Improved call handling heightens customer loyalty, reveals study findings
In the automotive industry, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is making strides in streamlining service call handling at car dealerships. According to Pied Piper's 2025 Service Telephone Effectiveness Study, AI successfully manages about 91% of service calls, including scheduling appointments for routine maintenance without human intervention [1].
The study reveals that AI interactions often yield customer satisfaction scores comparable to or better than human staff. However, challenges arise during the transfer of calls to human agents when AI cannot handle the request, with transfer failures occurring 56% of the time [2]. This can lead to customer frustration, long hold times, dropped calls, or calls being sent to voicemail.
AI excels at handling simple requests like oil changes or standard maintenance, achieving appointment scheduling success rates of around 86%, close to the 90% success rate of humans. When AI fully manages the call, it achieves service transaction effectiveness (STE) scores higher than the national average for dealers [1][2].
However, when transfers to human associates are needed (typically 88 seconds into the call), system and staffing issues cause significant handoff problems. For instance, Group 1 callers, who reached a service associate in 51 seconds on average, were 9% less likely to experience hold times beyond two minutes compared to the industry average [2].
Despite these challenges, AI offers numerous benefits to dealerships. It results in higher appointment capture rates, increased repair order volumes and dollar values, improved customer satisfaction scores, shorter service cycle times, and reduced advisor burnout and turnover [3][4].
Dealer groups are recognizing these gains and plan to increase AI investments in 2025, focusing on integration with dealer management systems and flexible deployment approaches [3][4].
In the words of Pied Piper CEO Fran O'Hagan, "Flawed phone handling is an obscure area, with shortcomings sometimes going unnoticed. Increasing visibility leads directly to improvement" [5].
The study, which scored locations from 0-100 based on performance in over 30 measurements, shows eight out of ten dealer groups improved their scores from last year. Group 1 Automotive ranks highest, followed by Napleton Automotive Group, Berkshire Hathaway Automotive, and Ed Morse Automotive Group in descending order [2].
Pied Piper also plans to measure and rank dealer online service bookings this fall [1]. Despite automakers' preference for online scheduling, two-thirds of service appointments are still scheduled by phone [6].
Cameron OHagan, a industry expert, advises dealers to use AI as "a tool, not a crutch" [5]. By leveraging AI's strengths while addressing its current limitations, dealers can ensure a hybrid approach that maximizes efficiency and customer satisfaction.
References: [1] Pied Piper's 2025 Service Telephone Effectiveness Study [2] Pied Piper's 2025 Service Telephone Effectiveness Study: Key Findings [3] The Future of AI in Car Dealerships: Opportunities and Challenges [4] Strategies for Dealer AI Adoption in 2025 [5] Interview with Fran O'Hagan, CEO of Pied Piper [6] The State of Online Service Scheduling in the Automotive Industry
Technology has significantly simplified service call handling in the automotive industry, with AI managing an impressive 91% of service calls and achieving appointment scheduling success rates of around 86%. Despite the high transfer failure rate of 56% when AI cannot handle specific requests, it still offers benefits such as increased appointment capture rates, higher repair order volumes, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced advisor burnout.
