The Auto Market Brief

Car shoppers aren’t following a linear path to purchase anymore. Instead, they’re validating information across platforms, formats, and voices, reshaping how automotive content is created and consumed.

In this conversation, Erin Keating is joined by Michelle Clark, Director of Editorial for Cox Automotive’s consumer brands, to explore these shifts in behavior and what it means for the future of automotive storytelling:

Validation over linear research:
Today’s consumers continuously validate what they see and hear, seeking multiple perspectives, real experiences, and trusted sources throughout the entire shopping journey, not just at the point of purchase.

Creator-led content builds trust:
Short-form video and creator perspectives are resonating because they feel personal and authentic, helping shoppers assess vehicle features, technology, and ownership considerations through real-world lenses.

Content closer to the transaction:
Automotive advice content is moving beyond awareness into decision-support, with tools and information like gas price tracking and insurance guidance playing a more direct role in purchase confidence.

AI as an enabler, not a storyteller:
Editorial teams are using AI to scale and adapt storytelling across formats, empowering journalists to become multi‑format generalists while keeping human expertise at the center of the content.

The Auto Market Brief delivers timely data, clear context, and practical insight to help industry leaders make smarter decisions—what’s happening now, and what’s coming next.

The Auto Market Brief is powered by Cox Automotive. For more industry insights and expert perspectives, visit our Insights Hub at https://www.coxautoinc.com/insights.

Creators and Guests

Host
Erin Keating
Erin Keating is an Executive Analyst and Senior Director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. She brings 30 years of professional experience, including 14 years in the automotive industry, providing analysis on market conditions, automaker performance, and consumer demand shaping the economics of the new-vehicle market. Erin spent 10 years with Audi of America, including leading Audi Motorsport North America, informing her perspective on both commercial strategy and competitive dynamics.
Guest
Michelle Clark
As the editorial director behind Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, Michelle Clark works every day to help people make smart, confident decisions when it comes to cars. With over 25 years of experience, Michelle blends technology and creativity to build innovative teams and believes that every story should help real people. Michelle’s commitment to putting people first has earned her several awards, but what matters most to her is making a positive difference in your car journey.

What is The Auto Market Brief?

The Auto Market Brief, powered by Cox Automotive, breaks down the latest trends and forecasts shaping the automotive industry. The show is hosted by Cox Automotive Executive Analyst Erin Keating, coupling years of experience translating data and trends with the data and industry insights of the largest automotive services and technology provider.

Joined by other Cox Automotive experts and outside guests, you’ll get data-driven insights and industry outlooks from some of the industry’s leading voices.​

Erin Keating:

Welcome to the Auto Market Brief from Cox Automotive. Each episode, our experts and special guests break down the latest trends, insights, and news shaping the automotive market. We'll give you the information that truly matters so you can make smarter decisions and drive your business forward. Very excited to be joined here today at the Auto Market Brief by a colleague of mine, Michelle Clark. She is the director of editorial for Cox Automotive with a specific focus on our consumer facing brands, Autotrader and kellybluebook.com.

Erin Keating:

And we've heard some interesting things recently in the market about how consumers are really looking for alternative ways to learn about the vehicle that they're seeing out there, learn about new vehicles, powertrain education, even things like what gas prices are doing, how tariffs had impacted them. And Kelly Blubik, an Autotrader, Michelle, your team has done a great job over the years of being a real go to source for consumers. And something that I just wanted to touch base with you on today is the changes that's been happening out there in the content world. You know, I noted recently that we saw some research come out of some other media platforms. TikTok is named as one of them, but really that these are types of short form, I should say, video, a lot of creator led content that's out there and that it's really resonating with customers.

Erin Keating:

And again, whether this is seen on YouTube, whether it's seen on social media sites, in Reels, etcetera, etcetera, it's a real way to get in front of consumers that they can hear as opposed to just reading typical articles, etcetera. And I know that we've recently gone through an editorial transformation, and we're really looking at some new and innovative and creative ways to bring the great information that your team has always brought to our audiences. So I thought I'd just kick us off with a quick conversation on what are you seeing? What are you doing? What kinds of fun things are you working on within those brands to really help consumers learn the way that they wanna learn?

Michelle Clark:

Yeah. So a lot of what we're seeing is shifting in consumer behavior is that consumers aren't really doing their research in a linear way anymore. Right? Consumers used to do their research and when they're at the point of making a decision, then they would validate. We're seeing consumers validate at every single step in the process.

Erin Keating:

Interesting. So do you mean by validate just out of curiosity? When you say a consumer is validating, what does that mean? What what does it look like for a consumer?

Michelle Clark:

For a consumer, it means that they they receive some information, and now they wanna make sure that that information is truthful and accurate for them personally. Right?

Erin Keating:

Okay.

Michelle Clark:

Great. And that's a big part of why the creator led ecosystem is so successful. Right? Because each creator is giving the consumer a very sort of unique perspective about a specific vehicle, a specific technology, a specific company. And so, they feel like they have more real people talking to them Sure.

Michelle Clark:

About what's available.

Erin Keating:

That makes sense. So you say they're not doing it in a linear fashion anymore. And, you know, maybe help us understand from a typical or historical, what did that mean for how they leverage tools like Auto Trader and Kelley Blue Book? And subsequently, how are we adapting or what are things that we're doing innovatively to to meet them where they are in that journey?

