There’s no doubt that AI is already reshaping dealership departments, but the automotive tech CEOs hoping to lead that transformation remain divided on just how much it will redefine operations.
Driving the news: During a recent panel on Daily Dealer Live, Eric Rea, CEO of Podium, a lead generation and management platform, told host Sam D’Arc that AI can convert leads more efficiently than humans, making business development centers (BDCs) largely redundant.
“AI, at least what we're seeing on the BDC side, you increase your test drives, you decrease your BDC team,” said Rea. “And I think that at some point in the near future, you won't need a BDC team anymore.”
But Brian Hoang, CEO of Mia Labs, which automates customer communications for dealerships, pushed back.
“I would not take the extreme approach… there is a future where you can remove most, if not all, of the BDC, but that doesn't mean the people in the BDC are necessarily fully replaced…,” he said. “How do we utilize more of the people in your store? Have them do tasks that are more unique to their abilities as humans.”
Hoang added that AI should free staff from repetitive tasks so dealers can redeploy them into more customer-facing, high-level work.
The middle ground: Tasso Roumeliotis, founder and CEO of Numa, an AI agent platform for dealerships, said the right balance depends on each dealership’s needs.
“…when a human can't do something, we can pick it up… if there are some jobs that are mind-numbing or after hours, we can help and rescue a whole bunch of inbounds that you get as a dealer,” he explained.
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Monik Pamecha, founder and CEO of Toma, which also builds automotive AI agents, agreed that AI can dramatically reduce call volume, and dealers that repurpose their staff see efficiency soar.
“For larger groups with 20–100 people, they see about 50% of phone call volume reduced [by AI],” Pamecha. “The question is what do you do with that 50%? Many repurpose staff to outbound demand generation. We’ve seen operational margins improve 40% on the BDC side.”
Moving forward: Rea expects many dealers who are reluctant to embrace AI in its early stages, will eventually come around and the technology continues to advance.
Bottom line: The panelists agreed BDC is ground zero for AI disruption. But the future likely won’t be BDC versus AI. Instead, AI will help dealerships operate leaner, repurpose staff, and boost profitability.
“This is happening,” said Rea. “You have to figure it out, and you should choose a vendor that allows you to train and hone your agent just like you would an employee.”
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