Customer experience used to be defined by friendliness, choice, and customer care. Today, speed has overtaken them all. In a world shaped by instant streaming, one-click ordering, and predictive digital journeys, attention is won or lost in seconds.

For automotive retailers, where journeys are more complex and stakes are higher, this change has real consequences. The expectation is no longer “help me when I ask,” but “anticipate what I need before I think to ask.”

Behavioural research from Google reveals that half of customers abandon a site if it takes more than three seconds to load. In automotive, the tolerance is even lower because customers are comparing multiple dealers at once. Slow loading, clunky filters, or long enquiry forms create an immediate exit point.

Steve Larkin, MD at Ebbon Intelligence, puts it plainly:

“Speed is no longer a feature, it is the experience. If you are slow, you are forgotten.”

This is not purely a technical issue. It is a commercial one. Every second of delay is a lost opportunity, a lost lead, or a lost customer.

AI helps close this gap. Predictive systems surface relevant stock instantly, pre-fill enquiry fields, and respond automatically. The result is a journey that feels fast, fluid, and human despite being automated behind the scenes.

Speed wins attention. And attention is now the new top of funnel.