Machine learning, what is it?
How does it affect me?
And does this mean the T1000 is already here?
The answer is maybe.
On the face of it, machine learning is a complex and often times “scary” subject. But the truth is that machine learning has already been a part of our daily lives for years and you likely didn’t even know it. In fact, it’s been smoothing out things that weren’t nearly so slick in the past – like using a search engine for instance.
What is Machine Learning?
Machine learning is, at the heart of it, how computers teach themselves to recognize objects, text, speech…you name it. See how it could apply to search engines?
How Does Machine Learning Relate to the Consumer?
Without machine learning, Google wouldn’t be anywhere near as good at getting you the right answer when you ask “What’s the best place to get a coffee around here?”. And if you’ve been asking your phone questions for any length of time, you’ve probably witnessed the system improving over the years. That’s machine learning at work.
How Does Google Utilize Machine Learning?
Specifically, Google has used machine learning to better figure out spoken search. As you use your phone to make searches, Google is saving the search, and then looking at your resulting behavior. Most frequently, the resulting behavior from any Google user is a link click, and if Google fails to provide answers that result in that click, it will adjust its own process until that result is reached.
If Google gives the example of a desired behavior to a Machine Learning program, the machine can predict the action you’ll take, learn from what action actually happens, adjust the parameters, and change what it provides for the user the next time around. Over time the machine adjusts itself over and over and over until it has pretty much got you figured out.
Facebook does the same thing, which is why you see the same people in your feed all the time – despite having dozens, if not hundreds more “friends.” The system has learned from your own actions that you want to see that small group of people more often than the rest. The same goes for the recommendations that you receive from Amazon, Netflix, and basically any ecommerce, streaming or social media platform that’s designed to thrive in 2021 and beyond. So, machine learning isn’t exclusive to Google, nor is it focused on the consumer side of the car buying equation.
What Does Machine Learning Relate to Dealerships?
For forward-thinking dealerships, machine learning is providing greater insights than ever as to performance of your website, your social media content, and your individual marketing campaigns – allowing you to optimize and refine all of these things to attract more business.
And no…it’s not perfect but, over time, Machine Learning will reiterate itself. Again. And again. And again. And it’s the iterations that lead to greater results.
So if you love when your GPS redirects you to a faster route – that’s machine learning at work! And if that faster route turns out to be a goat path across your neighbor’s field, that’s machine learning at work again. It’s not perfect, but it’s working to get there.