While AI can help solve many of your dealership’s staffing problems, like staffing and customer engagement, the implementation needs to be well-executed. According to CDK Global’s AI in the Dealership report, more than 77% of dealerships have at least partially integrated artificial intelligence into their operations. For many car dealerships, though, implementation with the wrong provider can bring headaches such as long setup times, confusing training sessions, and software that creates more work than it saves.
Essential features you need in automotive AI
With 22% of dealers actively planning or budgeting for AI investment, per CDK, it’s essential to find solutions that actually create efficiency and deliver ROI. When evaluating automotive AI service solutions, the ease of implementation is just as important as the feature set. Here is what you need to look for to ensure the software works for you from day one.
Deep automotive knowledge
Your automotive AI service solution should know how much time each task requires and how to accurately book each appointment to maximize service bay usage and efficiency. There should not be any training that needs to take place after installation. You need a solution that speaks “fixed ops” and sales. For example, the AI should already understand opcodes, service intervals, and vehicle terminology. When the AI comes pre-trained, implementation is a smooth process.
CDK Global’s AI study found that variable ops outpaces fixed ops in AI usage, but there is a great opportunity for service to enhance its performance by integrating artificial intelligence for customer support and inquiries.
Seamless integrations
To be effective, your AI platform should seamlessly connect with your existing dealer systems, including your DMS or scheduling tools. This ensures no double bookings or double data entry.
AI service tools must have native, seamless integrations with the major players, including CDK Global, Xtime, Reynolds & Reynolds, Affinitiv, and Dealer-FX. This allows the voice AI to access this data when a customer calls so that it can offer personalized customer service.
Intelligent handoffs to human staff
Artificial intelligence for dealerships should complement the existing staff. The technology should complement the team’s efforts, working in the background while employees focus on human interaction and high-value tasks.
A key way for voice AI to complement staff is to provide intelligent escalation. Any call handling software a dealership uses should know its limits and be able to immediately route the call to humans with context when necessary. Having the call’s details allows the human advisor to look good by not forcing a customer to repeat themselves.
Additionally, the digital assistant enhances the team’s work by handling the routine questions and calls that take up much of workers’ time, allowing them to focus on revenue-generating tasks.
Security and compliance
Your AI assistant should be compliant with regulations regarding call recording, messaging, and data privacy. Dealerships handle massive amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). The right AI solution should treat this data with the same rigor as a bank, ensuring that customer conversations and data logs are encrypted and stored securely.
Certified integrations and secure infrastructure act as the necessary foundation for any voice AI technology. Even sophisticated systems fail to verify appointment availability or route calls accurately when they lack reliable data flow. This disconnect burdens dealers with incorrect information and drives customer frustration. The dealership ultimately loses revenue opportunities because the software cannot sync effectively with existing operations.
Outbound engagement
More than 37% of dealers in the CDK AI in Automotive study reported that attracting new customers was a challenge for them. A powerful AI platform addresses this hurdle directly by employing outbound messaging to engage customers and supplement your team’s efforts. Instead of waiting for the phone to ring, the software should be capable of proactively reaching out to your existing database to drive traffic back into the service drive. This capability allows your dealership to capture revenue that might otherwise be lost while ensuring your advisors stay focused on the customers already in the lane.
Easy setup
The ideal AI partner does not require extensive staff training to get the team up to speed. The platform should work on its own, and the provider should configure call flows, greetings, scripts, and routing rules, so that launching is easy and stress-free. You should notice immediate relief in call handling.
STELLA AI implementation and features
STELLA Automotive AI arrives at your dealership ready to work immediately because it possesses extensive pre-trained automotive knowledge. STELLA AI was created by automotive experts and continuously improved over the years thanks to the company’s partnerships in the industry. STELLA understands more than 270 opcodes, knowing exactly how much time a specific repair requires. This expertise allows STELLA to book accurate service appointments in approximately one and a half minutes while processing cancellations in under 30 seconds.
The platform ensures smooth information flow through seamless integrations with major dealership systems, including Xtime, CDK Global, myKaarma, and Reynolds & Reynolds.
STELLA is also highly configurable to meet the unique requirements of your service drive. You can incorporate a custom greeting to match your brand and choose the platform’s voice. The software adapts to fit your established workflow to ensure the technology supports your operations rather than complicating them.
STELLA Catalyst addresses the outbound challenge by transforming dormant database entries into active service appointments. The system intelligently identifies and contacts customers regarding declined services, open recalls, and special order parts. This proactive approach allows dealerships to re-engage their existing client base and secure service revenue that would otherwise go unnoticed, all while remaining compliant.
Implementing STELLA is designed to be a seamless, hands-off experience for your team, starting with a personalized demo where we identify exactly where the AI can create the most impact based on your specific call volume and challenges. From there, our team handles the heavy lifting of a tailored setup, configuring call flows and completing deep integrations with your CRM and DMS so that your staff requires no special training to get started. Once the system goes live, STELLA begins handling calls immediately, providing your team with immediate relief from routine inquiries while our ongoing support and STELLA Insights ensure you have a view into how you are performing.
The right AI requires a partner that understands the automotive landscape. With STELLA, the software works for you: booking appointments, answering questions, handling outbound messaging, and integrating with your DMS. Schedule a demo to see how easily STELLA can fit into your dealership today.
