Viova has launched what it claims is the UK’s first AI voice agent developed specifically for the motor retail sector, enabling dealerships to manage inbound sales and aftersales enquiries around the clock.
The cloud-based system is designed to answer calls outside normal business hours and during periods of high demand, allowing customers to book workshop appointments, enquire about vehicle availability and receive follow-up communications without speaking to a member of staff.
Viova said the AI Voice Agent integrates with dealer management systems (DMS) and customer relationship management (CRM) platforms, allowing enquiries to be processed automatically while creating call transcripts and performance reports.
What is agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to AI systems that act autonomously to achieve goals, rather than just responding to direct commands.
These digital agents can set their own objectives, make plans, use tools and learn from their actions to improve over time.
This differs from traditional AI because agentic AI can independently execute multi-step tasks with minimal human intervention, like booking a flight based on a goal to “climb Mt. Everest”.
Built to support dealership teams
The company said the technology is designed to complement existing dealership teams rather than replace them, handling routine customer enquiries when staff are unavailable or call volumes exceed capacity.
The AI agent can manage multiple calls simultaneously and uses natural language processing to direct enquiries without customers being diverted to voicemail.
Viova said the system has already been deployed by more than 75 motor retail businesses in the United States, Canada, Spain and Germany.
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Dealers lose thousands of calls
Will Desormeau, chief executive of Viova, said many dealerships continue to miss opportunities because inbound calls go unanswered.
“On average, 30% of a dealership’s inbound calls aren’t answered.
“Our technology doesn’t replace a dealer’s staff. Instead it removes the pressure during peak call volume periods and after hours, so that dealers can capture leads and revenues that would otherwise be lost.
“It also means more customers get the outcome they are looking for, rather than feeling they are being deflected by voicemail. Our AI agent uses a natural, professional voice that feels natural and well informed. Importantly, it has been built for dealerships, so it understands the dynamics around service scheduling, sales routing and fixed-ops pressures.”
Viova is part of the Valsoft Group and said its AI technology is underpinned by Google Gemini.