AI Receptionist & Answering Service for Car Dealerships
Frontivo.io is a 24/7 AI receptionist and answering service for new and used car dealerships. It answers calls, chats and texts for sales and service, answers questions about vehicles from the stock details you add, books test drives, trade-in appraisals and service appointments, and alerts your team to hot leads — without ever quoting a binding price, a trade-in value or financing approval. All-in-one plans start at $299/month (Phone Only $199/month, Website Chat Only $149/month), and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and no credit card.
14-day free trial · No credit card · 14-day money-back on your first payment · Keep your number by forwarding it
Hi, is the 2021 Toyota RAV4 on your website still available?
Thanks for calling Lakeside Motors. The 2021 RAV4 XLE in silver is on our current stock list — about 34,000 miles, listed at $27,900. Would you like to see it or take a test drive?
Maybe. Would you take my car in trade, and what would my payment be?
We do take trade-ins — our appraiser gives you a value after seeing the car, so I can't quote one now. And our finance team works out payment options with you; I'm not able to quote rates or payments. What would you be trading in?
What can an AI receptionist do for a car dealership?
Vehicle questions from your stock list
Answers questions about the vehicles you add — trim, mileage, features, listed price — and says when a detail isn't there instead of guessing. It doesn't sync with your inventory feed, so keep the stock list current.
Test drive booking
Books test drives around your sales team's availability and notes the vehicle, any trade-in and the customer's timeline, so the salesperson is ready.
Trade-in leads
Captures year, make, model, mileage and condition and books an in-person appraisal. Trade-in values come only from your team, never from the AI.
Financing questions
Explains your financing process and what to bring in your approved wording, and shares your online credit-application link if you add one. It never quotes rates, payments or approval, and never collects credit or ID details.
Service department booking
Books oil changes, recall and warranty work and inspections into your service slots with the vehicle details and concern, and takes "is my car ready?" messages for your advisors.
Hot-lead alerts
Flags ready-to-buy shoppers and alerts your sales team right away with the vehicle and timeline (live transfer to your team's number is on every phone plan).
Reminders and follow-ups
Sends appointment reminders, and on Growth follows up on a shopper's own recent enquiry that hasn't been answered.
Why car dealerships lose shoppers to missed calls
Car shoppers contact several dealers at once, and the one that answers first and books a test drive often sells the car. Evenings and weekends are when people browse inventory, but the showroom is closed or every salesperson is with a customer on the lot. Meanwhile the service department's phones ring with booking and status calls, and every call that goes to voicemail is a test drive, a trade-in or a service visit handed to the dealer down the road.
How does Frontivo.io handle a Sunday-evening call about a used SUV?
A sample conversation. Prices and names are examples — Frontivo.io only quotes the prices and details you give it.
Caller
Hi, is the 2021 Toyota RAV4 on your website still available?
Frontivo.io AI
Thanks for calling Lakeside Motors. The 2021 RAV4 XLE in silver is on our current stock list — about 34,000 miles, listed at $27,900. Would you like to see it or take a test drive?
Caller
Maybe. Would you take my car in trade, and what would my payment be?
Frontivo.io AI
We do take trade-ins — our appraiser gives you a value after seeing the car, so I can't quote one now. And our finance team works out payment options with you; I'm not able to quote rates or payments. What would you be trading in?
Caller
A 2015 Honda Accord, about 120,000 miles.
Frontivo.io AI
Got it. I can book a test drive and an appraisal of your Accord in the same visit. I have tomorrow at 5:30 PM or Tuesday at 10:00 AM Central. Which works?
Caller
Tomorrow at 5:30.
Frontivo.io AI
Booked for tomorrow at 5:30 PM Central with Jordan from our sales team, who will confirm the RAV4 is ready for you. I've texted you a confirmation — please bring your driver's license and the Accord's title or loan details.
How do you set up an AI receptionist for a car dealership?
- 1
Tell Frontivo.io about your car dealership: sales and service hours, the vehicles you want it to answer about, service prices and policies — type them in or import FAQ and service pages from your website.
- 2
Set your rules — what counts as urgent, when to transfer to a person, and which times can be booked — then test every channel in the Channel Tester.
- 3
Forward your business line (or get a new Frontivo.io number: in seconds in the US and Canada, after a documents check in most other countries) and paste one line of code to add the chat and voice widget to your website.
What to add to your knowledge base
- Current stock highlights (vehicle, trim, mileage, listed price)
- Test drive process and what to bring
- Trade-in appraisal process
- Financing process and credit-application link
- Service menu and standard prices
- Recall and warranty appointments
- Sales and service hours
- Delivery and out-of-area buyers
Works with the tools you already use
- Your business phone number. Forward your existing line, or get a new number.
