For dealers
How to Choose an AI BDC: What to Look For and What It Costs
Every AI BDC demo looks good. The differences show up on your own website, at night, with a real buyer asking about a real unit.
Five checks separate one AI BDC from another, and they also explain most of what drives the price.
What to check before you buy an AI BDC
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Measure response time on your own site
Every vendor claims speed. Test it by submitting a lead on your own website at night and timing the reply. Ekho’s AI Sales Agent replies in under five seconds, on the website and over text.
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Check that it answers from your inventory
Ask about a specific unit and a model nickname a buyer would actually type. An AI BDC that cannot find the right unit, or invents one, creates more work than it saves.
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Check what it writes back to your CRM
An AI BDC that only reads leads leaves your team re-keying conversations. Look for two-way sync, readable field mapping and sync status you can see on each lead.
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Check how far a conversation can go
Some tools stop at a contact form. Others book appointments your team can staff, pre-qualify the buyer, or carry the conversation into checkout. The further it goes, the fewer leads stall waiting for a person.
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Check the handover
When a person takes over, the full conversation should go with the lead, and routing should pick the right department and person. A buyer who has to repeat themselves is a buyer you have annoyed.
Go deeper
How an AI BDC works by dealership type, and the long-form guide to AI sales agents.
The Complete Guide to AI Sales Agents for Vehicle Dealerships (2026)
Questions dealers ask
Five things: real response time on your own site, answers drawn from your live inventory, two-way sync with your CRM and DMS, how far a conversation can go before a human is needed, and a clean handover with the full conversation attached. Test each on your own website before you sign.
It depends on how the vendor prices and what is included. Vendors price in different ways, such as per rooftop or by lead or conversation volume, so compare like for like. What moves the cost is the number of rooftops, the channels covered, whether CRM and DMS integration is included or extra, and whether the tool stops at the conversation or continues into financing and checkout. Ask every vendor for a quote on the same scope, and book a demo with Ekho for yours.
Compare it against what a staffed BDC costs to cover every hour, including nights and weekends, and against the leads that go unanswered today. The useful comparison is coverage and response time for the money, not headcount alone.
Ask the vendor to answer a lead on your own website live, find a specific unit from your inventory, show what lands in your CRM afterwards, and show what happens when a buyer asks for a person.