Cars.com Launches Powerful New Solutions, Helping Dealers Turn Smarter Technology into Real Profit

Rhea-AI Summary

Cars.com (NYSE: CARS) on Jan. 29, 2026 announced new AI and commerce solutions for dealers to drive growth and profitability. Key highlights include an AI video solution delivering a 2X website lead conversion lift, Market Area Expansion driving large SRP/VDP exposure, integrated wholesale tools, and consolidated reporting.

The company will showcase offerings at NADA Feb. 4-6 in Las Vegas, booth #3723W.

Positive

• AI video delivers a 2X website lead conversion lift versus traditional creative
• Market Area Expansion accounted for 34% of dealers' SRP views during pilot
• Market Area Expansion accounted for 25% of dealers' VDP views during pilot
• Over 50% of AccuTrade-acquired vehicles are 1–5 years old, improving access to late-model inventory
• Consolidated reporting via Cars Commerce Hub offers cross-platform admin and product performance insights

Negative

• AI-powered VIN-specific video is limited to new and CPO vehicles only for now
• Performance claims rely on pilot and internal data from limited test groups (Q2–Q4 2025)

Key Figures

Lead conversion lift: 2X lift in website lead conversion Willing to buy outside market: more than 80% Already bought outside market: 53% +4 more

7 metrics

Lead conversion lift 2X lift in website lead conversion AI-powered VIN-specific video vs traditional video creative

Willing to buy outside market more than 80% Recent car buyers willing to purchase outside local market

Already bought outside market 53% Recent car buyers who have previously bought outside their market

SRP views from expansion 34% Dealers’ total Search Result Page views from Market Area Expansion placements

VDP views from expansion 25% Dealers’ total Vehicle Details Page views from Market Area Expansion placements

Late-model share via AccuTrade over 50% Vehicles acquired via AccuTrade between one and five years old

Survey sample size N=259 Cars Commerce Consumer Survey of Recent Car Buyers, Oct 2025

Market Reality Check

Vol: Volume 551,331 is close t...

normal vol

Volume Volume 551,331 is close to the 20-day average of 573,413 (relative volume 0.96) ahead of the product news. normal

Technical Shares at 11.66 are trading slightly below the 200-day MA of 11.88, and well below the 52-week high of 19.00.

Peers on Argus

With CARS flat pre-news, peers show mixed single-day moves (e.g., FVRR up 1.55%,...

With CARS flat pre-news, peers show mixed single-day moves (e.g., FVRR up 1.55%, EVER down 2.36%, GRPN down 2.21%), and no names appeared in the momentum scanner, suggesting a stock-specific catalyst setup.

Historical Context

5 past events · Latest: Dec 23 (Neutral)

Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 23	Inducement equity awards	Neutral	-1.9%	Equity grants to CEO-designate under 2025 Inducement Equity Plan with PSU, RSU awards.
Dec 18	CEO succession	Positive	+0.9%	Appointment of Tobias Hartmann as next CEO, transitioning from long-serving leader Alex Vetter.
Dec 04	CTO appointment	Positive	-2.0%	Hiring of seasoned SaaS and marketplace technologist Cormac Twomey as CTO to drive AI.
Nov 20	AI survey insights	Positive	-1.3%	Release of consumer survey showing strong AI influence on car shopping and higher engagement.
Nov 06	AI engine launch	Positive	+6.5%	Launch of Carson™ AI search engine with higher user returns, saves, and lead generation.

Pattern Detected

Recent news has centered on leadership changes and AI initiatives. Positive AI product launches saw a stronger upside reaction, while executive and governance updates sometimes coincided with mild declines, indicating mixed follow-through on otherwise constructive headlines.

Recent Company History

Over the last few months, Cars.com (Cars Commerce) reported steady Q3 results with revenue of $181.6 million and continued share repurchases, while also closing the DealerClub acquisition and investing in a secured convertible note. Strategically, the company launched its Carson™ AI engine and shared AI survey data, highlighting higher engagement and lead generation. Leadership has been reshaped with a new CEO-designate and CTO. Today’s new AI-driven dealer tools and reporting build on this shift toward data and AI-centric solutions.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement expands Cars.com’s AI and data capabilities with VIN-specific video ads, market-ar...

Analysis

This announcement expands Cars.com’s AI and data capabilities with VIN-specific video ads, market-area expansion, integrated wholesale tools, and a unified reporting hub. It follows earlier Carson™ AI launches, Q3 revenue of $181.6 million, and the DealerClub acquisition, reinforcing a strategy centered on dealer ROI and full-funnel measurement. Investors may watch adoption rates, lead-conversion metrics like the reported 2X lift, and how these tools integrate with recent leadership changes.

