I recently read a story about a mother of seven who reportedly spends thousands of dollars per month on AI agents that help run her household. According to published reports, these AI assistants handle grocery ordering, manage schedules, organize paperwork, build software applications, and even help create customized lesson plans for homeschooling.
At first glance, it sounds absurd. Then you stop and think about it, and it kind of makes sense.
I grew up in the 1980s and ’90s expecting the year 2026 to look a lot different. We were supposed to have flying cars, robot assistants and futuristic cities by now. Instead, most of us are still sitting in traffic, mowing our own lawns and answering emails.
Then again, maybe the future has already arrived, and we didn’t notice. We carry supercomputers in our pockets. We can instantly communicate with people on the other side of the world. AI can summarize reports, create presentations, write marketing copy, build software and answer questions in seconds. Electric air taxis are already being tested around the globe. The flying cars aren’t quite here yet, but we’re a lot closer than many of us realize.
What caught my attention in the story wasn’t really about the technology itself. It was about the woman’s claim that AI had given her back five years of her life. Whether you agree with her approach or not, the idea that technology could eliminate enough repetitive tasks to return that much time to someone is worth considering.
Now think about the average powersports dealership. How many hours are spent every week responding to emails, building social media posts, writing job descriptions, creating employee reviews, organizing inventory reports, drafting marketing campaigns, or answering the same customer questions over and over again?
For many dealers, AI is still viewed with skepticism. Some embrace it. Others ignore it. Some openly dislike it. That reaction reminds me of nearly every major technological advancement during my lifetime.
People hated smartphones when they appeared. People resisted online shopping. People argued against social media. Today, most of those same people use those technologies every day. AI is quickly becoming another one of those technologies.
Of course, AI also has plenty of critics. As someone who works in publishing, I hear the concerns regularly. Many journalists see artificial intelligence as a threat to their profession. Some fear it will replace writers, editors, and reporters altogether.
I understand the concern. Every major technological leap creates disruption. But I don’t believe AI eliminates the need for human expertise. It simply changes how expertise is applied. AI can organize information. It can summarize research. It can create a first draft. It can save enormous amounts of time.
What it can’t do is replace experience. It has never owned a dealership. It has never worked a Saturday sales event. It has never struggled through a tough inventory cycle. It has never experienced the excitement of taking delivery of a new motorcycle or spending a weekend riding with friends.
What fascinates me most is the contradiction surrounding AI. People complain about it while simultaneously using it. They criticize it while asking it questions. They warn about its dangers while relying on it to save time.
That contradiction reminds me of one of my favorite songs from punk rock legends Bad Religion. In “21st Century (Digital Boy),” Greg Graffin famously sings that he doesn’t know how to live, but he has a lot of toys. When the song was released in the early ’90s, it felt like a warning about consumer culture and technology. More than three decades later, it feels surprisingly relevant.
We certainly have more toys. The question is whether technology will leave us with less purpose or more opportunity. I tend to believe it’s the latter. If AI truly becomes effective at eliminating repetitive administrative work, people could end up with something increasingly valuable: free time.
Historically, recreation industries thrive when people have time to enjoy their hobbies. When consumers have discretionary time, they travel. They camp. They boat. They ride motorcycles. They buy side-by-sides, ATVs, personal watercraft and snowmobiles. They seek adventure and experiences.
I’ve written about how powersports enthusiasts aren’t likely to abandon internal combustion engines anytime soon for electric vehicles. Riders love the sound, feel and emotion that comes with gas-powered machines. Those of us at a certain age get it. It’s part of who we are in a sense.
But younger generations often view technology differently from previous generations. The next generation won’t spend much time debating whether AI or electric vehicles, or even robots, should exist. They’ll simply figure out how to use it best for their daily lives.
Maybe that’s the irony of artificial intelligence. The fear is that technology will make us less human. But if it removes enough of the busywork that fills our schedules, it could actually give us more opportunities to do the things that make us human in the first place.
Bad Religion warned us that we’d become digital boys and girls with more toys than purpose. Perhaps the challenge for the next generation won’t be finding more technology. It’ll be figuring out what to do with all the extra time technology creates.
For the powersports industry, that’s a future worth paying attention to. Because if AI really does give people years of their lives back, there’s a good chance they’ll spend some of that time outdoors, pursuing adventure and creating memories on motorcycles, ATVs, side-by-sides, snowmobiles and personal watercrafts.
That’s a future I can get behind. Even if I’m still waiting for the flying motorcycle.
As the nation marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11, Powersports Business speaks with Ted Sjurseth, co-founder of America’s 9/11 Ride. What started as a grassroots memorial ride in 2001 has grown into a major annual event honoring first responders and victims of the attacks. Sjurseth discusses the ride’s history, dealer support, scholarship fundraising efforts, and how motorcyclists continue to unite in remembrance and service.
Already one of the nation’s largest automotive retailers, Sonic Automotive is rapidly growing its powersports business, recently acquiring five Harley-Davidson dealerships in California, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina to bring its total portfolio to 20 stores nationwide. During a recent Power Hour podcast with Powersports Business, President Jeff Dyke explained how the acquisitions strengthen Sonic’s presence in key year-round riding markets and support the company’s aggressive growth strategy in powersports.
David Gee’s guest on this edition of Boating Industry Insider is Christine Carlson McKone, vice president of marketing for Volvo Penta. She has built a career that has taken her from marketing communications to industrial sales, back into boating as marine marketing director, and ultimately into her current leadership role. In their conversation, they talk about her boating background, what she loves about the recreational marine industry, her career ascension at Volvo Penta, and her perspective as a Boating Industry Women Making Waves honoree.
The Dealer Lab’s Max, Danny, and Justin catch up on what they’ve been building in their dealerships, including a new custom unit division (SCUD) and monthly tech nights where customers learn maintenance by rebuilding a CB450. They discuss using AI as an internal assistant — not customer-facing chatbots — to reduce busywork, standardize processes, and replace expensive, bloated software subscriptions. Justin explains how he used tools like Claude, Replit, and Whisperflow to design and deploy a custom dealership website that pulls live inventory from his DMS, supports finance and service inquiries, manages events, and includes an admin dashboard.
April was the top of the market. May confirmed it. Now the powersports wholesale market is heading into the seasonal slide that always bottoms out around August. Mike Murray from National Powersport Auctions joins the Dealership fiXit Podcast to break down the May 2026 data and tell dealers exactly what to do with the used inventory sitting on their lot right now. This is more than a numbers update.