{"id":12312,"date":"2026-06-29T07:11:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T07:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/?post_type=resource&#038;p=12312"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:58:49","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:58:49","slug":"automotive-customer-intent-signals","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/","title":{"rendered":"Automotive Customer Intent Signals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull hero-gradient is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-49dc4d8c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:80px;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:80px;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0662d27e wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center small-text-align-center\" style=\"padding-top:0;padding-right:0;padding-bottom:0;padding-left:0\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">Winning the Deal <\/span>Starts Earlier\u2014And That Changes Everything<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-h-5-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Most buyers make key decisions before submitting a lead.<br>           Dealers who capture and act on early intent outperform at every stage of the funnel.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull triangle-grey has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left alignfull has-h-3-font-size small-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:0\">The Starting Line Has Moved<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns alignfull are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-cda7b342 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-container-core-column-is-layout-907ded86 wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c86587d2 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:48px;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:48px;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-huge-font-size\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">74%<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-eced54c33bbb1ab9efb2a1903e80e772 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">of shoppers prefer<br>AI-powered search<br>when vehicle<br>shopping<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d3af2740 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:48px;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:48px;padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading has-huge-font-size\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">5\u20136<\/span><\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-a088d83acdba5b4ec3f6ce0b69002dcd wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">The buying journey<br>begins 5-6 weeks<br>before a lead is<br>submitted<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-cai-navy-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-f77686ed wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--24);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--24);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-369d44dbe4cfd98c5cd84f0fa80c3e04\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">What this means:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-12dead70b7d8c8ff9ed19e321eb624d5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">By the time a lead appears, the customer has already narrowed options, formed preferences, and built momentum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group triangle-white is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-e0ae945c wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-h-3-font-size\">Dealers Engage at the Wrong Moment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d59685cb wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:32px;padding-bottom:32px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-a990b88371bba7f44b967bb7eeccd90f\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Current reality:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-0039a06b1e1e04f60c0cffc62dfdb99d\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Dealer workflows activate at <strong>lead submission<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-f13963bfd9af3bec4ce7f2a19f878cf0\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">High-value intent is generated <strong>weeks earlier<\/strong><br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-4a617138e4d15e55b92f72d38cbd11fd\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">System challenge:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-cai-grey-600-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-c66adb500be1b5a0d3de637c6f00c5ee wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Intent is fragmented across:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-758ea84cdad3178d43d81b21280b1136\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Search behavior<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Website interaction<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-a9292ecb8ca1cbe691a858136ad4ee28\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Conversations (chat, text, email)<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-product-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d99cba03 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:24px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:24px;padding-left:32px\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-f408387487475a6dca3d05f2666a08e3\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Result:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-7994782343c214c247e455806b9fee7a wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Dealers are forced into <strong>reactive engagement<\/strong>, with limited visibility into how decisions were formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:16px\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull triangle-grey has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-h-3-font-size\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">Intent Is Continuous, Not Episodic<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-41981dac65672358d34450d8242dfe00\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Today\u2019s shoppers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-429726c2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Vector.