Answers from your real inventory
Searches your live stock on every reply. If the unit a buyer asked about has sold, it says so and offers the closest alternatives you actually have.
AI answers every lead.
Your rep takes the ones that matter.
The AI Responder is the part of AutoLens that answers buyers who text your dealership. When a shopper texts the number on your Marketplace listing, it replies by SMS in seconds. It checks your live inventory, suggests alternatives when a unit is gone, and books the visit. If the buyer wants to negotiate, asks for a trade value, or asks for a person, the thread goes to a rep and the AI steps back.
Start 7-day free trialRead how handoff works
Included in Starter · SMS in Canada (Twilio) and Brazil (Zenvia)
SMS · Sarah K.
SK
Hi — saw the 2019 Civic on Marketplace. Is it still available?
2:41 PM
AI · 2:41 PM
On every inbound text
It does the first ten minutes of the job.
A buyer texts the number in your Marketplace listing. Within seconds the AI has looked up the vehicle, answered the question, and asked for the next step.
Books the visit
Offers open times based on your business hours and existing appointments. If the buyer names a day and time, it checks that slot and books it. Every booking creates a task for the rep.
Qualifies as it goes
Saves the name, timeline, and trade-in details the buyer mentions, scores the lead, and moves it forward in the pipeline. It never moves a lead backward.
Turns finance questions into visits
Financing and payment questions are strong buying signals. Instead of quoting a rate it can’t know, it invites the buyer in to go over the numbers with your finance team.
Handoff
It knows when to stop talking.
Some conversations need a person. When one of these comes up, the AI stops, pauses itself on that thread, and creates a task for the assigned rep.
- The buyer asks for a person
- They start negotiating price
- They want a trade-in value quoted
- They want to submit a credit application
- A complaint, or clear frustration
- A legal or privacy request
- Any opt-out keyword (handled before the AI sees it)
- They decline to come in but still need specific numbers
Staying in control
Your team can always take over.
Pauses when a rep replies
The moment someone on your team sends a message, the AI steps back on that thread. If nobody follows up for 30 minutes, it picks the conversation back up with a message that bridges the gap.
Off switch per thread and per lead
Turn the AI off for one conversation, or switch it off for a lead permanently. Useful for VIPs, sensitive deals, and anyone who asked to deal with a person.
Your dealership’s voice
Three tone sliders (formality, urgency, enthusiasm), a persona name, and an “about us” blurb. Settings → Branding shows a live SMS preview as you adjust.
Leads reach the right rep
Give each salesperson their own number so texts land with them, or turn on rotation so new leads on the shared number are handed out in turn.
Guardrails
What it will never say.
A reply goes out under your dealership’s name, so these rules are built into how the AI is prompted, not left to chance.
- Never quotes rates, payments, approval odds, trade values, discounts, or delivery dates
- Never invents inventory: it answers only from your data and its own lookups
- Never claims to be human. Asked directly, it says it’s the dealership’s virtual assistant
- Never promises a callback without creating the task that makes it happen
- Knows today’s date, your hours, and whether you’re open, so it doesn’t book a closed day
- Uses your vocabulary: “test ride” and “unit” for powersports, “test drive” for auto
Every AI reply passes the same consent, quiet-hours, and opt-out checks as a message a rep sends. See the CASL page for how that works.
Straight answers
What it doesn’t do.
Worth knowing before you decide, not after.
- Channels other than SMS
The AI Responder works by text message only. It doesn’t answer email, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, or phone calls.
- Calling leads
There is no voice AI. It won’t place or answer calls.
- Closing the deal
It won’t negotiate, value a trade, or take a credit application. Those go to a person, on purpose.
- Full French conversations
French opt-out and help keywords get French replies. We don’t yet promise that every AI conversation will be held in French.
Stop losing leads after hours.
The AI Responder is part of the Starter plan, along with the pipeline, dashboards, and compliance tools. Try it free for 7 days.
Card required to start the trial. Cancel before day 7 and you won’t be charged.