Assurity Smart Locator Now Available in ChatGPT and Claude as AI Reshapes How Drivers Choose Collision Repair Shops

New connectors let AI assistants search Assurity’s independently validated network directly, as shop websites built for search engines fall short with AI.

THOMPSONS STATION, TN, UNITED STATES, November 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Assurity Certified Solutions today announced the launch of the Assurity Smart Locator, now available as a connector for Claude and a plugin for ChatGPT. The connector gives both AI assistants a direct, structured way to search Assurity’s network of collision repair facilities. It then hands drivers a repair request form already filled in with their vehicle, damage and preferred day. The connector is now listed in both apps’ directories.

Drivers Are Asking AI First

Drivers increasingly ask an AI assistant where to fix their car before they call a shop or an insurer. In Assurity’s October testing, ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude were asked 27 times for a body shop near Charlotte. Every answer came from map listings and shops’ own websites.

That is a problem for most collision repairers. Shop websites were built for people and search engines. As more drivers turn to AI for answers, that dynamic could change quickly. An AI assistant needs specifics it can read and verify, such as which OEM certifications a shop holds and which vehicles it covers.

When that information is missing, the assistant moves on. A driver’s question is answered in minutes. A shop is either in that answer or passed over, no matter how well it repairs vehicles.

Even shops that do appear face a second problem. In a typical AI answer, a shop is one name in a short list, described by its own website, beside competitors making the same claims. Those answers also shift month to month. Through the Assurity Smart Locator, a validated shop appears labeled Assurity Certified, with a request form already filled in. Placement gets a shop seen. Validation gets it chosen.

“A shop that AI can’t find or can’t verify is effectively invisible, no matter how good its work is,” said Mark Zoba, CEO of Assurity Certified Solutions. “To an AI, a certification is only as valuable as its verifiability.”

How the Connector Works

The connector is built on Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open standard many AI assistants use to query outside data sources. Once a driver adds it, the assistant queries Assurity’s network directly instead of piecing together web pages. Results include distance, hours and phone. In Assurity’s results, Independently Validated centers are listed first and labeled Assurity Certified.

The assistant then builds a link to the center’s request form with the car, damage and day filled in. The driver adds a name and phone number and sends it, and the center confirms the time. No Assurity account or app is required. There is nothing for shops to install.
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Third-Party Validation for the AI Era

Assurity’s Independent Validation gives AI assistants what most shop websites cannot: third-party confirmation of a facility’s credentials and capabilities, in a format an assistant can query directly. Shops that prepare now can be part of the answer. Shops that wait risk being left behind.

“OEMs built the qualification side but never fully built the connection side,” Zoba said. “You’ve already invested in being qualified. In an AI world, the next step is making sure that qualification can be found, verified, and recommended.”

Collision repair facilities can learn about Independent Validation at assuritycertified.com. Drivers can add the Assurity Smart Locator from the ChatGPT and Claude directories or at collisionrepairlocator.com.

About Assurity Certified Solutions

Assurity Certified Solutions independently validates collision repair facilities and connects them with drivers who need their capabilities. Its consumer platform includes the Assurity Smart Locator, Instant Estimator and Estimate Translator, available in 16 languages. Built on OEM certified collision networks 16 years in the making, Assurity goes beyond a static list of credentials. It is the active connection between consumers in need and Certified Collision Repair Providers, matching each driver’s vehicle and damage with a facility qualified to repair it.

ChatGPT is a trademark of OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic. Assurity Certified Solutions is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by OpenAI or Anthropic.

Media Contact Mark Zoba, CEO Assurity Certified Solutions info@assuritycertified.com | (865) 427-8717

Mark Zoba
Assurity Certified Solutions LLC
+1 865-427-8717
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