Episodes

Latest Episode

Posted on 21 October 2026

S2 | EP 22.5

25MIN

Why AI still needs a human in the loop

In this gear change episode of Drivetime, Jacqui continues her conversation with Siddharth Kashyap, Consulting Partner at Tata Consultancy Services, exploring how technology, data and empathy can reshape automotive experiences for retailers and customers.

The discussion explores how businesses can simplify customer journeys by challenging existing processes, repeatedly asking why each step is required and designing technology around the people who will use it. For Siddharth, empathy must sit at the heart of that work because the success of a solution depends on whether it makes users’ lives easier. They also discuss a single digital gateway developed to bring multiple OEM applications into one interface for retailer users. Rather than replacing the underlying systems, the approach presents relevant information according to the user’s role, helping sales and service teams navigate fewer separate applications. The conversation then turns to AI and personalisation. Connected vehicle and customer data can help brands create more contextual experiences, but Siddharth Kashyap stresses that this must be done with the customer’s consent. The goal is to act like a helpful concierge, not make the customer feel watched.

Siddharth Kashyap also shares how AI is reducing parts of the software development lifecycle and helping businesses analyse volumes of data that would be difficult for people to process manually. However, every potential use case must still solve a genuine business problem by increasing revenue, reducing costs or improving efficiency.

Drivetime is the global auto tech podcast powered by Keyloop.