Playbook: AI Lead Handling Agent

Working alongside your new AI assistant

In this article

• Part 1: The Mindset – Meet Your New Assistant
• Part 2: What the AI Does… So You Don't Have To
• Part 3: The Workflow & Lead Categories
• Part 4: Rules of Engagement & Best Practices
• Summarizing Roles & Focus

Part 1: The Mindset – Meet Your New Assistant

The way customers shop for cars is changing. Expectations for instant responses are higher than ever, and trying to keep up manually while giving full attention to in-store customers is an impossible balancing act.

Let's clear the air right out of the gate: This AI is not here to replace you. It is here to work for you.

Think of the AI as your tireless, 24/7 personal assistant or your "offensive line." It does the blocking. It handles the repetitive top-of-funnel grunt work: responding to late-night leads, answering basic questions, and chasing down unresponsive shoppers.

The Golden Rule: The AI tees them up; you knock them down.

Part 2: What the AI Does… So You Don't Have To

The Lead Handling Agent is directly integrated with our Customer Data Platform (CDP) and CRM. Here is exactly what it handles automatically:

• Stops the Clock: It engages fresh inbound internet leads via SMS or email in under 10 minutes to meet OEM compliance.
• 24/7 Coverage: It never takes a day off, engaging leads during the day, after hours, on weekends, and on holidays.
• Qualifies and Books Appointments: It accesses our live inventory and the shopper's profile to have human-like, personalized conversations and book ready-to-close showroom appointments without human intervention.
• Logs Everything to the CRM: The AI automatically writes conversation transcripts, AI-generated summaries, and appointment details directly into the CRM.
• Gives You Control If You Want It: The AI Agent can be deactivated so you can step in whenever you need to.

Part 3: The Workflow & Lead Categories

As the AI works, it organizes leads into specific categories. You will see these statuses in your Daily Digest emails and the Conversations Dashboard. Here is how you should handle each:
 

Part 4: Rules of Engagement & Best Practices

To make this partnership work flawlessly, our human team must follow these core operational rules:

Rule 1: Turn Off CRM Auto-Replies

Now that the Lead Handling Agent is activated, CRM automatic replies for internet leads must be turned off. This ensures that shoppers do not receive duplicate, confusing communications from both the CRM and the AI.

Rule 2: Read the Summary Before You Speak

Never jump into a conversation blindly. All SMS and email threads are logged with an AI-generated summary that includes shopper sentiment, important details, and suggested next steps. Read this in the CRM before reaching out so the customer doesn't have to repeat themselves.

Rule 3: Know How to Take the Wheel

If you need to manually jump into a live SMS thread to close a deal or handle a complex question, you can do so from the Conversations Dashboard. To prevent the AI from talking over you:

1. Click AI Conversation Preferences at the bottom of the thread.
2. Toggle OFF AI Agent reply to stop the agent from auto-replying to incoming messages.
3. Click Save Preferences.

Rule 4: Focus on Your Superpower (Closing)

Because you are spending less time leaving voicemails that never get returned and managing top-of-funnel texts, shift 100% of your focus to building real human connections, providing exceptional test drives, and closing the appointments the AI puts on your calendar.

Summarizing Roles & Focus