A STUDY of how artificial intelligence made a difference to the appointment rate in two dealerships has shown that AI programs like Cox Automotive’s LeadDriver can get on with the job of making appointments well after the humans have left the business for the day.

The case study revealed that more than one-in-five real-world leads were booked for an in-person appointment, without human input. The company said that this rate was “of particularly high value for out-of-hours enquiries”.

LeadDriver uses AI developed by Impel to engage and secure customer leads for dealers. According to the case study, one dealer customer over the study period saw LeadDriver work 536 leads, send 3642 messages, and save 242 man-hours.

The study showed that 21 per cent of online engaged customer leads over the study period set up appointments with the dealer, without any human intervention at all.

LeadDriver with Impel AI also achieved greater than 50 per cent engagement rates and email open rates, and in so doing saved the dealers the cost of almost a full-time equivalent (FTE ) in terms of hours; this at a time where dealer revenues and profits are under strain.

According to data measured by Impel across the dealerships that were using its AI leads system, AI-driven leads “can and do outperform standard leads in some key areas, thereby supporting human salespeople”.

Cox Automotive Australia said the case study showed that LeadDriver, its lead management solution for retailers, is already demonstrating how artificial intelligence (AI) can improve dealer efficiency and convert more enquiries into sales.The company said in a statement: “Importantly, it also shows ways in which AI and human salespeople can work in tandem to yield better outcomes and experiences for customers”.

The case study also showed how the two dealer customers were able to use LeadDriver with Impel AI to improve responses to digital leads, maintain follow-ups, and engage both outside working hours and on busy Saturdays.

The company said that LeadDriver allows dealers to send prospective customers an almost immediate response via email and SMS, while improving long-term outreach and follow-up. 

“Crucially, sales teams are subsequently able to spend more time working on established leads, assisted by the supplied comprehensive analytics.

“It is this interaction between human salespeople and AI, whereby the latter assists the former, that makes having this kind of lead management system (LMS) so important,” the study showed.

The study was conducted over a 60-day period (October and November 2024) and mapped how LeadDriver performed for dealers, when handling customer enquiries.Key take-aways from the study include:

Dealer One was an automotive dealership known for its innovative customer service and sales approach specialising in value family vehicles, with an average of 20 vehicles for sale.

• Online leads: 134 leads worked, 981 messages sent, 65 hours saved.
• Online lead engagement: 65 per cent email open rate, 48 per cent of leads engaged.

Dealer Two was a family-owned dealer group selling used vehicles and new vehicles across their Mazda, Volkswagen, LDV, and GWM franchises, with an average of 360 vehicles for sale.

• Online leads: 536 leads worked, 3641 messages sent, 242 hours saved.
• Online lead engagement: 53 per cent email open rate, 47 per cent of leads engaged.

Under the Impel AI-driven leads solution across dealerships using its solution, AI books an Appointment and acquires customer contact information.

Cox Automotive says the Impel system “has, in fact, been shown to outperform standard leads in several key areas.

Specifically, 22 per cent of all online leads fielded are classified as high-converting leads and, of this subset, some 70 per cent of high-converting leads result in a successful sale.“It shows that people who are already happy to engage with AI for preliminary dealer contact can, and do, go on to become buyers.”

Cox Automotive said that LeadDriver can “turbocharge lead management” by:

• AI Messaging: with 38 per cent of online leads received outside of business hours, you have the option to respond to them 24/7 with AI conversations to increase conversions.
• Automated follow up: 40 per cent of leads are still active after 14 days. With LeadDriver’s AI assistant, you can continue to follow up on your leads for up to 51 days.
• Lead capture: capture all leads in one place and automate the sales and marketing pipeline.
• Real-time analytics: robust reporting and analytics suite with actionable insights.
• Test drive booking: provide a digital experience for test drive and loan car management.
• Third party lead integration: more than 50 industry integrations to give you a solution that grows with the business.