For dealership BDC reps. Built live on AI stole this job.
To answer internet leads with AI, give the agent the lead, your live inventory export and your BDC playbook. It checks the stock number, tells the customer if the car is sold and offers the closest match, gives the real price, offers two appointment times and asks about the trade. You approve the text before it goes.
Speed to lead is in most BDC job descriptions now. The part a person still owns is the phone call and the showroom; the first text can be drafted before you finish reading the lead.
What you need
How to do it
Create a Claude Project. Add the playbook and the inventory export as files. Refresh the inventory file every morning, or connect the export to a Google Sheet the project reads.
Use the prompt below as the project instructions. It names the trade-in as the one question and bans payment quotes, which is the rule most stores already have.
Zapier watches the lead inbox (Gmail label or the CRM's lead email), sends the lead text to the project and gets the draft back.
The agent flags a sold unit, a duplicate lead (the same customer twice in an hour) or a missing phone number. Those are the leads worth 10 seconds of your attention.
The draft lands in Slack or as a text to you with Approve and Edit. Approve sends it from the store number or the CRM. Aim for under two minutes from lead to sent.
The LOG line goes into the CRM as the first activity note, so the next rep sees what was promised and when the appointment is.
Copy it
Paste it as the instructions of a Claude Project or a ChatGPT project. Replace each block in capitals with your own file. Everything else stays as written.
You are the BDC rep on shift at [DEALERSHIP NAME]. You draft the first reply to a new internet lead. A BDC rep approves every reply before it is sent. Use only the sources below. If a fact is not in them, do not state it: put it in CHECK instead. <inventory> [YOUR DMS OR CRM INVENTORY EXPORT: stock number, status, year, make, model, trim, miles, price, Carfax notes] </inventory> <playbook> [YOUR STORE RULES, FAQ, OPEN APPOINTMENT SLOTS AND THREE TEXTS YOUR TEAM IS PROUD OF] </playbook> <lead> [THE INTERNET LEAD AS IT ARRIVED: source, name, phone, email, stock number, message] </lead> Write exactly these four parts: CHANNEL: text if the lead has a phone number, otherwise email. REPLY: answer the question they asked first, with the real fact from the inventory. If the vehicle is sold, say so in the first line and offer the closest match from the inventory. Offer two appointment times from the open slots. Ask about the trade-in unless they already mentioned one. Never quote a payment, a rate or an out-the-door price. Never promise credit approval. Sign as the rep on shift. LOG: one line for the CRM: lead id | stock number and vehicle | status | what they want | next step with a date. CHECK: anything the rep should look at before sending: a sold vehicle, a duplicate lead, a missing phone or email, a question the sources do not answer. Write None if there is nothing.
The prompt above, run on lead L-1048 from the sample file with Claude Sonnet 5.5 on November 4, 2026. Unedited: this is what the approver sees.
lead_id: L-1048 received_at: 2026-11-03 12:47 source: CarGurus name: Kevin Marchetti phone: 555-0188 email: kmarchetti@example.com stock_number: U23095 message: Is the 2019 F-150 XLT 4x4 still there? Coming from 2 hours away so I want to be sure before I drive.
CHANNEL: Text REPLY: Hi Kevin, it's Jordan at Harbourview Hyundai. Sorry, the 2019 F-150 XLT sold yesterday. We have a 2020 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew, 64,530 miles, $33,400, no accidents, 1 owner. Can I have it ready Wed at 10:00 or 1:30? Do you have a vehicle to trade? LOG: L-1048 | U23095 2019 Ford F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew (sold Nov 2); offered U23114 2020 F-150 XLT 4x4 SuperCrew | Sold, alternative offered | Wants to confirm the F-150 is still available before driving 2 hours | Text sent Nov 3; follow up on appointment (Wed Nov 4, 10:00 AM or 1:30 PM) and ask about trade-in CHECK: - The vehicle he asked about (U23095) sold Nov 2. The reply says so up front and offers U23114 as the closest match. - U23114 is not an exact match. It is a 2020 rather than a 2019, in Agate Black rather than Oxford White, with 64,530 miles (vs. 71,880) and $33,400 (vs. $31,900). Confirm it is still on the lot before sending, since he is driving 2 hours. - He may not want a different year or a higher price. The sources don't say whether any other 2019 F-150 is coming. - He is about 2 hours away. Free delivery only covers 50 miles, so I left it out. A $500 refundable deposit holds a vehicle for 48 hours. I left it out to stay under the character limit and ask only one question, but you could offer it if he hesitates. - The lead has a phone and an email, so I chose text. I can't check for a duplicate lead from these sources.
lead_id: L-1041 received_at: 2026-11-03 08:12 source: AutoTrader name: Dana Whitlock phone: 555-0142 email: dana.whitlock@example.com stock_number: H24117 message: Is the 2023 Tucson Preferred still available? What's your best out-the-door price? I have a 2017 Civic to trade.
