What is the Podium AI Operating System for dealerships?
The Podium AI OS for dealerships is an AI-driven platform built to help auto dealerships boost sales and service. It responds to every inbound lead instantly across all channels—text, phone calls, webchat, social, and email. The AI OS uses Jerry, your AI Employee, to book test drives, schedule service appointments, mine for revenue opportunities, nurture leads over time, and hand off leads to your sales team when a buyer is ready. He knows your full inventory, your dealership’s playbooks, and the way you treat leads and customers, just like your best sales rep.
How difficult is it to switch to Podium from another platform?
Podium’s onboarding team aims to have you up and running in days, not months. The onboarding team makes the transition as smooth as possible:
White-glove onboarding within 48 hours of signing
Dedicated team to answer questions
Data migration (customers, ROs, purchase history, etc.)
We test and refine your AI Employee until it reflects your dealership
Staff training for your entire team
White-glove onboarding within 48 hours of signing
Dedicated team to answer questions
Data migration (customers, ROs, purchase history, etc.)
We test and refine your AI Employee until it reflects your dealership
Staff training for your entire team
Our goal is to minimize disruption so your dealership stays up and running during the change. Book a meeting today to learn more.
Who is Podium’s AI Operating System for dealerships best suited for?
The Podium AI OS is built for auto dealerships, whether you manage sales, service, or both. It’s built to help you run your entire dealership more efficiently. It connects operations, customer communication, scheduling, marketing, and sales into one, streamlined system.
It’s a perfect for dealerships that want to:
Use AI to reduce manual work for their team
Answer every lead from every channel, 24/7
Lean on AI to proactively mine for potential revenue opportunities 24/7
Consolidate multiple tools into one system
Deliver a better customer experience
Work with a responsive, service-first technology partner
How is Podium different from competitors?
Podium’s AI OS for dealerships is known as best in class and used by 1 in every 4 American auto dealers. The AI Employee, Jerry, gives relevant, empathetic, and human-like answers. It’s goal-oriented, trainable, and always evolving to be your best employee.
Other platforms and AI tools fall short with simple FAQ AI agents, no full context on your inventory, and repeated scripts to have leads come into the dealership without first offering relevant answers to questions. These tools are often stagnant and impersonal with no historical context to truly help leads through your pipeline.
How are Operator and Jerry different?
Jerry talks to your customers. It works every sales and service lead across every channel, texting, following up, and booking appointments around the clock. Operator talks to you. It's the agent built for the GM (or whoever's running the store), surfacing insights, recommending next moves, and taking action on your dealership's data once you approve it.
Can Operator take action without my approval?
No. Operator drafts and queues work, like campaigns, follow-ups, and coaching notes, but nothing goes out until you approve it. It shows its work at every step, so you can see exactly what it looked at before it recommended anything. As you get more comfortable, you can hand it more to run on its own, but it always reports back on what it did..
What dealership data and systems can Operator analyze?
Operator works from what's already flowing into Podium: your conversations, texts, calls, CRM activity, and DMS or repair order data. If you're on Dealertrack, Operator can use that repair-order data once it's connected to Podium, though coverage varies by account and Operator doesn't set up that connection itself. One thing to know: Operator only sees what's in Podium, so a customer who calls or walks in off-platform won't show up until that interaction is logged in the system.