Key Terms

attribution, search result page (srp), vehicle details page (vdp), single sign-on, +1 more

5 terms

attribution technical

"Paired with newly activated attribution capabilities that can connect both dealer lot visits"

Attribution is the breakdown of why an investment or portfolio produced a given return by assigning portions of the gain or loss to causes such as overall market moves, industry exposure, or specific stock choices. It matters to investors because it acts like a post-game analysis or recipe check—showing which decisions added value, which hurt performance, and whether results reflect manager skill, luck, or broader market trends, guiding future decisions and risk assessment.

search result page (srp) technical

"34% of dealers' total Search Result Page (SRP) views and 25% of their total"

A search result page (SRP) is the webpage that lists links, headlines and short snippets when someone types a query into a search engine or a site’s search box. For investors, an SRP acts like a storefront window or table of contents: higher placement makes a press release or disclosure more likely to be seen, which can affect trading interest, liquidity and how quickly market-moving information spreads. Optimizing presence on SRPs increases the chance that key announcements reach analysts, traders and the public.

vehicle details page (vdp) technical

"34% of dealers' total Search Result Page (SRP) views and 25% of their total Vehicle Details Page (VDP)"

A vehicle details page (VDP) is the webpage or digital listing that shows everything about a single car for sale—photos, specifications, price, mileage, condition, and history. For investors, VDPs act like a storefront window or product label: they reveal how a seller prices and presents inventory, which helps gauge demand, gross margin potential, and how quickly vehicles turn into cash—key signals for revenue and profitability in automotive-related businesses.

single sign-on technical

"The Hub is a new single sign-on reporting platform that offers admin tools"

Single sign-on is a technology that lets a person log in once and then access multiple applications or systems without re-entering credentials, like using one key that opens every door in a building. For investors, it matters because it can reduce IT support costs, speed employee workflows and improve user experience, while also concentrating cybersecurity risk and affecting compliance posture—factors that influence operational efficiency and potential liability.

wholesale auction technical

"buyers gain access to high quality, retail-ready units on a differentiated wholesale auction"

A wholesale auction is a public sale where large blocks of securities, commodities, or goods are sold to institutional buyers through competitive bidding, rather than to individual retail customers. It matters to investors because the auction sets the market price and shows how much demand there is for that supply—like a farmer selling whole crates to grocery chains, the outcome affects availability, pricing, and yields in broader markets.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

Leading Automotive Marketplace Unveils New Tech to Better Enable its Dealer Partners in 2026

CHICAGO, Jan. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Car shopping marketplace Cars.com Inc. (NYSE: CARS) today announced new powerful tech and advertising solutions for its dealer customers built to drive efficient growth and profitability. The news comes ahead of the National Automobile Dealers Association Conference (NADA) on Feb. 4-6 in Las Vegas, where the company will showcase its offerings in booth #3723W.

With strong marketplace traffic growth in 2025 and exciting announcements such as its new AI search assistant, Carson™, Cars.com is leveraging its proprietary consumer demand and inventory data to power a new AI video solution, unlock vehicle shipping and delivery options, and enable customers with new integrated wholesale options to quickly move aging inventory. The company is also unveiling its new consolidated reporting platform to better inform dealers with the insights needed to operate efficiently. 

"We are not just driving traffic; we are driving profit for our dealer partners," said Lisa Gosselin, Chief Commercial Officer for Cars.com Inc. "By putting AI-powered technology and market expansion tools in the hands of our customers, Cars.com is connecting highly-engaged shoppers with the right inventory, driving twice the lead conversion, and ensuring our partners grow faster and more profitably."

Highlights of the new Cars.com solutions include:

• AI-Powered Inventory Video: New AI-powered creative allows dealers to scale their in-market video capabilities beyond incentive and brand spots to VIN-specific video ads for their full inventory. Backed by powerful audience targeting based on Cars.com car shopping behavior, the new AI-video solution is driving a 2X lift in website lead conversion for dealers versus traditional video creative.¹ Paired with newly activated attribution capabilities that can connect both dealer lot visits and actual sales results to shoppers exposed to these video campaigns, Cars.com can now provide a full-funnel view of results from ad exposure to car purchase. This includes new and CPO vehicles only for now.
  
