CoPilot
CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping platform that aggregates U.S. used vehicle inventory across dealerships, ranks cars using AI based on buyer preferences, and provides a free consumer service monetized through dealer partnerships for individual used car buyers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What CoPilot does
CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping platform founded in 2018 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The company operates a free consumer-facing service that aggregates used vehicle inventory across U.S. dealerships and applies AI-driven ranking to surface the best matches for each buyer's preferences and prevailing market trends. The platform addresses information asymmetry in used car purchases by surfacing personalized rankings that dealers cannot pay to influence, and provides guidance to help buyers avoid overpaying and common dealer fee traps. Its primary user is the individual used car shopper seeking transparent, unbiased pricing guidance; car dealers are a secondary stakeholder reached through partnership programs.
The company's product surface comprises four offerings unified under the CoPilot brand: CoPilot for Car Shopping (inventory search and personalized ranking), CoPilot for Car Buying (fee protection and best-practice guidance), the CoPilot AI Agent (an autonomous agent positioned to handle end-to-end buying including negotiation), and the CoPilot Mobile App (iOS/Android). The underlying technology stack combines a recommendation engine, natural language processing for conversational search, and an agentic layer for transaction execution. Distribution channels include the web platform at copilotsearch.com, native mobile applications, and an SEO-driven content library spanning 363+ pages covering makes, models, and buying guidance.
CoPilot's business model is freemium to consumers with no paid subscription tier; revenue is generated through dealer partnerships and automotive industry relationships (an affiliate/referral structure rather than direct consumer charges). The company has raised approximately $45 million across multiple rounds from 2018 through 2023, with investors including Chicago Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, and SciFi VC, and operates with 11–50 employees under founder and CEO Pat Ryan.
CoPilot firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CoPilot
- Legal name
- CoPilot Corporation
- Website
- https://copilotsearch.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping platform that aggregates U.S. used vehicle inventory across dealerships, ranks cars using AI based on buyer preferences, and provides a free consumer service monetized through dealer partnerships for individual used car buyers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where CoPilot is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
CoPilot business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Free Consumer Service: CoPilot offers its AI-assisted car shopping service completely free to consumers. No subscription, no paid tiers for individual car buyers. The platform is funded through partnerships with dealers and automotive industry stakeholders rather than consumer fees.
- Dealer/Automotive Industry Partnerships: Based on industry context and the company's 'For Dealers' program mentioned on their website, revenue appears to derive from dealer partnerships and automotive industry relationships rather than direct consumer charges. The platform facilitates connections between car buyers and dealers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free consumer access to all core features |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
CoPilot product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping and buying platform that searches virtually every dealer near a user, analyzes millions of vehicles against preferences and market trends, and delivers personalized rankings to help consumers find the best car at the best price. The service is offered free to car buyers and includes an AI Agent that can be hired to handle the full buying process, alongside guidance to protect against overpaying, dealer tricks, and hidden fees.
Product overview
CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping and buying platform that operates as a single unified product with two primary service modes: CoPilot for Car Shopping (which searches dealers, analyzes millions of cars, and provides personalized rankings) and CoPilot for Car Buying (which offers an AI Agent to do the work or self-service best practices to protect against overpaying and dealer tricks). The platform is free for car shoppers and monetizes through featured dealer listings rather than subscription fees.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Average of $640 in hidden fees per car purchase totaling nearly $12 billion annually across the U.S. auto industry (CoPilot research finding)
Companies that use CoPilot
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CoPilot technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature3 records
CoPilot partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CoPilot competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Edmunds: Edmunds provides car pricing, reviews, comparison tools, and dealer connections for new and used vehicle shoppers. It overlaps directly with CoPilot's vehicle research and price-transparency use cases for US car buyers.
- iSeeCars: iSeeCars is an AI- and data-driven car search and pricing analytics platform that estimates fair prices and ranks vehicles across dealer listings. It is closely comparable to CoPilot's AI ranking and pricing-insight approach for used-car shoppers.
- Cars.com: Cars.com is a major online automotive marketplace aggregating new and used vehicle listings from thousands of dealers. It competes directly with CoPilot for car-shopper attention with similar search, comparison, and dealer-connection functionality.
- Autotrader: Autotrader (owned by Cox Automotive) is one of the largest US car-shopping marketplaces, offering vehicle search, pricing tools, and dealer connections. It is directly comparable to CoPilot in scope and audience, though it operates at much larger scale and relies on dealer-paid placements.
- TrueCar: TrueCar provides online car pricing, comparisons, and dealer connections for both new and used vehicle shoppers. It is directly comparable to CoPilot as a price-transparency tool for car buyers, with similar affiliate/dealer-referral monetization.
- CarGurus: CarGurus is the leading online used-car marketplace that aggregates dealer inventory and ranks vehicles for shoppers. It directly competes with CoPilot in the AI-assisted car search and comparison experience for US car buyers, though it relies on a dealer-paid subscription model that CoPilot explicitly avoids.
Broad incumbents
- Carvana: Carvana is a leading online used-car retailer offering vehicle search, financing, and home delivery. While CoPilot is an aggregator and Carvana is a single retailer, both target digitally native car buyers seeking a transparent, fee-aware buying experience.
- Kelley Blue Book: Kelley Blue Book (Cox Automotive) is the dominant US authority on vehicle pricing and valuations, with deep consumer trust built over decades. It is comparable to CoPilot on the price-transparency and valuation front, though KBB is integrated with Autotrader and broader Cox dealer tools.
- CarMax: CarMax is the largest US used-car retailer with a national omnichannel platform (showrooms plus online browsing). It overlaps with CoPilot as a destination for used-car buyers, but operates as a single retailer rather than an aggregator across many dealers.
Emerging players
- AutoTempest: AutoTempest aggregates listings from multiple marketplaces (Craigslist, eBay, Cars.com, Autotrader, dealers) into a single meta-search experience. It is comparable to CoPilot as an aggregator with consumer-first positioning, though at smaller scale and without the same AI-conversational depth.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
CoPilot social profiles
Digital presenceCoPilot financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CoPilot leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
CoPilot funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CoPilot M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CoPilot
What does CoPilot do?
CoPilot is an AI-assisted car shopping and buying platform that searches virtually every dealer near a user, analyzes millions of vehicles against preferences and market trends, and delivers personalized rankings to help consumers find the best car at the best price. The service is offered free to car buyers and includes an AI Agent that can be hired to handle the full buying process, alongside guidance to protect against overpaying, dealer tricks, and hidden fees.
Is CoPilot a public or private company?
CoPilot is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was CoPilot founded?
CoPilot was founded in 2018. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CoPilot based?
CoPilot is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does CoPilot make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Free Consumer Service is the primary driver. The others are dealer/Automotive Industry Partnerships.
Who are CoPilot's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Edmunds, iSeeCars, Cars.com, Autotrader, TrueCar and CarGurus. Broad incumbents are Carvana, Kelley Blue Book and CarMax. AutoTempest is listed as an emerging player.
Does CoPilot have an API?
No public API is recorded for CoPilot.