How Dealership AI Tools Can Help Service Team Productivity

Eight minutes and 12 seconds may not seem like a long time, but for dealership customers stuck on hold trying to schedule service, it can feel like an eternity.

According to CDK's latest Service Shopper survey, most customers found booking service over the phone to be relatively hassle-free. However, nearly four in 10 experienced serious issues. On average, those who were put on hold indeed waited an average of eight minutes and 12 seconds for a Service Advisor or a representative from the BDC to return — long enough to leave a lasting impression and negative satisfaction scores.

To avoid these frustrations, dealerships are starting to use artificial intelligence tools to answer calls and schedule service appointments. These tools can save Service Advisors time, reduce stress and improve service customer satisfaction. Here's how.

Phone Frustrations Hurt Customer Loyalty

CDK research found that customers don’t want to be put on hold, transferred or forced through a phone menu. Net Promoter Scores, which measure how likely customers are to recommend a Service department, drop significantly if any of these occur.

While the average NPS for dealer service in our survey was 59, that score fell to 47 for customers whose calls were transferred at least once. If they had to call back, NPS dropped further to 45. If they had to navigate a phone menu, scores dropped to 43. Being put on hold was worse still, prompting an NPS of 40. But nothing torched NPS more than when no one answered the phone and in that case, NPS plunged to just 27.

The good news is that customers and Service Advisors have a quicker, less frustrating option for many routine service appointments: automation or online AI tools.

Virtual Staff Can Reduce Friction Points

Customers can simply book their appointments through “virtual staff” — AI-generated voice, text and chat prompts that sound like real people. And if they prefer, customers can still ask to speak to dealership personnel.

The idea of an AI voice assistant is relatively new. However, 31% of the respondents in CDK’s study said they’d actually prefer booking with an AI assistant instead of speaking to a live person on the phone. That number jumps significantly for younger generations. We found that 51% of Generation Z and 44% of millennials prefer to schedule appointments with an AI assistant.

31% of the respondents in CDK’s study said they’d actually prefer booking with an AI assistant instead of speaking to a live person on the phone

The virtual assistant can answer all calls and, when integrated into the dealer’s scheduling system, book appointments in real time. This enables the dealership to maximize service availability without overbooking or underbooking appointments and improves employee and customer satisfaction.

Dealerships Report Positive Results With AI Tools

So, how does AI actually work in the real world of super busy dealerships?

In CDK's 2024 AI in Automotive Survey of 250 dealers, nearly 68% of auto dealerships report that AI positively impacted operations. It's helped them achieve financial objectives, enhance customer satisfaction, and improve internal workflows, including in the Service lane.

Being a Service Advisor is a juggling act: greeting customers, getting parts and service quotes, writing up customers and ensuring they have a positive experience from the time they call or walk in until the time they pick up their vehicle. Service Advisors don’t need the added stress of dealing with aggravated customers who’ve waited to talk to the right person to schedule service and repairs.  

AI tools can help reduce dealership staff stress and improve NPS with customers. If you use AI to schedule service appointments, it can help relieve some of the load on advisors and BDCs, freeing them up to focus on more essential duties, like helping the customers standing in front of them.