Customers Used To Hate AI On The Phone. Here Is How We Fixed It And Improved Customer Experience.

When voice AI first started showing up at dealerships, a lot of customers hated it.

They felt brushed off.
They felt unimportant.
They felt like the store was using a robot to avoid talking to them.

Over a year ago, we saw this firsthand. Early versions of AI voice products in automotive did something that seemed small, but had a big impact on customer experience.

They answered the call with no context.

To the caller, it felt like this:
"I called the dealership to talk to a person and they dumped me on a robot."

No matter how smart the technology was, that feeling destroyed trust.

What most customers did not know was the truth: the AI was not there to replace humans. It was there to back them up and provide a much better experience than voicemail ever could.

So we rebuilt the way Dealer Surge AI talks to customers, and it changed everything.

Why Customers Initially Felt Ignored By AI

When customers first heard an AI voice at the dealership, a few things happened in their mind:

• "They do not want to talk to me."

• "They are replacing humans with robots."

• "I am not important enough for a real person."

The technology itself was not the problem.
The lack of framing was.

No one was telling the caller why they were talking to an AI, or what it could do for them. It felt like deflection, not service.

At the same time, the alternative was not exactly great either.

Voicemail Is A Terrible Customer Experience

If you strip away the technology hype for a second and look at it from the customer’s point of view, voicemail is one of the worst customer experiences in a dealership.

• They call.

• No one answers.

• They get a generic mailbox.

• They leave a message and hope someone calls them back.

• They wait, often for days, wondering if anyone heard them at all.

On your side of the store, someone has to:

• Check voicemails manually.

• Write down information.

• Call back when they have time.

• Try to catch the customer again.

It is slow, it is inconsistent, and it is full of human error.

AI voice, when used properly, is far better than voicemail for everyone involved. It takes messages, transfers calls, books appointments, and does it instantly. But the customer has to understand that is what it is there to do.

That was the missing piece.

How We Fixed It: Educate The Caller First

Instead of pretending to be human or silently replacing the receptionist, we built Dealer Surge AI to be honest and helpful about why it exists.

We changed the greeting to something like this:

"The team is away from the phone right now, and I am a backup to voicemail. I can send your message to the sales team, transfer your call, or book your appointment. What would you prefer?"

In one sentence, the AI:

• Explains that humans are simply busy, not gone.

• Positions itself as backup to voicemail, not a replacement for staff.

• Clearly tells the caller what it can do for them right now.

• Puts the choice back in the caller’s hands.

That context flips the entire experience.

Instead of "I got dumped on a robot," the caller feels:

• "They are busy, but they gave me a faster option."

• "This is better than leaving a voicemail."

• "I can still get what I need without waiting."

Once customers understand the role of AI, most of the frustration disappears. Now the voice agent is not blocking them from a person. It is helping them get to a solution faster.

The 72-Year-Old Caller Who Thought AI Was A Human

One of our favourite early calls was from a 72 year old woman trying to book a service appointment at Elk Grove Dodge, late at night.

She went through the Dealer Surge AI receptionist and got her appointment set. At the end of the call, she said something that told us everything we needed to know:

"I cannot believe there is a human working this late."

She was not impressed by the technology. She was impressed that someone at the dealership was "there" for her when she needed help.

That is the entire point.

If the experience feels fast, clear, and respectful, most customers do not care if it is AI or a human on the other side. They care that:

• Their call was answered.

• Their problem was solved.

• They did not have to fight the system to get there.

How Dealer Surge AI Actually Improves Customer Experience

Once we reframed AI as a backup to voicemail and designed the greeting to educate callers, the benefits to customer experience became very real and very measurable.

Here is what changes for your customers when you turn Dealer Surge AI on.

1. No Call Is Ever Missed

From the customer’s point of view, this is huge.

They are not:

• Calling three times in a row hoping someone picks up.

• Getting kicked to a full voicemail box.

• Sitting on hold forever only to give up.

Dealer Surge AI answers immediately when your team cannot, captures what the customer needs, and either resolves it on the spot or hands it off cleanly.

2. Faster Help, Less Time On Hold

AI:

• Greets the caller right away.

• Identifies why they are calling.

• Either handles the request or routes it intelligently.

That means less time listening to hold music and fewer "I was on hold for 15 minutes" reviews. For service customers in particular, that is a big step up in perceived care.

3. Humans Can Focus On The Customer In Front Of Them

In the store, your people are finally allowed to:

• Look the customer in the eye.

• Finish a conversation without getting yanked away by the phone.

• Spend time advising and selling instead of rushing through calls.

AI catches the calls that would have interrupted them, and either handles the basics or lines things up for a clean handoff later.

The result is better in-store experience and better phone experience at the same time.

4. No One Has To Dig Through Voicemail Anymore

For your team, this is one of the biggest quality of life wins.

Instead of:

• Sorting through a pile of voicemails.

• Trying to understand names and numbers through static.

• Guessing what the caller actually wanted.

Dealer Surge AI:

• Captures clean, structured information.

• Can send it to the right team immediately.

• Can log it in your systems for tracking and follow up.

On the customer side, they are not waiting days for a call back, wondering if anyone got their message. They feel heard right away.

5. Customers Can Book 24/7

The store might close at 6 or 7 p.m. The phone should not.

With an AI voice receptionist:

• Customers can book service or sales appointments at any hour.

• Late night shoppers are not lost to voicemail.

• Busy working customers can call when it fits their schedule, not yours.

To a customer, that feels like a dealership that respects their time.

AI Receptionist As A CX Strategy, Not A Gimmick

The big shift for us was realizing that how you position AI matters just as much as what AI can technically do.

When you are honest about why it is there, and you design the script around customer expectations, something important happens:

• Customers stop seeing AI as a wall between them and your team.

• They start seeing it as a fast track to what they need.

Dealer Surge AI was built to improve customer experience at your dealership, not replace it with something cold and robotic.

It answers when your people cannot, offers options that are clearly better than voicemail, and keeps customers moving forward without the usual friction.

In a world where every review and every CSI score matters, that difference is huge.

If you want your customers to feel helped instead of handled, the first step is simple. Stop sending them to voicemail, and start giving them context, choice, and instant help with an AI receptionist that is on their side.