Built upon a unified data layer, the object is to maximize effectiveness across the entire RMS (Retail Management System).

At the 2026 NADA Convention and Expo in Las Vegas, Reynolds and Reynolds debuted its brand new AI agent, Rey. Designed as a cutting edge tool aimed at delivering a unified solution across Reynolds’s entire Retail Management Solution, Rey leverages Reynolds and Reynolds’ Spark AI unified data layer.

According to Chris Walsh, President and acting CEO of Reynolds and Reynolds, in today’s fast moving auto retail marketplace, the cleaner and more concise the data is, the better AI solutions can perform.

Unified data layer

“At Reynolds and Reynolds,” we built Spark AI as a unified data layer,” explains Walsh. “That’s where all of our data resides, and as a long standing organization in automotive retail, with institutional intelligence, there is a tremendous amount of data available.” Walsh says that having that unified data level through Spark AI enables the best possible response whenever a question is asked. With Rey, dealership staff have an extremely powerful solution at their fingertips, one that enables delivery of complex reporting in just seconds, offering real strategic insights and providing accurate and effective assistance, including through Reynolds’ Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

Because Rey is available across every tool in the Reynolds and Reynolds Retail Management System, it enables unprecedented efficiency, while eliminating gaps in both workflows and the customer experience.

Chris Walsh acknowledges that while AI can be extremely helpful, it’s how the technology is applied to the overall dealership eco-system where it really counts. He says it’s critical to have access to complete, accurate and de-duplicated data, so that AI tools can really do their magic. That is where AI can serve as a true agent and deliver on the promises of enhanced productivity and improved efficiency.

This can manifest itself in everything from a customer sitting in their living room at night looking to purchase a vehicle, to a smooth and satisfying service department experience.

Efficient interaction

On the prospecting and purchase side, tools like CRM Advisor provide a highly effective and efficient way to enable consumers to interact with their local dealer on their time and keep that momentum and communication channel open and consistent, even while they are at work or running errands the next day. By leveraging clean data and transactional history on a specific customer, AI can tailor the conversation to a specific client’s needs, and keep that communication consistent, whether staff are at the dealership or not. This enables the dealer to have a much better chance of turning a prospect into a true customer and then building on that via effective retention strategy and tactics.

On the service side, AI can also be used to ensure the customer gets connected with the right person fast and efficiently, bypassing rerouting and phone-trees, which traditionally have been a common pain-point on the fixed ops side.

Even in parts, AI is manifesting itself via greater efficiency, with tools like Relo, Reynolds’ AI powered parts delivery robot that enables parts to be sent to the service bays faster, improving efficiency for both technicians and parts personnel.

“We’ve been able to completely integrate this into our RMS workflows,” explains Walsh, “so dealers can keep people at the parts counter instead of them having to travel back and forth, since Relo can navigate through the service department and get parts to the technicians fast and efficiently.

Level of trust

Walsh stressed that today, it’s not just enough to have access to AI technology, but ensure that it really is implemented effectively. “AI tools need to deliver a level of trust when it comes to high-impact parts of the [automotive retail] business, like customer communications, structuring a deal, and analyzing operational performance,” he says. “That trust can only be delivered with a unified AI data layer.” With it, he says, solutions like Rey can “transform existing workflows and data so that the user can take action to improve outcomes and save time and money.”

In additional news, Reynolds and Reynolds is also investing significantly in its Canadian market operations. During our conversation, Chris Walsh provided a few details about some of these initiatives, underscoring the differences between the Canadian operating environment for dealers compared with the U.S. “Our object is to ensure we are able to effectively support our customers in Canada, whether its through products, relationships with OEMs and with our customers.” Reynolds has also announced that long time industry veteran Keith Legg, will be spearheading the company’s Canadian business operations and activities, and with dedicated responsibility for the Canadian market, Legg and his team look forward to supporting Reynolds’ Canadian customers as well as driving growth and innovation within the retail automotive marketplace.