Adapt or Fall Behind: AI’s Growing Role in Shops’ Profits

At this year’s Positivity Summit hosted by Dave Luehr and Ryan Taylor, Solera’s Senior Vice President of Global Industry Relations and North America Claims, Bill Brower, joined an industry-relevant panel on how AI has been rapidly changing collision repair. This renown virtual event connected industry experts and collision shop leaders for a full day focused on actionable strategies and real progress inside auto body shop businesses. The 7^th Annual Positivity Summit emphasized practical insights on increasing car counts, leveraging AI, improving systems and staying ahead in a changing and competitive market.

Bill joined Jimmy Spears of Tractable and Raj Pofale of Claim Genius to talk about what AI is really delivering today for shops and what is coming next. Their message was precise, direct and focused on the real world, evident impacts that matter most today.

How AI Is Driving Revenue Growth for Shops

Speaking to an audience of body shop leaders, Bill opened with a forward but very practical question: “How would you feel if your shop raised your revenue by 17 percent?”. He shared that this is something shops can achieve when starting to embrace modern AI-estimating and vehicle intake solutions. The lift in revenue is direct, and it comes from faster cycle times, better capture rates, happier employees and improved customer experience.

He highlighted a standout example from a group of CARSTAR shops in Canada, Torcam Group, led by the owner, Sebastian Torres. Sebastian fully adopted Qapter’s AI-powered Intelligent Estimating workflows and built them into his shop processes. The results were immediate. Not only did revenue grow, but his Google reviews ratings improved as well because customers now expect fast, digital and accurate interactions. When a shop delivers that level of experience, customers notice and reward it. Bill emphasized that the positive impact is also for the bottom line because speed and accuracy develop valuable financial results.

Bill’s message aligns with broader outcomes seen across Solera’s work with AI. Reduced estimating time means faster repair decisions, quicker authorizations and more manageable scheduling. Sebastian’s shops are already proving how powerful this shift is. Leveraging data and VI can dramatically cut estimate times, which directly drives higher profitability and scalability.

Why Customers Now Expect AI Level Speed

The panelists at the Summit made it clear that today everybody expects AI. Customers expect quick answers, real-time updates, transparency and simplicity in every step of the experience. AI is what makes that possible at scale. Bill explained that when shops adopt AI estimating, the workflow becomes more consistent and more efficient, which shortens the time between first contact and estimate completion, while also enabling the shop to schedule repairs before the customer even leaves the premises.

A Positive Future Driven by Innovation

Each speaker’s contribution to the 7th Annual Positivity Summit captured exactly what the event stands for: this collision summit focused on real strategies that help body shops move forward with confidence.

Bill’s perspective grounded AI in the realities of running a shop. Faster service, happier customers, stronger profits and technology that keeps learning from a historical database. It’s all about embracing tools that shop owners can use right now to win and to create a better experience for every customer who walks through the door.