Dealer Handshake · AI inventory visibility
Your dealership.
Connected to AI shoppers.
Make your inventory usable by AI shoppers through supported ChatGPT and Claude connections. Keep your website and CRM. Receive inquiries with the shopper’s permission.
Two-minute demo
Watch a shopper go from ChatGPT to your CRM
A shopper asks ChatGPT for a used SUV under $30,000, compares two real listings, and requests a test drive. The request reaches the dealership’s CRM as a lead, with the shopper’s consent on record.
Recorded in ChatGPT with the Car Handshake connection and real listings; the shopper is fictional. Each assistant controls its own availability and behavior.
Also available · Free visibility check
Can AI see your inventory?
Find out what an assistant can read on your website, and what to fix first.
Free. No sign-up. Nothing published unless you share it.
- 01 Inventory an assistant can read
- 02 Prioritized fixes, with evidence
- 03 A report to share with your website team
The connection your store needs
Your inventory.
A new way to reach it.
Connect your inventory to compatible AI assistants. Receive shopper-approved inquiries in the CRM you already use.
Dealer Handshake comes from the team that created Auto Agent Protocol. We operate the managed connection; the open standard remains independently published.
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01 · Your dealership
Publish your connection file
Add agent-card.json to your website. It tells compatible AI agents how to use your inventory and inquiry capabilities.
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02 · AI shopping
Let shoppers search
Your inventory feed powers vehicle search and details. Car Handshake supports ChatGPT and Claude, with separate publication authorization.
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03 · Your sales team
Receive consented inquiries
Inquiries and appointment requests arrive in your CRM as ADF leads, with consent attached. Your team confirms the next step.
Fits the way you already work
Keep your website, DMS, inventory
provider, and CRM.
What you get
From a question to a real next step
One conversation, from finding a vehicle to asking your team for a visit.
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01 · Search
Find me a used four-wheel-drive truck under $45,000 with fewer than 60,000 miles near Dallas.
The assistant searches your current inventory and applies the shopper’s exact filters.
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02 · Verify
Does the black F-150 have heated seats and the 3.5-liter EcoBoost?
It retrieves exact VIN-level details, synced from your feed and priced the way you priced it.
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03 · Consent
I want to see it Saturday afternoon. I also have a 2019 Silverado to trade.
The assistant asks permission before sharing anything. Nothing is sent until the shopper says yes.
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04 · Deliver
A request in your CRM
- Vehicle inquiry
- Black Ford F-150
- Visit requested
- Saturday afternoon
- Trade-in interest
- 2019 Silverado
- Delivery
- ADF lead, with the consent record attached
Your team confirms the appointment and follows up. Nothing is booked automatically.
Getting connected
Make the connection in five steps
A guided setup with a test at every handoff before anything goes live.
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01
Publish your dealership’s connection file
Add the file we provide at
/.well-known/on your website. We verify the connection with your website team.agent-card.json -
02
Describe your store
Rooftops, addresses, hours, and contacts.
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03
Connect your inventory feed
A standard CSV, vAuto, or Space Auto export. We validate the file before anything goes live.
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04
Choose where leads go
Your CRM’s lead inbox, in ADF (the format your CRM already accepts), with a test lead before launch.
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05
Go live and stay in control
Freshness monitoring, delivery health, and pause anytime.
Connected to Car Handshake
From their screen.To your showroom.
Car Handshake is our consumer marketplace. Shoppers can explore participating dealerships’ listings online or through compatible AI tools, then contact the dealership.
Publishing on Car Handshake requires separate dealer authorization.
Research & practical guides
Look beyond the promise
What an AI assistant actually sees on a dealer’s website
Our study of 234 US dealership domains, with the method and its limits.
Read the research Field guide · Inventory accuracyPut ten VINs through an AI inventory test
Check vehicle facts and availability with a repeatable, evidence-led method.
Read the field guide Our approach · Shopper trustNo paid rankings. No spam calls.
How Car Handshake approaches search results, shopper choice, and dealer contact.
Read our approachDealer guides
Build your dealership’s AI visibility.
Dealer Handshake handles inventory access and shopper inquiries. Use these guides to compare that work with search visibility services and choose a practical next step.
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Compare AI visibility providers
See what GEO agencies, monitoring tools and inventory connections deliver, with sources and a shared acceptance test.
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Gemini and Google AI visibility
Check indexing, test broader shopper questions and measure mentions separately from inventory accuracy.
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AI visibility for car dealerships
Check whether assistants can find your store, read your inventory, and support a useful next step.
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Get your inventory into ChatGPT
Understand dealer participation, shopper setup, and the inquiry that reaches your CRM.
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Automotive GEO, AEO and SEO
Compare the work behind search visibility and the measurements to ask a provider for.
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Connect to personal AI agents
See how inventory feeds, assistant connections, and permission controls fit together.
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Auto Agent Protocol and its founding team
Read the history, the open contract, and your implementation options.
Dealer questions
Your questions, answered
Feeds, pricing, consent, and control. The details to know before you connect.