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1493\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-cai-navy-500-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-3e95f978bd8526602eaca9cf2b620071 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--24);font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Search in natural language<br>(higher intent specificity)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Layer_1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1491\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-2065df98cdc3747ab287e9deb79d5738 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--24);font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Ask multi-step, conversational questions<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:5px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Layer_1-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1492\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-cdb79958373a93a686c9bddbdc2058db wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--24);font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Generate ongoing behavioral signals across channels    <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:1px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-product-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d99cba03 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:24px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:24px;padding-left:32px\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-f408387487475a6dca3d05f2666a08e3\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Result:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-9340f55d4d35ad78990f62aabb7e367d wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Intent is no longer a single event (the lead). It is a <strong>continuously evolving dataset <\/strong>that strengthens before contact.<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull triangle-white has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-h-3-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">Earlier Engagement Drives\u2028Measurable Gains<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-03915721e0a5cd96cfa58fd25f071b5d\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">When a deal begins earlier in the journey:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-c1d9c1ad wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-1-font-size\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">21.4%<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-aa072228058dd22d3729a2a6d346aa33 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">of Deal Central leads have a deal created before first contact<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-1-font-size\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">24%<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-f17bec7b56aeb452d21cfa3cfcf67cc1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">higher conversion to showroom visit<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box card-height has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-30968364 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:30px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:30px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-h-1-font-size\"><span class=\"global-blocks-gradient-highlight\">28%<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-b9beca43658b880db5560156583c5d98 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">higher conversion to sale<sup>2<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-04056dc2d0bb9570cf35a153268474e6\" style=\"margin-top:48px;margin-bottom:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Why this happens:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-1-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Earlier deal formation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Increases <strong>customer commitment<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Reduces <strong>friction in later-stage decisions<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Aligns expectations <strong>before in-person interaction<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-product-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-5ca04f62 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium);padding-top:24px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:24px;padding-left:32px\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-c85609dae14e3bcc40fe3387461b634c\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Net Effect:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-ea64e89ab4caaccf7e0de4dd2458afdf wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">&nbsp;Improvement compounds across the funnel\u2014not just at a single stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull triangle-grey has-cai-light-grey-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-h-3-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">They Start the Deal Earlier<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-609e49fcc637d2d44f53221fde1eb26c\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Instead of waiting for the lead, leading dealers:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-fb4ea265 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Layer_1-2.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1494\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-cc5f0f9b27a9b4372a9fa14cf0103ba5 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Capture intent during early research<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Layer_1.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1495\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-a226c7a7b84f1d58fc479d58d471bbbc wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Connect signals across systems<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-764b9642 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Isolation_Mode.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1496\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-e594781332887bdba5e8af983c3df9a0 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Maintain one continuous conversation<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-white-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ceb28ddd wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:32px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:32px;padding-left:32px;box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--right)\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-style-square\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www-coxautoinc-com-preprod.go-vip.net\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/Layer_1-1.svg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1497\" style=\"object-fit:cover\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"line-height-1-1 has-black-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-6-font-size wp-elements-1d352caa32e95b800c725d28e0ba3fe3 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Carry context from digital to in-store<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:2px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group radius-box has-product-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-d99cba03 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:24px;padding-right:32px;padding-bottom:24px;padding-left:32px\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-5410f40654efd1a397d474d9c102f666\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Outcome:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-00d1660c5ab1049402b769999a6905a8 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:400\">The deal is already in motion before the customer walks into the dealership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-h-3-font-size\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--medium)\">Conversion Is Driven by<br>Timing + Visibility<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-8a5fee9b166f0210233cf09864d0e932\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Across