  
• Market Area Expansion: According to a recent Cars.com survey, more than 80% of recent car buyers are willing to buy outside their market, and 53% have done it before.² Market Area Expansion is a new onsite solution that enables dealers to showcase their inventory beyond their local market and promote vehicle shipping and delivery capabilities to shoppers. The tool boosts the number of vehicle options for consumers while connecting dealers with shoppers they would have otherwise never reached. During Cars.com's pilot of the new product, 34% of dealers' total Search Result Page (SRP) views and 25% of their total Vehicle Details Page (VDP) views came from Market Area Expansion placements, highlighting the massive exposure lift dealers gain with shipping capabilities.³
  
  
• Integrated Wholesale Tools: Cars.com continues to scale its appraisal and wholesale capabilities through deeper integrations with Cars Commerce solutions AccuTrade and DealerClub, helping dealers address used car scarcity, source attractive, late model inventory, and choose the most profitable exit strategy for each vehicle. Importantly, over 50% of vehicles acquired via AccuTrade are between one and five years old, highlighting the desirable pool of in-demand, late model inventory that dealers access when they expand beyond traditional physical auctions.⁴ Now DealerClub seamlessly integrates with each dealer's inventory on Cars.com to quickly and easily move aging units to a network of trusted wholesale buyers. The integration is a win-win: DealerClub sellers keep inventory moving and control the offer and negotiation process, while DealerClub buyers gain access to high quality, retail-ready units on a differentiated wholesale auction based on transparency and reputation.
  
  
• Cars Commerce Hub Reporting: The Hub is a new single sign-on reporting platform that offers admin tools and product performance insights from across the Cars Commerce suite of solutions, all in one consolidated tool. The new reporting platform also features enhanced Cars.com reporting, delivering additional market signals and ensuring customers have cross-platform insights to make informed decisions.

To learn more about Cars.com's new technology, visit the Cars Commerce booth #3723W at the NADA Conference. Offerings from AccuTrade, Dealer Inspire and DealerClub will also be on display. Visitors can participate in the DealerClub Live No-Reserve Auction in the booth on Feb. 4 from 1-5 p.m. and the DealerClub Pricing Game on Feb. 5 from 1-5 p.m. local time.  For more information, visit www.carscommerce.inc.   

¹ Cars Commerce Pilot Results for VIN specific video creative in IMV campaigns with limited test group Q2-Q3 2025
² Cars Commerce Consumer Survey of Recent Car Buyers, Oct 2025, N=259
³ Market Area Expansion on Cars.com Pilot Results, Q4 2025 
⁴ Internal AccuTrade data, Q3 2025

ABOUT CARS.COM®
Cars.com is the No. 1 most recognized automotive marketplace. Launched in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, Cars.com empowers shoppers with the data, resources and digital tools needed to make informed buying decisions and seamlessly connect with automotive retailers. Cars.com is the flagship offering from Cars.com Inc. (d/b/a Cars Commerce), an audience-driven technology company empowering automotive that simplifies everything about buying and selling cars.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/carscom-launches-powerful-new-solutions-helping-dealers-turn-smarter-technology-into-real-profit-302673480.html

SOURCE Cars.com Inc.

FAQ

What is Cars.com's new AI video solution (CARS) announced Jan. 29, 2026?

The AI video solution creates VIN-specific ads to scale dealer video across full inventory and audiences. According to Cars.com, the tool pairs targeting and attribution to link ad exposure to lot visits and sales for a full-funnel view.

How much lead conversion lift did Cars.com's AI video show for dealers?

Cars.com's AI video showed a 2X lift in website lead conversion versus traditional video creative. According to Cars.com, this result came from pilot IMV campaigns run in Q2–Q3 2025 with a limited test group.

What does Market Area Expansion on Cars.com (CARS) do for dealers?

Market Area Expansion lets dealers showcase inventory beyond local markets and promote shipping and delivery capabilities. According to Cars.com, pilot results drove 34% of SRP views and 25% of VDP views from expansion placements.

How do Cars.com's integrated wholesale tools (AccuTrade, DealerClub) help dealers?

Integrated tools enable dealers to source late-model inventory and move aging units to wholesale buyers via DealerClub. According to Cars.com, over 50% of AccuTrade acquisitions were vehicles one to five years old, improving access to in-demand stock.

Where and when will Cars.com exhibit these solutions at NADA 2026 (CARS)?

Cars.com will showcase the new offerings at NADA Feb. 4–6, 2026 in Las Vegas at booth #3723W. According to Cars.com, the booth hosts DealerClub live auction and pricing game events on Feb. 4–5.