Fewer Lost Leads with Smart Chatbot – Wards Auto
Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and Informa
Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. We help you gain critical insights and make more informed decisions across your business priorities.
Subaru dealer uses AI chat to triple lead engagement.
April 1, 2025
Managers at Huffines Subaru are turning to a new technology that employs an emerging form of artificial intelligence to help solve an age-old dealership problem: how to retain would-be sales leads who “X” out of online chats without surrendering their contact information – the modern version of hanging up the telephone.
“The results have been remarkable. We have seen a 55% customer-engagement rate, which far exceeds the performance of our previous chat provider,” Robert Goodwin, general manager, tells WardsAuto in a phone interview. Customer engagement is defined as the share of leads who provide name, number and contact information, he says.
The Corinth, TX, dealership was part of a pilot program for Chat Concierge, a new “virtual” online-chat concierge from McLean, VA. auto lender Capital One Financial Corp., Capital One is rolling out Chat Concierge to participating dealers as an added capability to its Navigator Platform suite of e-commerce products.
Fewer Leads Vanish
The Subaru store has about six months of experience with Chat Concierge, says sales manager Tim Spencer.. Without disclosing the price, Spencer tells WardsAuto that the added cost to the dealership for Chat Concierge is comparable to the dealership’s previous chat provider.
Studies, Reports Reveal Persistent Dealer Pain Points
However, the results are much better, says Goodwin. “We had a typical chat vendor, which was very template-driven and very form-filled. They get the name and number and pass it off to us. There’s very little engagement, and it’s been like that for years. Probably 15 years,” he says.
In February 2025, Goodwin says the dealership increased customer engagement by more than 200% compared to a year ago.
Virtual ‘Agent’
What’s new is that Chat Concierge uses so-called “agentic” AI, Sanjiv Yajnik, president of Financial Services for Capital One, tells WardsAuto.
It acts like a virtual “agent,” more like an actual, highly skilled person on the chat, and less like earlier generations of automated chat systems. Those are aimed at getting the customer’s contact information but are not well-equipped to answer questions that vary from the script, Yajnik says.
“They can’t handle the complexity of questions that come from a customer: prices, inventory, comparison with similar cars, doing a trade-in, what happens if I put cash down. Older systems cannot take that. Even generative AI cannot handle all that,” he says.
In contrast, Yajnik says the Chat Concierge built around agentic AI can draw on what amounts to machine learning-trained electronic experts in all those fields to answer questions and to refer a customer to the correct destination, for instance, to a link to the appropriate tool if the customer wants to get pre-qualified for a loan.
Industry Voices | Hertz, Amazon and Used Cars
Back on the Gas
Capital One is a primary auto lender, with 2024 auto loan originations of $34.5 billion, a hefty increase of 28% vs. 2023, according to the bank’s annual report filed with the SEC.
The significant increase is partly because Capital One tightened credit and cut back on auto originations in the second half of 2022 and throughout 2023. That’s likely partly because the bank has higher exposure to subprime auto loans than most big banks.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, loans with a credit score at origination of 620 or below, a commonly used definition of subprime, account for 27% of the bank’s outstanding portfolio. That’s even with a year ago, Capital One reports.
For context, captive finance company Ford Credit reports a share of what it considers higher-risk loans of just 3% for the fourth quarter of 2024, down from 4% a year ago.
Filling in the Cracks
The other context for agentic AI is that dealership margins are getting thinner, which makes it more important than ever that sales leads don’t fall through the cracks.
That’s what happens when customers quit a chat rather than surrender their contact information or who give up when their question doesn’t fit a neat category, Yajnik says.
Tariffs Slow Buy-Sell Deals, But Demand Persists
“Dealerships have got to run a very efficient operation,” he says. “They’ve got to make sure they never miss a single customer.”
Jim Henry
Contributor
Jim Henry is a freelance writer and editor, a veteran reporter on the auto retail beat, with decades of experience writing for Automotive News, WardsAuto, Forbes.com, and others. He's an alumnus of the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.
You May Also Like
Closing Deals With Embedded Insurance
Vehlo’s Service Lane Solutions
Shifting Gears: What Car Buyers Really Want in 2025
Less is More: How Website Overload Sinks Your Sales
Copyright © 2025 TechTarget, Inc. d/b/a Informa TechTarget. This website is owned and operated by Informa TechTarget, part of a global network that informs, influences and connects the world’s technology buyers and sellers. All copyright resides with them. Informa PLC’s registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. TechTarget, Inc.’s registered office is 275 Grove St. Newton, MA 02466.
