How Is AI Actually Being Used?
Why we built AutoEstimatePro around three things people already know how to do. Take a photo, open a link, ask a question.
Users all around the world have adopted the AI chat box as a central source of information. The way you use AI might be totally different from the way most of the public uses it.
Innovators and major companies all around the world were quick to integrate some version of AI. The question is, which integrations are actually being used, and which are just bells and whistles added to get investors to pile in during the AI boom?
Building an AI service or product that feels completely foreign and expecting the general population to pile in is not how adoption happens when new markets emerge. The market isn’t always mature enough or familiar enough with the technology to adopt it all at once, even when it solves huge problems. You can see this with self-driving cars. Adoption is growing, but I think people still gravitate toward what feels familiar.
So how do you innovate while keeping things familiar? You meet customers in an environment they already know and present the technology in small, digestible bites.
What people actually do with AI
A 2025 study of consumer ChatGPT use found that nearly 80% of conversations involved getting practical guidance, looking for information, or writing. Think about the person who opens a chat and asks, “What should I ask the shop before I buy this car?” They already know how to use the most important part of the interface. They have a question. Read the NBER working paper
Another study put AI inside the email, meeting, and writing apps that people already used at work. Researchers randomly offered access in a six-month experiment across 66 firms and 7,137 workers. Of those offered the tool, 80% used it. In the second half of the experiment, those users spent two fewer hours a week on email. The study tested what happened when workers got access. Whether those same people would have adopted a separate app as readily is still an open question. Read the American Economic Association study
That question shaped how we built AutoEstimatePro. Imagine two people looking at the same car. One is at the lot with a phone. The other is at home with six listings open on a laptop. By dinner, they’re texting each other about whether to bid. We wanted the person at the lot to be able to take photos, the person at home to open a report link, and either one to ask a follow-up without typing the whole estimate into a chat.
On the web, start with the VIN
If someone sends you a car to look at and you’re already at your computer, you can go straight to the website. There’s no app to install.
1. Open AutoEstimatePro, enter the 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN), and select Start.
2. Add up to 10 photos you took or have permission to use. Include a wide view of the vehicle and close-ups of the damage. Follow the prompts to submit your report.
3. Open the preliminary estimate. Read the parts and labor breakdown, then check which items need an inspection. On eligible reports, you can open replacement-part listings and check price and fit before putting a number in your budget.
On iPhone or Android, start with your camera
When you’re standing next to the vehicle, the easiest place to begin is the camera already in your hand.
1. Download the app for your phone and sign in. It’s free to download. Repair reports are paid. iPhone on the App Store · Android on Google Play
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2. Enter the VIN, check the vehicle details, and choose why you’re running the report. Take photos in the app or select pictures you already have permission to use, then submit.
3. Open the completed report and tap Share to send a web link to your mechanic or buying partner. Now you can ask, “Which of these would you want to inspect in person?” and both look at the same line item.
In an AI chat, start with the question
Say the report is finished and your mechanic calls. You want the items that need inspection. MCP, short for Model Context Protocol, lets a supported AI assistant retrieve the AutoEstimatePro report you’ve authorized it to read. You can ask the follow-up in plain English.
ChatGPT. Open the connection guide and check whether access has been activated for your account. If it has, connect with your existing AutoEstimatePro login, approve access, and ask for your latest report. Public self-service installation isn’t available yet. ChatGPT connection guide
Claude. With an eligible Claude plan and AutoEstimatePro connection access, open Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector. Name it AutoEstimatePro, paste the server URL from our guide, leave client credentials blank, then sign in and approve. Claude setup and server URL
Gemini. On the Gemini website, open Settings → Connected Apps → Custom apps → Add a custom app. Paste the server URL from our guide, approve the connection, then type @ in chat and select AutoEstimatePro. Google currently requires a personal U.S. account, age 18 or older, English, and Keep Activity turned on. Gemini setup and server URL
“Open my latest AutoEstimatePro report. What did the photos show, and what still needs a physical inspection?”
Reading a saved report uses no report credit. To start a new one, ask the assistant to prepare a report, provide the VIN and authorized photos through the available picker or secure upload link, and check the vehicle it returns. You explicitly confirm before one report is used from an eligible subscription.
In Chrome, start beside the listing
When I picture someone with six auction tabs open, I can see exactly where we still make them do extra work. They’ve already found the car. Now they have to open another tab, bring over the VIN, and keep track of which report goes with which listing.
That’s the reason for our upcoming Chrome extension. The goal is to let someone begin evaluating a vehicle beside the listing they’re already researching. While it’s in development, you can use this workflow today.
1. Keep the auction listing open and copy the VIN.
2. Open AutoEstimatePro in a second tab, paste the VIN, and add your own or authorized photos.
3. Review the report alongside the listing. Before you bid, flag any unpriced damage for a professional to inspect.
Here’s the question I’d ask anyone building with AI. What was your customer doing thirty seconds before they needed you?
For us, the answer might be taking a photo at a lot, opening a link from a friend, or asking a mechanic a question. Once we pictured those thirty seconds, it got a lot easier to decide what to build.
