Reference guide

Dealership AI and lead terms: a plain-English glossary.

A dealership glossary defines the words used to work leads and run AI follow-up: speed to lead is how fast you answer a new lead, an ADF lead is a lead sent in the industry's standard lead format, an AI BDC is an AI assistant that does a BDC's front-line work, A2P 10DLC is the carrier registration system for business texting in the United States, and show rate is how many booked visits arrive. 40 terms follow in four groups, each in one short paragraph you can read on its own.

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Updated October 13, 202610 min readBy the Dealer Ad Solutions team

The short answer

This glossary defines the words used to work dealership leads and run AI follow-up, in four groups: AI and BDC terms, leads and lead sources, texting, consent and rules, and visits, price and results.
Speed to lead is how fast a business answers a new lead; for a car dealership the target is within 5 minutes, and under one minute is better still.
An AI BDC is an AI assistant that does the front-line work of a business development center: it answers every new lead, qualifies the buyer, follows up and books the appointment, then hands the customer to your team.
A2P 10DLC is the system US carriers use to register business texting, the TCPA is the US federal law behind consent and the right to stop, and CASL is Canada's anti-spam law. These are plain definitions, not legal advice.
Show rate is how many booked visits arrive, appointment rate is how many leads book, and cost per sale is the number to compare one lead source, or one kind of BDC, with another.

AI and BDC

AI and BDC terms: who does the front-line work.

AI appointment setter

An AI appointment setter is an AI assistant whose main job is to book the visit. An AI BDC does that and the work around it: it answers the first message, qualifies the buyer, follows up for months, sends reminders and hands the buyer to a salesperson with a briefing.

AI BDC

An AI BDC is an AI assistant that does the front-line work of a business development center: it answers every new lead, qualifies the buyer, follows up and books the appointment, then hands the customer to your team. It works day or night, in any language. Read AI BDC for car dealerships or compare it with an outsourced and an in-house BDC.

BDC

A BDC, short for business development center, is the team that works a dealership's incoming leads and calls. It answers them, qualifies the buyer, follows up and books the appointment before a salesperson takes over.

Customer memory

Customer memory means keeping one record of each customer across text, Facebook, Instagram and website chat, and across months. A buyer who writes on Facebook on Monday and texts on Thursday is one customer, and whoever answers can see the whole history. See AI lead follow-up.

Digital assistant

"The dealership's digital assistant" is the plain name our assistant gives itself whenever a customer asks if they are talking to a person. It never claims to be a person.

Drip text

A drip text is one message in a set sequence, sent on a schedule, usually from a CRM. Drips suit simple, predictable touches, but they are one-way: they do not read the reply, and they can repeat the same text.

Hand-off

A hand-off is the moment an assistant passes a customer to a person, such as when payments, rates, credit or trade value come up, or when a visit is booked. A good hand-off gives the salesperson a task with a briefing on what the customer wants.

In-house BDC

An in-house BDC is a BDC team made up of the dealership's own employees, working your shifts in your CRM. You control the training and the words, and you handle the hiring, schedules and turnover. See the full comparison.

Missed-call text-back

Missed-call text-back is a text sent to a caller your team missed, within minutes between 8 AM and 8 PM, so the conversation can carry on by text. It does not take the call: live calls stay with your team. Read the missed-call text-back guide.

Outsourced BDC

An outsourced BDC is an outside company whose agents work your leads, usually including your phones, under a contract. Its hours, speed and quality vary by contract and by agent. See AI BDC vs outsourced vs in-house.

Pause and take over

To pause and take over is to step into a conversation the assistant is handling. Your team can leave the assistant a note and it acts on it, type "pause" to stop its replies, or take over any conversation at any moment.

Leads

Leads and lead sources: where buyers come from.

ADF lead

An ADF lead is a lead sent in ADF, short for Auto-lead Data Format, the industry's standard lead format. Listing sites and manufacturer programs usually send leads this way, as an email or a feed into a CRM, and they should arrive as clean records, not emails someone retypes.

CRM

A CRM, or customer relationship management system, is where a dealership keeps its contacts, sales pipeline, calendars, tasks and conversations. A good one keeps one record per customer across every channel and shows each salesperson the whole history. See the dealership CRM.

DMS

A DMS, or dealer management system, is the software that runs a dealership's deals, accounting and vehicle records. A CRM often connects to it so nobody enters the same deal twice.

Internet lead

An internet lead is a buyer who contacts a dealership online: a website form, website chat, a Facebook or Instagram message, a listing-site inquiry or an ad lead form. The first useful reply often gets the visit.

Inventory feed

An inventory feed is a regular data file of the vehicles on your lot. The assistant checks it before it mentions a vehicle and sends the listing link, and Google vehicle ads run from a feed too, so it has to be accurate and current.

Lead management

Lead management is how a store receives, answers, tracks and follows up every lead until the buyer buys or says no. It puts every lead from every source in one place, gives each lead one owner and records the outcome. See car dealership lead generation.

Lead source

A lead source is where a lead came from: your website and chat, Google ads, Facebook and Instagram, listing sites, phone calls, walk-ins, past customers, the service drive or referrals. Judge each source by visits and sales, not by how many leads it sends.

Listing-site lead

A listing-site lead is a buyer's inquiry sent by a third-party vehicle listing site. It usually arrives as an email in ADF and can sit in an inbox until someone reads it. Some may be sold to several dealers, so speed matters even more.

