06/24/2026
AI: Friend or Foe?
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way businesses operate and how investors think about the future. Across a range of sectors, companies are grappling with the opportunities and threats that AI presents. Entire business models are being challenged, traditional jobs are being automated, and investors are increasingly asking which industries will benefit from AI and which may be disrupted by it.
As a result, understanding a business’s exposure to AI has become an important part of assessing its long-term resilience.
At AquaSonic, we believe AI is very much a friend rather than a foe.
One area where we already utilise AI is site selection. Finding the right location is arguably the most important decision we make, and AI allows us to analyse huge amounts of data far quicker than any individual could. Traffic flows, demographics, competition, retail drivers, vehicle counts and dozens of other variables can all be assessed to help identify the sites most likely to succeed. It doesn’t replace experience or judgement, but it gives us another powerful tool to make informed decisions. What AI doesn’t change, however, is the simple fact that cars still get dirty.
The express car wash industry remains one of those businesses that is inherently resilient to technological disruption. AI may change how people work, shop and interact, but it doesn’t stop road dust, rain, pollen, insects or bird droppings finding their way onto vehicles. Consumers will continue to want clean cars regardless of how advanced technology becomes.
In that sense, we often describe the sector as both AI-proof and Amazon-proof. Whilst many products and services can be digitized, automated or delivered online, a clean vehicle still requires a physical service.
Even looking further ahead, developments such as autonomous vehicles may create opportunities rather than challenges. A driverless vehicle may not need a driver, but it will still need washing. In fact, one can imagine fleets of autonomous vehicles visiting car washes independently during off-peak hours or overnight, returning clean and ready for the next day.
For us, AI is not something to fear. It is a tool that helps us make better decisions, analyze opportunities more effectively and operate more efficiently, whilst investing in a sector where the underlying demand remains unchanged.
And yes, AI helped write parts of this article. Unfortunately, despite all of its capabilities, it still hasn’t managed to wash our dirty cars!