Update, 2026: The research report this article mentions is out: Digital Voice Assistants for Auto Dealers. Voice assistant vendors are listed in the Pasch Group Vendor Directory.
Dealers know their phone processes provide inconsistent customer service. With the majority of calls never being answered by a qualified staff member or going to voice mail, the financial upside to a robust digital voice assistant is very compelling.
This year, several digital voice assistant platforms have emerged with hopes to solve both inbound and outbound call needs for car dealerships. Two years ago there were 3-4 platform choices (i.e., Cari, Stella, and Brooke). Today there are over a dozen companies claiming to be the best for dealership sales and service processes.
The challenge is how to pick the right platform with so many choices!
DVA interviews: do they fit your tech vision?
Dealers who are shopping for AI-powered Digital Voice Assistants (DVA) need to shop carefully. A standard set of questions should be asked of each vendor so every platform can be compared equally.
We have not created a comprehensive interview sheet, but here are some issues that need to be discussed with your potential partners:
Data Hygiene – Ask if the DVA platform can pull data from a Customer Data Platform (CDP) or clean data source other than the DMS. DMS data is dirty with up to 40% of the vehicle transactions no longer owned by the consumer on file. Clean data will reduce wasted calls and reduce customer frustration.
Data Correction – Dealers should be asking how data corrections are handled. If a DVA agent calls a consumer and they say that they no longer own the car, what does the agent do? Do they ask some additional questions to clarify the date of sale? Does the collected data update the DMS or CDP? We can’t miss the opportunity to self-clean our data sources based on zero party data.
Communication Permissions – Where is the DVA getting their compliance data so that they don’t call or message customers who have asked not to be called or texted? If a DVA agent records a customer requesting to be put on a DNC list, how does the DVA platform communicate that opt-out signal to a higher system, so the dealer does not get in trouble? For most dealers, their source of truth is the CRM, but that will be expanding as dealers have their own data warehouses.
Communication Cadence – Since dealers are likely to have an AI platform handling sales and service leads in their CRM and a service lifecycle marketing agency, how will the DVA monitor the cadence of calls, emails, or SMS messages to consumers, so they are not sending conflicting messages?
Communication Personalization – Does the DVA monitor recent communication in the CRM (i.e., test drive appointment confirmed or lead submitted on a vehicle) or inbound call transcripts (i.e. CallRevu, Car Wars) to learn how to handle an inbound call with personalization? Dealers will likely keep their legacy phone systems until the DVAs are proven to be a good replacement, so what does that existence look like?
Code Source – Dealers should ask if the DVA platform being sold is proprietary to the company or is it a white-labeled partnership. This information can be critical for future integrations and personalization requests.
AI Learning – Ask the vendor how the system gets smarter over time and how it will learn the specific programs, offerings, and culture of the dealership.
These are just some of the questions which should be asked as you shop for a DVA platform that can grow and integrate well in your tech stack.
