Once a feature suited only to high-level processes like computing and research, or consumer applications like Siri, artificial intelligence (AI) is showing up in more business functions. It’s an appealing technology because it can automate tedious tasks: in customer support, for example, it can respond to simple, common texts like “what’s your return policy?” or “where’s the closest store?” In the car dealership, it can replace humans for basic tasks in the sales process.
At the NADA show last week, CBT News spoke with David Marod, senior VP of sales at Conversica, a company that sells AI software for marketing. Marod noted that in the day-to-day operations of a dealership, it takes a lot of contact points to finally reach a prospect or customer. By delegating these attempts to a virtual assistant, dealerships are able to focus on more high-value tasks.
Virtual assistants based on AI can determine the right people to call at the right time to boost not only the chances of connection, but the chances of a sale. Marod notes that it’s often the human element that loses or delays a sale, because human salespeople may not be applying the same urgency to different types of leads.
As customers become more accustomed to dealing with “virtual people” – particularly younger customers – they’re coming to realize that for routine questions, AI-driven assistants can provide baseline information very well, and they’re the gateway to a human for more complex questions and queries.