See how Large Language Models (LLMs) use your dealership’s reviews, listings, and online presence to shape local search, and how to stay visible in 2025.
Your reviews are doing more than sitting on your Google Business Profile. They’re shaping how (and if) your dealership shows up when shoppers start their search.
For years, the goal was simple: climb the rankings. Strong SEO and a steady flow of positive reviews landed you at the top of the Google results page. That still reigns true, and that strategy still matters, but AI has changed the game.
Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Google’s AI Overviews don’t just index and rank; they read and synthesize everything they can find online about your business (your website, reviews, social posts, business listings, etc.) to generate a direct answer to a shopper’s query.
Instead of a list of links, 13% of customers now see an AI-written summary that pulls details from across your online footprint.
Anything out there about your dealership is fair game, and a high star rating alone won’t guarantee you’re included. These systems look for depth and consistency: fresh, specific reviews of sales, service, and financing, plus timely responses that show your team is engaged and trustworthy.
Every review you request and every reply you post now feeds both human buyers and the AI engines guiding them. Widewail makes it easy to keep that feedback current and accurate so your dealership is the one surfaced.
LLMs analyze data from multiple sources (everything from reviews and social media to your website and third-party listings) to answer questions and provide recommendations.
Every review is a signal. Positive, detailed, and recent feedback tells AI your business is active, trustworthy, and worth recommending. Negative review patterns or outdated information can hurt your visibility.
LLMs analyze the tone, context, and emotional nuance of a review.
This means stars are no longer the most important factor when it comes to generating an AI search summary. Rather, it’s the details that count.
When we’re talking about LLMs and reviews:
Good: A 5-star review that says “Great service.”
Better: A 4-star review that praises your “friendly and communicative service advisors” and “quick turnaround times.”
At Widewail, we’ve read and responded to millions of reviews. In 2025, we analyzed over 8 million across 18,000 dealerships to measure sentiment and see what exactly customers are talking about. LLMs are doing the same thing. Some examples of sentiment cues AI picks up:
Positive: “welcoming atmosphere,” “thrilled,” “expert finance advice,” “quick turnaround…”
Negative: “unclear financing,” “long wait times,” “confusing,” “couldn’t get anyone’s attention on the floor…”
The more reviews you have, the more opportunity LLMs have to recognize sentiment patterns throughout your feedback. This is how your reputation is shaped.
To get ahead of the game—or at least learn what to expect from an AI summary of your dealership—take the time to monitor trends across your reviews. Actually hear what your customers are saying. Take their feedback seriously and take time to ensure all reviews on your feed are legitimate and worthy of a response.
While AI has brought many changes to how we operate, one thing has remained the same: fresh, consistent reviews matter more than volume.
Recent reviews signal engagement, credibility, and operational reliability. AI favors businesses that appear active, and reviews serve as a real-time pulse on your business.
Reviews are your greatest opportunity to provide Google and AI engines with the right information.
Let’s say your team prides itself on offering quick oil changes in under 20 minutes. You advertise this on your website service landing page, but prospects might never make it there. A review, on the other hand, is more likely to be seen and might even take it a step further to provide social proof and context.
A review might read: “I stopped by Westgate Auto yesterday for an oil change. I didn’t make an appointment, but was hoping they could squeeze me in. They had me in and out in 20 minutes. While I waited, I grabbed a coffee from the lounge and barely had time to finish it before my car was ready. Fast, friendly, and super convenient. I’ll definitely be back!”
This review references multiple keywords for Google to work with when surfacing results. It includes:
Google is still the default search engine, but LLMs like ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, and Gemini are reshaping how people discover local businesses. Instead of returning a list of links, these tools pull from reviews, listings, social content, and websites to deliver direct recommendations.
How these AI platforms handle reviews:
ChatGPT: Combines its pre-trained knowledge with live web browsing to answer questions like “Where can I get a quick oil change?” It can automatically perform web searches for up-to-date information, including reviews and provides inline citations to its sources.
Perplexity AI: Combines a live web search with AI reasoning. It retrieves up-to-date content from credible sources like Google Business Profile, Yelp, and TripAdvisor, and summarizes them to provide current, trustworthy information.
Gemini: Leverages Google's search infrastructure and generative AI. It synthesizes business profiles, review data, and web content to deliver concise and current answers.
Key takeaway: No matter the platform, reviews are signals. Authentic, detailed, and recent feedback increases the odds your business will appear in AI-driven search results across all major platforms.
You can’t game the system. Certain tactics will earn penalties from Google—and can keep your business out of AI-generated summaries altogether.
1. Review gating
Our #1 don’t. Review gating means steering happy customers to public reviews while directing unhappy ones to a private survey. Google hates it, and so do we.
Why: it’s dishonest and erodes trust. Negative reviews—and your thoughtful responses—show that you care about the customer experience and can make things right when something goes wrong.
2. Buying fake reviews
Google can tell when your reviews are fake. Paying for reviews breaks trust and risks more than removal of the fakes—Google may wipe out legitimate reviews as well.
3. Ignoring your negatives
Silence is loud. A prompt, empathetic reply to a negative review shows you take customer concerns seriously and are willing to improve. Every critical review is an opportunity to rebuild trust and demonstrate accountability.
Reviews are signals, not shortcuts. You can’t game AI, but you can guide it.
Each new review, every thoughtful response, and every accurate listing is a data point that AI will surface. Widewail keeps the process effortless—so when the next wave of AI tools arrives, your reputation is already working for you.
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