MANY time-consuming tasks within dealerships can be better – and more economically – done by the new breed of AI systems that allow staff to be more time-efficient to sell and service cars while improving the customer experience.

Global automotive AI company Impel notes that the growing importance of speed, persistence, and out-of-hours coverage in dealership lead conversion puts productivity back in the hands of all dealership staff.

Analysis of 187,000 sales leads handled by Impel’s AI operating system in the UK in the first six months of 2025, shows how AI is helping dealers capture more opportunities by doing two things most sales teams struggle to focus on consistently: respond instantly to new enquiries and sustain high-quality, human-like engagement well beyond the initial follow-up window.In Australia, Queensland multi-franchise dealer Wade von Bibra recently told GoAutoNews Premium that advances in AI will potentially perform many core time-consuming and repetitive tasks within dealerships better than humans. 

For example, with AI taking care of the myriad routine tasks that drag on the time of skilled dealership staff who really have much more effective work to do, Mr von Bibra said that he believes his dealership can make more use of the knowledge of staff to sell more cars, service more repair orders and sell more finance.

Globally, more automotive businesses are moving to using AI as one of the ‘faces’ of the dealership.

The efficiency of AI is reflected in Impel’s analysis that showed that about half of prospective customers engaged within 15 minutes of receiving an AI response to their initial query. 

“Of those, 60 per cent booked an appointment in that same window. This is especially valuable given that 37 per cent of engagement took place outside regular business hours,” Impel’s data showed.

The analysis also highlights the value of long-term follow-up.

Impel said that one-in-four prospects re-engaged more than 48 hours after going quiet, well beyond the point where most human-led follow-up ends. 

This suggests a missed opportunity in many dealerships, where attention is often focused only on the first few hours or days.

Impel’s UK managing director James Leese said: “The data tells a clear story about online car buyer behaviour in 2025. 

“Buyers exhibit an unpredictable blend of urgency and sluggishness, presenting a challenge for time-stretched sales teams. But a significant proportion of prospects will act when given the opportunity, be that during or outside of traditional opening hours.

“AI is helping dealers be the first to respond, but it is also giving them a second chance with leads they would have otherwise lost.

“It is not just about attracting more traffic, it’s about converting more of the traffic they already have.”

Impel’s UK managing director James Leese

Mr Leese said that by handling “both the fast and the slow” AI supports sales teams around the clock and hands off qualified leads when the customer is ready to talk.

“Rather than starting the day with a long list of unqualified leads to work through, AI empowered dealers are starting with appointments already booked in their diaries,” he said.

Impel said that its analysis showed that AI helped customers book almost 6000 appointments in the first six months of this year.

While the dataset reflects just a small portion of the wider UK retail market, Mr Leese believes it offers a useful snapshot of where AI is already showing value on the showroom floor.

“This is not theory. These are live interactions in real UK dealerships, every day,” he said.

“We are seeing how AI can extend the reach and enhance the performance of sales teams, especially when it comes to out-of-hours contact and long-tail leads.”

Impel’s Sales AI and Chat AI solutions are designed to support dealer teams by managing inbound enquiries, maintaining natural back-and-forth conversations with buyers, answering complex inventory, financing, and part exchange enquiries, and booking appointments directly into existing systems. 

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