and ensuring that repairs are completed efficiently. Additionally, AI can analyze data from multiple sources to provide insights into shop and network performance, customer satisfaction and insurance claim trends, helping businesses make data-driven decisions. Another way that AI will help shops is facilitating the calibration and repair of ADAS components, ensuring that vehicles are properly restored to their pre-accident condition.”

“AI has the potential to bring a lot of benefits to body shops,” Taylor agrees. “It can take on such an extra load that it would be impossible for a single shop to hire people to compete, so if you’re not already figuring out how AI can help you today, it’s going to become really difficult for you to be competitive.”

So, how can shops remain competitive by fanning the AI flames? 

“Jump in and learn as much as you can about how AI works,” Terlep recommends. “Ask suppliers and other industry personnel what they see and think about it and how they are planning to implement AI in their solutions. Also, get started by using the commercially available AI platforms.”

“It’s easy to begin an AI journey,” Spears adds. “I recommend setting a business goal such as faster customer response, lower cycle times, better expense margins or more customer conversions, then select an AI partner like Tractable to begin to learn about the technology and put it into production. Start now because those businesses that use AI outperform those that do not. It’s a leader’s responsibility to provide their team and business with every advantage they can to be successful.”

“AI is only going to move faster, not slower, and right now, it’s the worst that it’ll ever be,” Taylor emphasizes. “It is moving exponentially faster and getting better all the time. Shops that plan to be in business and want to be successful for many years to come need to figure out how to work this strategy in; this technology is only going to become more important to shops and the customers who deal with those shops because AI offers an unparalleled level of convenience.”

The possibilities are limitless, yet fears persist with many repairers expressing fear that AI will steal their livelihood. 

“It is quite the opposite – a person using AI will have hireability advantages that people not engaged in the technology will not,” Spears reassures. “The time to start understanding how to leverage AI is now.”

“AI won’t fix a damaged door or paint a panel,” Ciaschini insists. “But it sure can help organize a chaotic industry that still runs on fax machines! It’s here whether we like it or not. I’d rather learn it, shape it and use it to our advantage than sit back and wait to get steamrolled.”  

Want more? Check out the September 2025 issue of New England Automotive Report!