Question 1
Show me the texts, not the dashboard.
Ask to see the conversations a buyer would get: the first reply at 2 a.m., a follow-up on day 12, the reply on day 40. A dashboard tells you what the vendor counts. The texts tell you what your customers read.
Question 2
What will it never say?
Get the list in writing: payments, rates, taxes, invented discounts, trade-in numbers, credit, cars that are not on the lot. Then ask how it is enforced: by the prompt alone, or by code that checks every message before it is sent.
Question 3
How fast is the first answer, and how is that measured?
Ask for a median, not a best case, measured from when the lead lands, not from when someone opens it. More than half of internet leads arrive after close, so the night number is the one that matters.
Question 4
How long does follow-up last, and what does each message say?
Many programs stop within a few weeks or turn into a monthly blast. Ask what message 6 and message 15 look like, and what gives each one a reason to exist.
Question 5
Does it know my lot?
Can it tell a buyer the car sold and offer the closest match? Text them when the price drops? Send photos of the actual car? Ask where the inventory comes from and how fresh it is.
Question 6
Does it say it is an AI?
Buyers increasingly expect to be told. Ask how it discloses, and what happens when a buyer asks for a person: does your rep get the whole conversation?
Question 7
What happens when a buyer says stop?
STOP keywords are the minimum. Ask what happens when a buyer writes "please stop texting me" or "not interested" in their own words.
Question 8
What does it cost, all in?
Per store, per month, including setup, overages and contract length. If the vendor will not say before a call, ask why.
Question 9
Who owns the data?
Ask whether your customers' conversations are locked to your store, and whether they are ever used or sold beyond it.
How we answer them
- Our texts are on our site.
- Our seven rules are in writing and checked by code on every message.
- Our median first answer is 9 seconds, measured from when the lead lands.
- Follow-up runs for months, with a reason each time.
- The first message says it is an AI.
- Any request to stop, in any words, stops it.
- $1,497 CAD per store a month, no contract.
- Your conversations are never used to train general-purpose models or sold.
Scorecard
Score every vendor the same way. Rate each answer: shown, told, or not answered.
| Question | Vendor A | Vendor B | Vendor C |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Shows the real texts | |||
| 2. Never-say list, enforced by code | |||
| 3. Median first answer, from arrival | |||
| 4. Follow-up length, a reason each time | |||
| 5. Knows the lot: sold, price drops, real photos | |||
| 6. Says it is an AI, hands to a person | |||
| 7. Stops on any request to stop | |||
| 8. Full price, before the call | |||
| 9. Your data stays yours |
"Shown" means you saw it working on real or realistic leads. "Told" means a slide or a promise.