- Google & Outlook Calendar. Checks live availability before it books, so slots aren't double-booked.
- Website chat, text, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger & email. One AI receptionist answers on every channel with the same knowledge (WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email are on Growth, or each on its own single-channel plan). WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger open soon, once Meta's approval is through: reserve WhatsApp Only, Instagram Only, Messenger Only or Growth at no charge.
- Zapier, webhooks and API. Send every new lead and booking to the other software your car dealership runs on through Zapier, Make, signed webhooks or the API (on Growth; opens soon, reserve it at no charge). Google Sheets and Slack or Teams alerts work on every plan.
What are missed calls costing your car dealership?
Adjust the sliders to your own numbers.
Estimated extra revenue if those callers book
$27,063/month
- Phone Only plan
- -$199
- Net per month
- $26,864
Pays for itself after 1 job a month.
An estimate from your own numbers, not a promise. Prices in US dollars.
Start free trialFrontivo.io vs voicemail vs an answering service for car dealerships
Voicemail
- Cost
- Free
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- No
- Knows your urgent calls
- No
- Channels
- Phone only
Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai)
- Cost
- Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- Often (Calendly or Google Calendar)
- Knows your urgent calls
- Follows your script
- Channels
- Phone; live chat or texts with some providers
In-house receptionist
- Cost
- About $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits)
- Hours
- Business hours
- Books on your calendar
- Yes
- Knows your urgent calls
- Yes
- Channels
- One call at a time
Frontivo.io
- Cost
- From $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included
- Hours
- 24/7
- Books on your calendar
- Yes
- Knows your urgent calls
- Yes
- Channels
- Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon)
Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| Option | Cost | Hours | Books on your calendar | Knows your urgent calls | Channels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Free | 24/7 | Phone only | ||
| Human answering service (Ruby, Smith.ai) | Ruby from $250/mo for 50 minutes; Smith.ai from $300/mo for 30 calls | 24/7 | Often (Calendly or Google Calendar) | Follows your script | Phone; live chat or texts with some providers |
| In-house receptionist | About $4,500/mo in the US (median pay $38,010/yr plus benefits) | Business hours | One call at a time | ||
| Frontivo.io | From $199/mo for phone; $299/mo for phone, chat and text; usage included | 24/7 | Phone, chat, text, email (WhatsApp, Instagram & Messenger open soon) |
Sources: Ruby and Smith.ai pricing pages (checked September 28, 2026); US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Receptionists (2025 median pay) and Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (June 2026, benefits 30% of compensation). US prices from the sources above; other providers and countries vary. Frontivo.io prices are in US dollars.
For dealerships the key difference is speed-to-lead with guardrails: Frontivo.io answers every shopper in seconds, books the test drive or appraisal and alerts sales, while never quoting a binding price, a trade-in value or financing approval.
How much does an AI receptionist for car dealerships cost?
Car dealerships can start on Starter ($299/month): phone, website chat and text, with 300 AI voice minutes (about 100 calls), 300 website chats and 300 AI text replies, plus live call transfer to your team, appointment reminders and the Leads and Customers pages. Teams that also want WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and email choose Growth ($549/month; opens soon, reserve it at no charge) for all 7 channels, with 450 minutes (about 150 calls), 600 conversations and 500 text replies, plus review requests, follow-up texts and analytics. Calls and website chat work from day one; texting switches on after carrier approval for your number. Annual plans save 15%, extra usage is billed per unit or can be set to pause at your allowance, and every plan starts with a 14-day free trial with no card and no setup fee (your phone number is connected when you subscribe, and WhatsApp comes with WhatsApp Only or Growth, which open soon). Need just one channel? Phone Only is $199/month, and single-channel plans start at $99/month. Several rooftops or 1,500+ minutes a month? Talk to us about a custom plan. Prices in US dollars.
Compare all plansFAQ
Car Dealerships: FAQ
Straight answers about how Frontivo.io works for car dealerships.
- Yes, from the vehicle details you add to the knowledge base. It doesn't connect to your inventory feed or dealer management system, so it answers only from what you've entered, says so when a vehicle or detail isn't there and offers to have a salesperson follow up.
Still have questions?
Pick whatever's easiest. We're happy to help.
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Answer calls 24/7.
Website chat can be live in about 15 minutes, and your phone number is connected when you subscribe. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
- 14-day free trial
- No credit card
- Cancel anytime
Several locations, a team, or a custom setup? Talk to sales