One of the most significant benefits that artificial intelligence (AI) promises for dealership employees is the elimination of repetitive tasks. For example, consider all the steps associated with a service lane check-in. If AI eliminates just a few of these tasks, the service team can save valuable time by focusing less on technology.
When a type of AI called Computer Vision is integrated with a dealership’s current security cameras, it upgrades them into smart tools that monitor dealership activities and notify employees and managers when specific events occur. These mobile notifications and pattern recognitions enable staff to address bottlenecks and keep processes running smoothly.
Here are three key processes in the service department that AI helps to streamline.
Service Check-In
AI can significantly enhance the efficiency of the service check-in process. When a customer pulls into the dealership, AI scans the license plate and accesses the Dealer Management System (DMS) to retrieve the customer’s name and appointment details. It then notifies the service team that the customer has arrived and is waiting to be greeted.
Automating these initial tasks is extremely helpful in a busy environment. Customer arrivals can easily stack up, with advisors juggling phone calls, vehicle updates, multi-point inspection explanations and other customer interactions in addition to write-ups and walk-arounds. AI’s virtual tap on the shoulder ensures no customer is left unattended. This streamlined check-in process enhances the customer experience.
Tracking Time on Site
Most dealerships are blind to the accurate total time each vehicle spends on site. This metric is important because it has a direct correlation to customer satisfaction.
Traditional methods typically measure the time from repair order open to close, but this is not always accurate for various reasons. Additionally, conventional methods cannot accurately track the real time spent between steps; only actions are recorded in the software.
AI addresses this by tracking the vehicle’s entire time on site, from entry to exit. It can also break down this time into specific phases such as check-in, time to rack, customer waiting time, service duration, and car wash. Knowing where bottlenecks occur helps dealers to optimize each phase and reduce overall service time.
For example, an efficient quick lube, with no upsell, takes less than one hour. However, many dealerships consistently average additional minutes that could be saved with simple awareness. Reducing service time by just 10 minutes per vehicle can save 400 hours per month for a dealership that services 2,400 vehicles, creating significant opportunities for additional services. Improved efficiency also allows for better dealing with walk-ins, which many dealerships struggle with weekly.
Purchase Offers
Acquiring quality inventory while simultaneously increasing units in operation is a top priority for dealerships, but traditional service drive equity tools rely heavily on employee interaction with customers. Unfortunately, many service customers successfully avoid interaction with salespeople because they don’t want to feel pressured.
AI provides a nonintrusive method of capturing customers’ attention. When a vehicle arrives, AI scans the make, model, and year to determine if it fits the dealership’s acquisition criteria. If it does, AI automatically sends a text to the vehicle owner, asking if they would like an evaluation of their vehicle’s value.
The immediate offer approach—before repair order creation–has a very high average response rate. If the customer agrees, AI will initiate a conversation to gather more details and prepare the customer for a visit from the appropriate salesperson.
This method increases vehicle acquisition rates and provides a more appealing opportunity for many customers in the service drive who would otherwise slip through the cracks. Unlike humans, AI captures every single plate and consistently makes purchase offers to 100 percent of eligible vehicle owners 100 percent of the time.
By automating everyday tasks associated with the service check-in process, accurately tracking vehicles on site, and efficiently handling purchase offers, AI’s presence in the service department allows dealerships to operate more efficiently and profitably while providing better service.
