Buick
Designing the Future of Buick’s Buyer Journey
Goals
Following early exploration work for GMC, the client requested that Buick become the first brand to bring the AI-integrated website vision closer to reality. In this validation sprint, we adapted our conversational AI framework to Buick.com, focusing specifically on the transition from vehicle customization to dealership selection and purchase. The goal was to streamline a traditionally complex and overwhelming process into a guided, intelligent experience ready for further development.
Context
As part of GM’s new design system rollout, this sprint aimed to reimagine Buick.com as the first brand to move toward a fully AI-integrated future. We audited the current flow, mapped friction points, and identified opportunities to simplify the journey while aligning with the new system.
Research & Analysis
We conducted a full audit of Buick’s existing customization-to-dealership journey and mapped areas of friction.
Key issues included:
Overwhelming information density
Competing calls-to-action
Lack of clarity around dealership options
A weak connection between the customized vehicle and the purchase step
What we designed and why
We designed a fully integrated AI-assisted dealership selection experience.
After a user completes vehicle customization, the AI assistant uses their selected configuration to curate dealership options based on:
Exact or similar vehicle match
Location
Pricing
Availability timing
Rather than simply listing inventory, the AI pre-negotiates pricing ranges and surfaces the most relevant options before submission to a dealership. This reduces friction and increases user confidence.
The layout prioritized clarity. The selected vehicle and matched dealership were given visual prominence, with supporting information structured in a secondary card rather than scattered across the page. This shift reduced cognitive overload and made the next step obvious.
The result was a cleaner, more focused interface that emphasized the user’s chosen vehicle instead of burying it among competing information.
Stakeholders responded strongly to the clarity and prominence of the selected vehicle within the layout. The concept successfully won internal approval, and Buick was chosen as the first brand to move forward with fully fleshing out the AI-driven purchase vision beginning in 2026.
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