The connection
How does Dealer Handshake help with AI visibility?
Dealer Handshake covers the inventory part of AI visibility: checking what your website exposes, connecting authorized vehicles to supported shopping assistants, and delivering shopper-approved inquiries to your CRM.
SEO and GEO services work on discovery, content and citations. You can use them alongside Dealer Handshake. Include us when your evaluation asks whether an AI shopper can find an actual car and contact your team, and verify that journey in the assistant you intend to use.
Can’t ChatGPT already read my website?
An AI assistant may be able to discover public pages from your website. That does not guarantee:
- Current inventory
- Correct pricing
- Accurate filters
- Verified dealership identity
- Inventory freshness
- Exact VIN-level information
- A dependable lead-submission path
- CRM delivery
Being publicly visible online is not the same as having a structured connection.
Does this replace our DMS, website, or CRM?
No. Your website remains your primary digital storefront for consumers. Dealer Handshake adds an inventory connection designed for AI assistants. It reads the inventory feed you already operate and delivers leads in ADF, the format your CRM already accepts. It does not replace the systems where your team works.
Your website is built for human shoppers. Dealer Handshake helps make your inventory usable by AI shopping tools.
How do Dealer Handshake and Car Handshake work together?
Dealer Handshake operates your dealership’s AI connection, built on Auto Agent Protocol. Your website’s agent card tells compatible agents how to connect to your dealership.
Car Handshake is the shopper-facing experience, available on the web and through supported connections including ChatGPT and Claude. Publication on Car Handshake requires separate dealer authorization. Your team keeps its website, DMS, and CRM, and follows up on shopper-approved inquiries through its existing workflow.
Leads, data and pricing
Are you selling my data?
No. We don’t sell your data or your shoppers’ data.
Dealer-authorized store and inventory information is available through the connection. Shopper contact information is only accepted through a consented lead request and delivered to the selected dealership.
What is included in an inquiry?
Each inquiry includes the shopper’s request, the contact details they chose to share, and a timestamped consent record. It arrives in your CRM as a standard lead. You test delivery before going live.
Consent records permission to contact the shopper; it does not guarantee buying intent. Your team qualifies the inquiry and confirms any requested appointment.
Will this immediately produce leads?
Dealer Handshake is available today. Once your connection is active, compatible AI agents can access your authorized inventory and submit shopper-approved inquiries. You can also authorize publication through Car Handshake and its supported connections.
Lead volume and sales are not guaranteed. Keep your existing channels and evaluate the inquiries this one brings. In a 10-minute demo, we can show the shopper’s experience and what your team receives in its CRM.
What does it cost?
Paid plans use a flat monthly subscription per dealership location, with no per-lead charge. Existing agreements keep their terms. Ask about pricing for your dealership, or email sales@dealerhandshake.com.
Inventory and setup
Which inventory feeds work today?
A standard inventory file (CSV), vAuto, and Space Auto are supported today. If you use another format, send us the provider and a sample header so we can assess the mapping.
Is our inventory public?
Going live does not publish inventory by itself. Publication channels are enabled only when separate customer authorization has been recorded. Shopper contact data is accepted only through a consented lead request and routed to the selected dealership.
Are test drives instantly booked?
No. The assistant sends the shopper’s requested time and consented contact details. Your dealership confirms the time through its normal process.
Can a group support multiple rooftops?
Yes. A dealer group can publish multiple locations, hours, and capabilities, then route leads to a rooftop-specific inbox or a group default: one AI inventory strategy across the group while every rooftop keeps its own identity, inventory, and routing.
Assistants and control
Which AI assistants can use the connection?
Supported connections include ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity. Other compatible agents can use the dealership’s Auto Agent Protocol connection. Each assistant controls its own availability and behavior; an agent card does not automatically enable a connector or guarantee placement in AI answers.
What is the Auto Agent Protocol?
The Auto Agent Protocol (AAP) is an independently published open standard, and the
one Dealer Handshake uses today. It standardizes how a compatible AI assistant
asks a dealership about its stores, inventory, a specific vehicle, or a consented
lead. Your website’s /.well-known/ describes
how a compatible agent connects and which capabilities it can use. Dealer
Handshake does not own or publish AAP.
Read the protocol.
Is Dealer Handshake affiliated with AAP or an inventory vendor?
No. Dealer Handshake Inc. is an independent company; it is not Lumika, Space Auto, or the Auto Agent Protocol project. Supporting an open standard or a vendor integration means the systems interoperate. It does not imply ownership, endorsement, or affiliation.
Can we stop serving the connection?
Authorized dealer users can pause the connection, archive the dealership, or permanently delete the dealership connection. Some security, audit, backup, or legal records may remain as described in the Privacy Notice.
See the shopper-to-CRM journey
See what shoppers see.
And what your team receives.
In a 10-minute demo, we’ll show how an AI shopper finds a vehicle and sends an inquiry to your CRM. We’ll also explain your website’s connection file and the supported ChatGPT and Claude connections.