Chris Walsh has been part of Reynolds and Reynolds since 1987. But the dealership software provider’s president and acting CEO said he’s never seen anything like this.

Reynolds unveiled its newest technology — Rey, an artificial intelligence agent designed for dealership professionals — during last week’s Reynolds Retail Summit: Amplify 2025, and Walsh said it created quite a stir.

“We are one of only a handful of companies on the planet attempting to deliver this level of AI,” he said. “The response from dealers has been fun to see. I have been with Reynolds for four decades, and I don’t remember a new release with this much excitement around it.”

In a news release, the company said Rey uses Reynolds’ Spark AI data layer to “do everything from providing strategic recommendations to running reports to providing help to contacting the technical assistance center.”

The AI agent will be available on every tool in Reynolds Retail Management System.

Reynolds said Rey has the potential to exponentially increase the impact of its Reynolds Performance Managers, the company’s team of experts deployed to dealerships to help them use their software more efficiently.

In addition, Walsh said, “We are implementing ways for dealership employees to ask Rey to handle actions inside the software on their behalf.”

The Amplify conference also included the final stages of the Reynolds’ Automotive Amplifiers Contest, celebrating dealership professionals’ innovations and best practices, with the five finalists presenting their ideas on stage.

Kamir Martínez Díaz of Pepe Abad Auto in Cayey, Puerto Rico won the Automotive Amplifiers Innovation award for reducing internal document processing times, saving her company tens of thousands of dollars annually.

Chris Ponte, who earned the Automotive Amplifiers Impact award for his work improving the off-the-shelf fill rate at Scranton Chevrolet, said being able to bring his ideas directly to the owner of the dealership played a significant role in it being adopted.

“I’ve worked for bigger dealerships where you say your idea to one guy and you hope he tells the next five guys, and then you never hear back,” he said. “So, it’s great to just walk right into the owner’s office, just say, ‘Hey, here’s what I want to do,’ and he says yes or no. You get your answer immediately, and if you can prove it works, he will help you with your next idea.”

The winners received a personal trophy and a $5,000 donation from Reynolds to the charity of their choice.

Ponte selected the Wounded Warrior Project, while Martínez Díaz picked the American Cancer Society of Puerto Rico — a very personal choice.

“It is in honor of my accounting manager, who is a cancer survivor, and my sister who is fighting cancer now,” she said, “so it’s very emotional for me.”

Reynolds said details and descriptions of the winners’ and finalists’ ideas, as well as other best practices submitted for the contest, will be released this fall.

“There is nothing more encouraging than seeing industry professionals embracing new and innovative practices that help push retail automotive forward,” Walsh said. “That is what Amplify is all about — sharing ideas, learning from one another and leading the industry into the future.”