all findings:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Timing determines when you can influence the deal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Visibility determines how effectively you act on it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-d3566f03 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-972b1b45ca64d51f77c2cabee4c38114\" style=\"padding-bottom:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Without earlier visibility:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-30c9b27d8a16b7a6c38e7e5803959031\" style=\"margin-top:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:400\"><strong>Engagement is reactive<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-db9c1bc70a85a3ab27f1becdc774291d\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:400\"><strong>Context is limited<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-body-1-font-size\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:400\"><strong>Conversion potential is reduced<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading has-product-blue-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-d22c2cc04c413b361a181641dfe481b4\" style=\"padding-bottom:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">With early visibility:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-1b2569b74e9c1a024b2abf78d7df57bc\" style=\"margin-top:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Engagement is proactive<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-d4644ee757256f774a28165dc1661005\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Context drives relevance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-cai-grey-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-168d8fa0cba3a1e98b5e5a1b2a980291\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Conversion improves across all stages<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull has-product-blue-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:60px;padding-bottom:60px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0ee90f18 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-3-font-size wp-elements-2d4d78b4c8e8d8b96f4e0d487c7222f4\" style=\"padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--40)\">Turning Early Insight into Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-5-font-size wp-elements-bcfc5b3d4db97d1eda8ad700e1c19070 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-bottom:16px;font-style:normal;font-weight:500\">Today\u2019s buyers decide earlier\u2014\u2028<br>Deal Central helps you meet them there first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-4a29ebd2955f2605666d51ab2d2c5995\" style=\"margin-top:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Surfaces intent <strong>before first contact<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-73db20e01bd5a3a186d1da4acef1e877\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Enables earlier deal formation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-1-font-size wp-elements-ad584ec3c1349c2ab11446cd16e3e93d\" style=\"font-style:normal;font-weight:300\">Maintains momentum from <strong>click \u2192 conversation \u2192 showroom<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left has-white-color has-text-color has-link-color has-body-4-font-size wp-elements-7dcabfc43879a977e7976108c43c8332 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--30);font-style:normal;font-weight:400\">1. 2025 Cox Automotive Content Influence | 2. 2026 Cox Automotive Data Study<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull border-bottom-white bottom-gradient has-black-color has-white-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-127b3982f5ee9087a954fda56dd2e933 is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:80px;padding-bottom:80px\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group mw-740 is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-43df3547 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:80px;padding-bottom:80px\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center has-cai-navy-500-color has-text-color has-link-color has-h-2-font-size wp-elements-53e974f465d54ecc4579e21f852b6164\" style=\"padding-bottom:16px\"><strong>If there\u2019s a deal to be had, <\/strong><br><strong>Deal Central helps you build it.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center link-underline has-body-1-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;font-style:normal;font-weight:300\"><a style=\"font-weight:300;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:3px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/\"><br>        Explore Deal Central and request a personalized demo today.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<style>\n\n.mw-740 {\nmax-width: 740px !important;\n}\n.line-height-1-1 {\nline-height: 1.1;\n}\n.border-bottom-white {\nborder-bottom: 1px solid #fff;\n}\n\n.radius-box{\n    border-radius:16px;\n    overflow:hidden;\n}\n\/* =====================================\n   White Inverted Triangle\n===================================== *\/\n\n.triangle-white{\n    position:relative;\n}\n\n.triangle-white::after{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    left:50%;\n    bottom:-18px;\n    transform:translateX(-50%);\n    width:0;\n    height:0;\n    border-left:18px solid transparent;\n    border-right:18px solid transparent;\n    border-top:18px solid #ffffff;\n    z-index:10;\n}\n\n\n\/* =====================================\n   Grey Inverted Triangle\n===================================== *\/\n\n.triangle-grey{\n    position:relative;\n}\n\n.triangle-grey::after{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    left:50%;\n    bottom:-18px;\n    transform:translateX(-50%);\n    width:0;\n    height:0;\n    border-left:18px solid transparent;\n    border-right:18px solid transparent;\n    border-top:18px solid #f3f3f5;\n    z-index:10;\n}\n.link-underline a{\n    text-decoration: underline !important;\n}\n\n\/* =====================================\n   Hero Gradient Patches\n===================================== *\/\n\n\/* Hero Gradient Patches *\/\n.hero-gradient{\n    position:relative;\n    overflow:hidden;\n}\n\n\n\/* Left Patch *\/\n.hero-gradient::before{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    width:420px;\n    height:420px;\n    left:-220px;\n    top:-220px;\n    border-radius:50%;\n    background:linear-gradient(\n        135deg,\n        #1DA1F2 0%,\n        #7B61FF 50%,\n        #D81B8C 100%\n    );\n    opacity:.22;\n    filter:blur(100px);\n    pointer-events:none;\n}\n\n\/* Right Patch *\/\n.hero-gradient::after{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    width:420px;\n    height:420px;\n    right:-220px;\n    top:-220px;\n    border-radius:50%;\n    background:linear-gradient(\n        135deg,\n        #1DA1F2 0%,\n        #7B61FF 50%,\n        #D81B8C 100%\n    );\n    opacity:.22;\n    filter:blur(100px);\n    pointer-events:none;\n}\n.card-height{\nheight:100%;\n}\n\/* =====================================\n   Bottom Gradient Patches\n===================================== *\/\n\n.bottom-gradient{\n    position:relative;\n    overflow:hidden;\n}\n\n.bottom-gradient::before{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    