SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — July 28, 2026 — VisionAST today announced the launch of the Novella Intelligence Suite, a next-generation business intelligence platform designed specifically for automotive retailers. The platform introduces Cassandra™, an AI-powered data analyst that enables dealership personnel to ask business questions in natural language and receive immediate analysis, insights, and recommendations.
While business intelligence platforms have traditionally focused on producing reports and dashboards, VisionAST believes the next evolution is helping dealers understand their business through conversation.
“Dealerships don’t need another reporting system—they need answers. Managers shouldn’t have to spend their mornings searching through dozens of reports to determine why performance changed. They should be able to ask a question and receive an immediate, intelligent answer. That’s exactly what Cassandra delivers.”
Peter Carusone, President & CEO of VisionAST
For dealership operators, time has become one of the industry’s most valuable resources. Managers are expected to oversee sales, F&I, fixed operations, inventory, compliance, and customer satisfaction while navigating increasing market volatility. Although more data is available than ever before, converting that information into meaningful action remains a challenge.
Novella was built to close that gap.
Instead of requiring users to navigate dashboards or memorize report locations, Cassandra allows them to ask questions such as:
- Why did F&I gross decline this month?
- Which finance managers have the highest warranty penetration?
- What products are underperforming compared to last quarter?
- Which stores are outperforming similar rooftops?
- What opportunities should I focus on today?
Within seconds, Cassandra analyzes dealership data, identifies trends, explains contributing factors, and recommends areas requiring attention.
Unlike traditional AI chat tools, Cassandra is purpose-built for dealership operations and understands the language, metrics, and workflows of automotive retail.
Beyond Business Intelligence
According to VisionAST, Novella represents a shift away from passive reporting toward intelligent decision support.
The platform combines dealership reporting, benchmarking, custom dashboards, and conversational AI into a single experience that enables users to:
- Analyze sales, F&I, service, and operational performance
- Build custom reports without technical expertise
- Create personalized dashboards through conversation
- Benchmark against industry and custom peer groups
- Identify performance trends before they become larger issues
- Receive context around why KPIs changed—not simply that they changed
The result is faster decision-making and greater visibility across every level of dealership management.
Designed for Today’s Dealer Groups
Novella is built to support organizations ranging from single-point dealerships to large multi-rooftop groups. The cloud-based platform delivers enterprise-level scalability while remaining intuitive enough for daily use by general managers, F&I directors, sales managers, controllers, and executive leadership.
Additional capabilities include:
- Unlimited customizable dashboard widgets
- Automated report distribution
- Universal database access
- Advanced sales and F&I reporting
- Custom industry composites and benchmarking
- Secure cloud architecture
- Dedicated Tier 2 customer support
Built by Operators Who Understand the Business
VisionAST says one of Novella’s biggest differentiators is its origin.
Rather than being developed solely by software engineers, the platform was designed by professionals with decades of dealership operating experience. The company’s leadership has managed dealership operations, F&I departments, and multi-rooftop organizations, giving the development team firsthand insight into the decisions dealers make every day.
“Technology should remove complexity—not create it. We built Novella to feel less like software and more like adding an experienced analyst to every dealership.”
Peter Carusone, President & CEO of VisionAST
The Future of Dealership Analytics
Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping automotive retail, from inventory management and customer engagement to fixed operations and marketing. VisionAST believes data analysis is the next major category to evolve.
Rather than replacing human decision-makers, Cassandra is designed to augment dealership leadership by surfacing the information that matters most and enabling managers to spend more time coaching teams, serving customers, and improving profitability.
As dealerships continue to generate larger volumes of operational data, VisionAST expects conversational AI to become an essential component of modern dealership management.
Availability
The Novella Intelligence Suite is now available for automotive and powersports dealerships, dealer groups, warranty providers, lenders, and industry partners across North America.
About VisionAST
VisionAST develops business intelligence, analytics, benchmarking, and artificial intelligence solutions for the automotive retail industry. Serving dealerships and industry partners throughout North America, the company helps organizations transform operational data into actionable intelligence that improves profitability, accountability, and business performance.
For more information or to schedule a demonstration of the Novella Intelligence Suite, visit www.visionast.com.
Media Contact
Peter Carusone
President & CEO
VisionAST
www.visionast.com
info@visionast.com