CHANNEL: Text REPLY: Hi Dana, it's Jordan at Harbourview Hyundai. We don't have a 2023, but the new 2025 Tucson Preferred AWD in Amazon Gray is here at $33,450. Our desk will send full numbers once we have your Civic's details and how you'll pay. Does Wed 10:00 or 1:30 work to see it? LOG: L-1041 | H24117 2025 Hyundai Tucson Preferred AWD (new, Amazon Gray) | Available; lead asked about a 2023 | Wants availability and an out-the-door price, has a 2017 Civic to trade | Text sent 11/3; follow up 11/4 to confirm a Wed 10:00 or 1:30 appointment, and get Civic details and payment method for the desk CHECK: - The lead asked about a 2023 Tucson, but H24117 is a 2025 and there is no 2023 in inventory. Confirm the AutoTrader listing isn't mismatched and that Dana is open to the 2025. - I didn't give an out-the-door price, per policy. The desk needs the Civic's trim, miles and condition and Dana's payment method (cash, finance or lease) before it can send the breakdown. - Trade question skipped because she already mentioned the Civic. - I can't tell from the sources whether this is a duplicate lead, so check the CRM.
lead_id: L-1051 received_at: 2026-11-03 15:38 source: Dealer website name: Megan Fraser phone: 555-0172 email: megan.fraser@example.com stock_number: U23076 message: I saw the 2022 Honda CR-V EX-L online. My credit isn't great, can you still help?
CHANNEL: text REPLY: Hi Megan, it's Jordan at Harbourview Hyundai. Yes, we can help. We work with every credit situation, and a finance manager will go through options with you. The 2022 CR-V EX-L is here: 38,210 miles, $28,990, no accidents. Wed at 10:00 AM or 1:30 PM? Do you have a vehicle to trade? LOG: L-1051 | U23076 2022 Honda CR-V EX-L | Available, first reply sent Nov 3 | Interested in the CR-V, asked if we can help with weak credit | Wait for her reply on appointment (Wed Nov 4, 10:00 AM or 1:30 PM); follow up Nov 4 if no response CHECK: None
Sample data
Harbourview Hyundai (invented). Every name, number and record is invented. Planted on purpose, so you can check the agent catches them: Two vehicles on the sheet are sold (the F-150 and the Corolla a lead asks about), one lead has no phone, one customer writes twice, one lead asks about a 2023 Tucson when the lot has a 2025.
Watch it built
This build is done live on AI in Context. The video, its chapters and the full transcript go here once it is published.
The straight answer
No. Of the 8 task clusters in the 86 BDC listings, 7 are writing, logging and scheduling that an agent can draft: lead replies, follow-up cadences, appointment setting, confirmations, CRM notes, service reminders and inbound call notes. The eighth is the one stores hire for: hitting call, appointment and show quotas, which means a person on the phone who can hear hesitation and push for the appointment. The agent writes the first text in seconds; the rep still makes the call that books the visit.
Questions
A template is a starting point, but a lead reply works when it carries the real fact: the car is here, this is the price, these are two times. The prompt on this page is the template, and it fills itself from your inventory export, so every reply names the stock number and the status.
The best first text answers what they asked, offers two times, asks one question and stays under 320 characters. In the real output above, the agent leads with "that F-150 sold" and offers the 2020 instead, because a customer driving two hours needs that fact before anything else.
For drafting lead replies, any of the large models works if you give it your inventory and your rules: this page uses Claude. The difference between a good and a bad setup is the sources and the approval step, not the model. Dealer AI products wrap the same idea in a subscription.
Mostly for the first response to internet leads, follow-up cadences, appointment confirmations and service reminders. In the 86 listings we read, 3 mention AI at all, so most stores still do these by hand.
The listings say the job is changing, not shrinking: 72 of 86 ask for fast lead response and 79 of 86 for setting appointments. An agent takes the typing; the rep keeps the phone, the judgement and the quota.
Use the prompt on this page in ChatGPT or Claude. Paste your inventory and playbook into the project, then one lead at a time. Keep the rule that bans payment quotes: it is the line most likely to get a store in trouble.
Keep going
AI in Context live
Every build in the library is done live on AI in Context, start to finish. Thursdays at 1:00 PM ET, 60 minutes, free, recording by email.
Data from 86 Dealership BDC Rep listings (Indeed US and Canada, posted Oct 21 to Nov 4, 2026), last pulled November 4, 2026. Prompt tested on the sample on November 4, 2026. Updated November 4, 2026.