width:360px;\n    height:360px;\n    left:-70px;\n    bottom:60px;\n    border-radius:50%;\n    background:linear-gradient(\n        135deg,\n        #20A4F3 0%,\n        #7B61FF 55%,\n        #D81B8C 100%\n    );\n    opacity:.24;\n    filter:blur(85px);\n    pointer-events:none;\n    z-index:0;\n}\n\n.bottom-gradient::after{\n    content:\"\";\n    position:absolute;\n    width:360px;\n    height:360px;\n    right:-70px;\n    bottom:60px;\n    border-radius:50%;\n    background:linear-gradient(\n        135deg,\n        #20A4F3 0%,\n        #7B61FF 55%,\n        #D81B8C 100%\n    );\n    opacity:.24;\n    filter:blur(85px);\n    pointer-events:none;\n    z-index:0;\n}\n\n.bottom-gradient > *{\n    position:relative;\n    z-index:1;\n}\n<\/style>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Winning the Deal Starts Earlier\u2014And That Changes Everything Most buyers make key decisions before submitting a lead. Dealers who capture and act on early intent outperform at every stage of the funnel. The Starting Line Has Moved 74% of shoppers preferAI-powered searchwhen vehicleshopping1 5\u20136 The buying journeybegins 5-6 weeksbefore a lead issubmitted1 What this means:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2590,"featured_media":12342,"template":"page-templates\/resource-as-page.php","categories":[],"tags":[],"resource-format":[],"topic":[],"resource-tags":[],"audience":[],"eligible-for-automation":[],"funnel-phase":[169],"lifecycle-of-automotive":[],"persona":[],"product":[],"program-series":[],"view":[],"date-of-release":[],"deal-central-feature":[],"class_list":["post-12312","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":{"enable_gated_content_template":false,"gated_template_variation":"","form_image":null,"gravity_form_title":"","gravity_form_sub_title":"","gated_gravity_form":false,"button_text":"","button_link":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Winning the Deal Starts Earlier\u2014And That Changes Everything Most buyers make key decisions before submitting a lead. Dealers who capture and act on early intent outperform at every stage of the funnel. The Starting Line Has Moved 74% of shoppers preferAI-powered searchwhen vehicleshopping1 5\u20136 The buying journeybegins 5-6 weeksbefore a lead issubmitted1 What this means:\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Deal Central\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-02T12:58:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"682\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/\",\"name\":\"Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/35\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-29T07:11:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-02T12:58:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/35\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/35\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":682},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Resources\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/resources\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Automotive Customer Intent Signals\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/\",\"name\":\"Deal Central\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Deal Central\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/35\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/CAI-DealCentral-Stacked-Black-1-1.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/35\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/CAI-DealCentral-Stacked-Black-1-1.svg\",\"width\":198,\"height\":43,\"caption\":\"Deal Central\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.coxautoinc.com\\\/deal-central\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central","og_description":"Winning the Deal Starts Earlier\u2014And That Changes Everything Most buyers make key decisions before submitting a lead. Dealers who capture and act on early intent outperform at every stage of the funnel. The Starting Line Has Moved 74% of shoppers preferAI-powered searchwhen vehicleshopping1 5\u20136 The buying journeybegins 5-6 weeksbefore a lead issubmitted1 What this means:","og_url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/","og_site_name":"Deal Central","article_modified_time":"2026-07-02T12:58:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":682,"url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/","url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/","name":"Automotive Customer Intent Signals - Deal Central","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-29T07:11:49+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-02T12:58:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2026\/06\/CRS26-0159_DC-Thought-Leadership_Winning-the-Deal_Tile_1024x682_v1.jpg","width":1024,"height":682},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/automotive-customer-intent-signals\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Resources","item":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/resources\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Automotive Customer Intent Signals"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/","name":"Deal Central","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#organization","name":"Deal Central","url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/11\/CAI-DealCentral-Stacked-Black-1-1.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/35\/2025\/11\/CAI-DealCentral-Stacked-Black-1-1.svg","width":198,"height":43,"caption":"Deal Central"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"reading_time":"2m Read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/12312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2590"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/12312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12318,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/12312\/revisions\/12318"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"resource-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-format?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"resource-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource-tags?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"eligible-for-automation","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eligible-for-automation?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"funnel-phase","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/funnel-phase?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"lifecycle-of-automotive","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/lifecycle-of-automotive?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"program-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/program-series?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"view","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/view?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"date-of-release","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/date-of-release?post=12312"},{"taxonomy":"deal-central-feature","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.coxautoinc.com\/deal-central\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/deal-central-feature?post=12312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}