Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap—a rundown of key lessons from top operators, founders, and execs shaping the future of auto retail.
Today’s guest is Sanjay Varnwal, Co-Founder & CEO at Spyne.ai.
In part 2 of our Pre NADA AI Spotlight series, we break down how AI is actually being deployed inside dealerships today, from faster merchandising to smarter lead handling, and where it’s delivering real ROI versus hype.
Tech-first dealerships are struggling with engagement, not lead generation.
The common assumption is that dealers need more leads, but the reality is that most stores already have thousands of leads sitting in their CRMs that never get properly engaged.
"For most of the dealers lead is not a problem. You you don't have the lead problem. You have this uh engagement problem, right? So tons of leads sitting in your uh business right now."
The real opportunity lies in maximizing the value of leads dealers are already paying for, rather than acquiring more.
Inconsistent follow-up is leaving revenue on the table across the funnel.
Dealers run complex funnels that require sequences of calls, messages, and value-added touchpoints, but executing this consistently at scale is nearly impossible without automation.
"It's very hard to drive all these things at a scale and and get get to that uh last point of uh uh business outcome that that uh that is sitting at your CRM them right now or service scheduler systems right now."
Smart agents that handle boring follow-ups can unlock outcomes from leads that would otherwise go cold.
Voice AI quality has improved exponentially in the last six to nine months.
A year ago, voice AI sounded robotic and unconvincing, but the technology has progressed rapidly enough that quality is no longer the primary barrier.
"Just about a year back if you had have heard the voice AI it would have sounded uh robotic right so you don't uh I mean I I was amazed to see that how how fast this entire technology has progressed in the last like 6 to 9 months time right."
Dealers who dismissed voice AI a year ago should revisit the technology, as the experience has fundamentally changed.
Workflow integration is now more important than voice quality.
The real differentiator in voice AI is how well the system integrates context about the vehicle, the customer, and the dealer's processes to drive actual appointments.
"You will see the voice quality improving like exponentially in the next 3 to 6 to 9 to 12 months from here. But it is not about the quality right. It is about the the entire integration of the workflow that you can do and integrate the context about the vehicle about the customer to create this intelligent response and the conversation that can lead to the appointment setting."
Without proper workflow integration, even the best voice technology will fail to deliver meaningful business outcomes.
Presented by:
1. Lotlinx - What if ChatGPT actually spoke dealer? Meet LotGPT — the first AI chatbot built just for car dealers. Fluent in your market, your dealership, and your inventory, LotGPT delivers instant insights to help you merchandise smarter, move inventory faster, and maximize profit. It pulls from your live inventory, CRM, and Google Analytics to give VIN-specific recommendations, helping dealers price vehicles accurately, spot wasted spend, and uncover the hottest opportunities — all in seconds. LotGPT is free for dealers, but invite-only. Join the waitlist now @ Lotlinx.com/LotGPT
2. Merchant Advocate - Merchant Advocate saves businesses money on credit card fees WITHOUT switching processors. Find out how they can help your dealership with a FREE analysis. Click on @ merchantadvocate.com/cdg for more.
3. Spyne - Meet Vini by Spyne — your dealership’s AI-powered Conversational Agent. Vini answers every call and chat, engages customers instantly, and uncovers hidden revenue in your CRM and inventory. Every missed opportunity? Found and converted. Learn more at spyne.ai/vini-cdg
Dealership conversations have thousands of possible paths that require precise handling.
Unlike simpler customer service scenarios, automotive sales conversations can branch in countless directions, and each branch needs to be handled carefully to avoid losing a potential sale.
"The conversations in dealerships if you see this could have like thousands of chains and every chain has to handle every chain of message have to be handled very precisely because you are risking right now uh a conversation that could have converted into a real sale, right?"
This complexity explains why some voice AI solutions work well while others frustrate customers and dealers alike.
Different AI companies are at vastly different stages of evolution.
The voice AI market includes companies with varying levels of technical maturity, focus, and understanding of dealership operations, which explains the inconsistent dealer experiences.
"There are all types of companies in the market right now at different levels of evolution and all of them are targeting dealers."
Dealers need to understand how focused a company is on solving their specific problem rather than treating all AI vendors as interchangeable.
Understanding dealer workflows requires deep collaboration, not just good technology.
Building effective AI solutions for dealerships isn't about having the best base models—it's about having teams that deeply understand the operational nuances of how dealers actually work.
"Building systems which which understand the workflows uh it is not the technology it is the people right so people high quality people who are building those solutions by understanding the dealers workflows in depth."
This explains why some AI vendors with strong technology still fail to deliver results while others with deep dealer partnerships succeed.
Security and data handling should be built into AI products, not added as an afterthought.
AI systems in dealerships handle extremely sensitive customer data, and compliance with GDPR, SOC 2, and ISO standards needs to be embedded in the product architecture from day one.
"You're also looking at some very sensitive data of the customers right now right so uh from the behalf of the dealers so are you secure enough so most of the companies that are here are in the ecosystem have to be extremely sensitive to that part of the ecosystem."
Dealers should ask hard questions about data security, disaster recovery, and compliance certifications before deploying any AI solution.
Speed-to-market delays cost dealers real money while inventory sits unlisted.
After acquiring a vehicle, dealers often can't list it immediately because they're waiting for photography, inspection, and reconditioning to be completed.
"The moment you have acquired the car uh you don't right away go live because you don't have the right kind of visuals available for that car."
Using AI-generated, VIN-matched photos allows dealers to list vehicles immediately and start generating customer engagement while the car is still being prepped.
There's no perfect time to adopt AI, but waiting means leaving opportunity on the table.
Some dealers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for a clear winner to emerge in the AI space, but technology companies are constantly evolving, and early adopters are already capturing value.
"I think there's no perfect time, right? So there there can never be a perfect time when you will tell key okay this this technology is now ready to be used and there has to be a company which is evolving with time."
Dealers who wait for perfect clarity may miss months or years of incremental improvements to speed-to-lead, appointment rates, and revenue per lead.