Old lead

An old lead is a lead that went quiet: the buyer asked about a vehicle days, weeks or months ago and stopped replying. Many buyers are not ready the week they first ask, so a short, personal message with a new reason to reply can bring them back, if the person agreed to be texted. Read how to follow up old car leads.

Texting

Texting, consent and rules: what a business must respect.

A2P 10DLC

A2P 10DLC (application-to-person, 10-digit long code) is the system US mobile carriers use to register business texting sent from local numbers. A dealership registers who it is and what it will text about, using its legal name and tax ID, and texting goes live once the carriers approve it. General guidance, not legal advice. See the five texting rules.

CASL

CASL is Canada's anti-spam law. It sets the consent rules for commercial electronic messages, texts included. General guidance, not legal advice. See the five texting rules.

Messaging window

A messaging window is the time during which a platform lets a business message a person freely. Facebook and Instagram generally allow it only within 24 hours of the person's last message, with narrow exceptions, so longer follow-up runs by text. See the lead follow-up playbook.

Opt-out

An opt-out is a customer's request to stop messages. A STOP by text, Messenger, Instagram or web chat is recorded right away and stops automated messages on every channel, apart from one confirmation, until the customer texts START.

Quiet hours

Quiet hours are the hours when a business should not start texts, and some states and provinces set their own limits. Our assistant's first texts to new leads and missed callers go out within minutes between 8 AM and 8 PM, and its replies to a customer who just wrote can go out at any hour. General guidance, not legal advice. See the five texting rules.

TCPA

The TCPA, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, is the US federal law that sets the main rules for business calls and texts, including consent and the right to stop. General guidance, not legal advice. See the five texting rules.

Results

Visits, price and results: the numbers that matter.

Appointment rate

Appointment rate is how many leads book a visit or a call. It is the main job of any BDC, human or AI.

Contact rate

Contact rate is how many leads you reach in a real two-way conversation. A low rate can point to slow first replies or wrong contact details.

Cost per appointment

Cost per appointment is what you spend to get one booked visit. Judge ads and lead sources by cost per appointment and cost per sale, not by cost per lead.

Cost per sale

Cost per sale is what the leads and the BDC cost for each car sold. It is the number to compare an AI BDC with people, or one lead source with another.

F&I

F&I is finance and insurance: the dealership's finance office, where credit applications and financing are handled. Our assistant leaves financing questions to your team.

Listed price

A listed price is the price shown on a vehicle's page on your website. Our assistant can share a listed website price for a vehicle it found in your inventory. It never quotes payments, rates, approvals, trade values or out-the-door numbers.

Out-the-door price

An out-the-door price is the total to drive a vehicle off the lot, including taxes and fees. It depends on the deal and the buyer, so our assistant never quotes one: it goes to your team.

Qualified appointment

A qualified appointment is a visit or phone appointment booked for a specific day and time, with a customer who named the vehicle or type they want, said they intend to buy or finance, and confirmed the time. It is what our guarantee counts. Staff and test contacts do not count.

Reminders

Reminders are the texts sent before a booked visit, the day before and the hour before, to help buyers show up or move the time instead of disappearing.

Response time

Response time is how long a new lead waits for a real answer. Check nights and weekends as well as the middle of the day. See car dealership lead response time.

Show rate

Show rate is how many booked visits actually arrive. Reminders and a clear confirmation help.

Speed to lead

Speed to lead is how fast a business answers a new lead. For a car dealership the target is within 5 minutes, and under one minute is better still, because buyers often ask several stores at once and the first useful reply often gets the visit. See car dealership lead response time.

Trade value

Trade value is what a dealership will pay or credit for a customer's trade-in vehicle. It needs eyes on the car and a real conversation, so our assistant can collect details and photos, and your team sets the value.

From words to work

Terms are the start. Working every lead is the job.

Our AI assistant answers every message within a minute, day or night, follows up for up to 8 months and books visits onto your calendar. Looking for a longer read on one of these terms? Browse all our guides.

Quick answers about dealership terms.

See every question

What is speed to lead?

Speed to lead is how fast a business answers a new lead. For a car dealership the target is within 5 minutes, and under one minute is better still, because buyers often ask several stores at once and the first useful reply often gets the visit.

What is an AI BDC?

An AI BDC is an AI assistant that does the front-line work of a business development center: it answers every new lead, qualifies the buyer, follows up and books the appointment, then hands the customer to your team. It works day or night, in any language, and your team takes over whenever a person should.

Is an AI BDC the same as an AI appointment setter?

An AI BDC and an AI appointment setter are close. An appointment setter's job is to book the visit. An AI BDC does that and the work around it: it answers the first message, qualifies the buyer, follows up for months, sends reminders the day before and the hour before, and hands the buyer to a salesperson with a briefing.

What is an ADF lead?

An ADF lead is a lead sent in ADF, short for Auto-lead Data Format, the industry's standard lead format. Listing sites and manufacturer programs usually send leads this way, as an email or a feed into a CRM.

What is A2P 10DLC?

A2P 10DLC is the system US mobile carriers use to register business texting sent from local numbers. A dealership registers who it is and what it will text about, using its legal name and tax ID, and texting goes live once the carriers approve it. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

What is show rate at a dealership?

Show rate is how many booked visits actually arrive. Reminders the day before and the hour before, and a clear confirmation, help buyers show up or move the time.

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