Most dealers trust their sales teams. Few trust AI for follow-ups.
Car dealers are confident their salespeople can convert leads, but they remain skeptical of artificial intelligence handling that work. A survey of 252 franchised dealers found 72% say they are very or extremely confident their sales process converts leads effectively - yet only 14% have confidence in AI tools for lead follow-up.
The Urban Science study, conducted with The Harris Poll, reveals a significant gap between trust in human sellers and trust in automation. Dealers rely almost entirely on their sales teams for lead outreach, at least for now.
The follow-up challenge
Speed matters. Three-quarters of dealers follow up on leads in less than five minutes. Consumers expect it: 82% said follow-up is important or extremely important, and 72% expect to hear from a dealership within 24 hours of expressing interest.
Yet dealers struggle with visibility into what's actually happening. When asked about limitations in their sales process, 38% cited a lack of real-time insights into lost sales, and 34% pointed to inconsistent follow-up. More than seven in 10 dealers said they are not fully satisfied with their ability to know if a lead has defected.
That blindness creates a problem. Salespeople need to allocate their time effectively, but most dealers lack clear data on which leads are slipping away and why.
What dealers say they need
Eric Demont, global product director of dealership solutions at Urban Science, said dealers identified their top priority: improving lead-to-sale conversion rates.
"Dealers first need a clear understanding of what is driving their sales teams' wins and losses, including daily defection insights," Demont said. "Once they have visibility into defection patterns, dealers can use that information to drive store performance by making targeted improvements to their follow-up, training and marketing workflows."
For sales professionals, this means the tools you use matter less than the data you can access. Better visibility into lost leads and defection patterns directly affects how you spend your time and where you focus effort.
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