Thoughtworks helps carsales boost customer service with AI tools

Thoughtworks has collaborated with carsales to support operational transformation and the rollout of AI-powered customer service capabilities in Australia.

carsales, a digital automotive marketplace founded in 1997, sought to enhance its engineering processes to maintain its position in a rapidly evolving technological environment.

The company embarked on a programme to optimise its engineering organisation, selecting Thoughtworks for its expertise in software development methodologies and artificial intelligence integration.

Matt Earle, Executive General Manager of Consumer at carsales, said, "To sustain our competitive advantage and continue delivering exceptional customer experiences, addressing some challenges within our engineering processes was important. Thoughtworks' Engineering Excellence offering provided the structured approach and AI-powered software engineering capabilities that helped us to unlock our full potential."

One of the key initiatives implemented as part of the collaboration involved optimising high-performing teams. By applying a customer experience strategy to the delivery of new products and features, carsales redefined team roles and responsibilities with a particular focus on private buyers' purchasing experiences.

The use of story mapping for new feature planning, along with an emphasis on streamlined deployment and cost reduction priorities, led to improvements in decision-making, execution speed, and overall delivery efficiency.

Thoughtworks worked with carsales to adopt iterative, Test-Driven Development processes. This approach aimed to accelerate the delivery of new features and enhance delivery predictability. System and contract tests were integrated into the testing strategy, and quality checks were automated.

These changes resulted in higher code quality, increased developer confidence and faster delivery speeds, enabling carsales developers to roll out capabilities ahead of competitors.

The collaboration's outcomes were evident in the launch of carsales' Model Finder, an artificial intelligence-powered vehicle recommendation tool. This solution offers tailored car suggestions to buyers according to their lifestyle needs and preferences, supporting use cases such as family transport, commuting, and trade work.

carsales said the Model Finder demonstrates resource efficiency, risk reduction, faster time-to-market, and an improved return on investment as a result of the updated engineering practices.

Karin Verloop, Managing Director for Tech and Business Services at Thoughtworks Asia Pacific, commented, "carsales' commitment to keeping up with the latest innovations in engineering excellence and AI is driven by its mission to make buying and selling a great experience for customers. The successful launch of the AI-powered Model Finder is a testament to their commitment to delivering exceptional customer experiences. We're proud to have played a role in their operational transformation and look forward to their continued advancement in the digital auto marketplace sector."

Thoughtworks' Engineering Excellence methodology brings together platform technologies, engineering practices and developer experience frameworks. The approach encompasses platform engineering, developer productivity, testing strategies, and knowledge management under a measurement and governance model.

The methodology is designed to support organisations in identifying inefficiencies, reducing operational friction, and accelerating the delivery of business value.