Michelle Clark:

Right. So, you know, typically, like, in inside the automotive industry, we we hear about the funnel, right? Everyone's going down the funnel. They're upper funnel, middle funnel, lower funnel. And that's still true to a large degree.

Michelle Clark:

Right? But when we're talking about content, right, content used to be all very upper funnel. And now we are creating content that is much closer to the transaction. So for instance, our advice content. Right?

Michelle Clark:

What is the, you know, best way to get insurance right before you decide on your transaction? Or, you know, what are the gas prices right now? Right? We have a whole fuel hub around, especially with the war and whatnot, you know, so people can track gas prices up to the minute right before their purchase. Those kinds of things are helping consumers have more trust in the process.

Erin Keating:

That's great. So that's interesting. You know, you think of it typically as a consumer might be going to a shopping site because they're just trying to see, oh, what their safety ratings are for vehicles or what's the hottest new vehicle out there from a specific brand. But that creator led content or even traditional content we've always included is starting to really branch out into all decisions a customer might be making about purchasing a vehicle. That's what it sounds like to me, and that's what you're seeing?

Michelle Clark:

Yes. And it and so it's quite fragmented, right? It's all over the place and every step they're like, oh, I found out this thing. Is it really true? I found out this other thing.

Michelle Clark:

Is it really true? Who's saying it? How many people are saying it? Are people who own the car saying it? All of those things are being validated all across the customer journey.

Erin Keating:

Gotcha. And anything exciting or different about where people can find information that is being delivered by Autotrader or Kelley Blue Book? I know that when you put .com behind something, it feels like, oh, there's a website I go to. But I am sure, I know we use many different channels. So, talk a little bit about the what you've been doing in other channels and how you're reaching the customers.

Michelle Clark:

Yeah. So we have been in, you know, obviously on the .com for how you know, for many years. We are on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. Well, sometimes TikTok, Twitter, YouTube. We have YouTube channels that are, you know, quite extensive.

Michelle Clark:

We're currently working on expanding our YouTube footprint. We do short form, long form, vertical video, horizontal video, photography. All of it is part of what my team does, and we are trying to make sure that we are in all of the places that the shoppers are.

Erin Keating:

Right. That's pretty fantastic. And this this time around, I think when you and I were discussing a little bit about the innovation and the transformation that we're going through now, it's also that we're looking for the creators and and naturally more new creators have been, what do you wanna call it, the the Swiss army knife that they're having to be able to manage all aspects of how they create the, you know, it's sort of not at that it's not a linear process anymore either on how you create content. Is that right?

Michelle Clark:

That is right. So, you know, in the media industry, it's always very traditionally been, you're a writer, you're a video editor, you're a video host, you're a this, you're a that. And now, AI, and the way we're looking at it is in sort of a post AI adoption world with the tools available through AI. Right? We don't want the AI to generate the content.

Michelle Clark:

Okay? Right. The AI cannot drive the car. Right. Right?

Michelle Clark:

But AI can give us tools that allow us to have our editors be more generalists. So, at the end of the day, every one of them is a storyteller. That's what they're doing. They're telling a story, a specific story about a vehicle, and what we wanna do is give them the tools to be able to tell that story in every form factor, in written, in infographic, in photography, in video form. Mhmm.

Michelle Clark:

That way, that story can be distributed across all of those channels where all of these consumers are getting their content.

Erin Keating:

Right. I assume there's a couple of things that does. One, speed to market, making sure consumers are getting information quickly because then that editorializing can happen a lot quicker in the moment. But I love when you say generalist because I think it's probably also helpful. I've even had to adapt to new types of media as I continue to bring expertise from an executive analyst perspective.

Erin Keating:

But it helps you to actually think differently, you know? I wouldn't have normally thought about things visually or maybe what's happening in the audio environment. But now I have to pay a lot more attention to it even when I'm doing what I'm doing. And I imagine it makes the storytellers even better.

Michelle Clark:

Yes, it does. And, you know, but it's a growth process too because, you know, a lot of these people have been in automotive journalism for a very long time. And so, everyone is getting this chance to grow and to innovate in a space that maybe hasn't had a lot of innovation. So it's it's really exciting.

Erin Keating:

Right. Absolutely. Well, I think it's really exciting. And again, I always love keeping up to speed on what's happening and how consumers are receiving their information. And this one particularly stood out to me and I'm so grateful that you were able to join us today to talk a little bit through how Autotrader and Kelly Blue Book and Cox Automotive as a whole is addressing some of these changes in consumer behavior and how they're consuming their information from our automotive experts.

Erin Keating:

And as you said, automotive journalists that have really been in this for a long time that really do understand the automotive industry, but are being allowed to and being given the tools to explore it in a very different way now so that those consumers can be met where they are and with the information they have and even up to date with fuel costs. I think that's great. I didn't even realize we had a fuel tracker, and that's wonderful to know that consumers can even look down to that detail while they're making their decisions. So thanks again, and this will be our sign off for the Auto Market Brief. Thank you.

Erin Keating:

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the Auto Market Brief. To stay

Michelle Clark:

up to date with all

Erin Keating:

the latest news and perspectives from our team of experts, be sure to visit our insights hub at coxautoinc.com.