STELLA Automotive AI CEO Rich Sands recently appeared in an episode of FordDirect’s In the Shop to discuss how STELLA AI helps dealerships provide a seamless customer experience and improve operations. The conversation covered the real-world challenges dealerships face today and the strategic role conversational AI plays in solving them.
For those who missed the discussion, we’ve distilled the key insights that every dealer principal, GM, and fixed-ops director should hear. You can listen to the full episode here.
Takeaway 1: The core problem is bigger than you think
The conversation started by identifying the fundamental challenge that led to STELLA’s creation: missed calls. Rich shared a powerful anecdote about a general manager in Detroit who discovered his dealership was missing an astounding 43% of all inbound calls. This is the reality for even the best-run stores where service advisors are busy with guests and BDCs are overwhelmed. Every missed call is revenue actively walking away to a competitor. STELLA AI was built specifically to solve this revenue-draining problem by ensuring every customer connection is captured, 24/7.
“Right now we’re handling over 20,000-25,000 phone calls per day, handling all guest requests. So it doesn’t matter why they call in, what topic they want to talk about, we handle that in a very professional manner,” Rich said.
Takeaway 2: AI is staff augmentation, not replacement
A common misconception is that AI is here to replace jobs. Rich made it clear that STELLA is designed as a powerful tool for dealership staff augmentation.
“This AI is not the type of AI that’s coming to take over the world or even take people’s jobs. … Your staff can now be unleashed to go do outbound calls or go visit with guests in the showroom or in the service lane … to really build those relationships,” Rich said.
By automating routine inbound calls, like booking appointments, answering hours and location questions, your sales staff and service advisors are freed to focus on high-value, relationship-building activities. Think proactive outreach, complex customer conversations in the service lane and providing an exceptional in-person experience. The goal is to reduce employee burnout and empower your team to do what they do best: care for the customer in front of them.
Takeaway 3: Deep integration is the key to a frictionless experience
Not all AI is created equal. Rich drew a critical distinction between platforms that use light, “wholesale” integrations and STELLA’s approach of building deep, certified, two-way integrations with major DMS and CRM providers like Reynolds & Reynolds, CDK Global and Tekion.
What does this mean for your dealership? A truly frictionless guest experience. Because of these deep integrations, STELLA knows who is calling, their vehicle history and their likely intent. It can book an appointment with a customer’s preferred advisor or recognize they’re calling about an existing appointment. This level of intelligence moves the interaction beyond a simple transaction and makes the customer feel known and valued, which is the cornerstone of loyalty.
Takeaway 4: AI delivers a more consistent, successful outcome
Third-party data validates the effectiveness of a well-designed AI. Rich pointed to a recent Pied Piper study, which found that while the industry average for handling a live phone call scored 64 out of 100, AI-handled calls scored a 72.
Even more impressive, the study revealed a 91% success rate for AI handling service calls. This proves that a sophisticated conversational AI provides a more consistent, efficient and successful outcome than the traditional, often disruptive process of routing calls to busy staff. STELLA elevates this further with custom configurations that represent your dealership’s unique brand and voice. STELLA is also trained in both English and Spanish, so it can also handle calls from bilingual customers.
Looking ahead: A unified platform for inbound, outbound and total dealership operations
The conversation concluded with a look at the future. STELLA is evolving from a specialized service tool into a unified communication platform for the entire dealership. The upcoming outbound engine will proactively manage campaigns for service reminders, recalls and even target active shoppers in your market to generate net new revenue for both sales and service.
The ultimate vision is for AI to become a critical agent for dealership operations. Ready to see how STELLA AI can capture lost revenue and empower your team?
