Ekho AI Sales Agent vs Impel Sales AI
Impel is the biggest autonomous sales agent in the category and is certified by around twenty manufacturers. Ekho answers the buyer too, and can carry a ready one through to a completed sale.
This is the closest comparison on the site, because both products are genuinely autonomous agents rather than chat widgets with a person behind them. Impel is the incumbent and the larger company by a wide margin: "Trusted by 8,000 Dealers and OEMs in 50+ Countries" by their own account, with certified programmes published for around twenty manufacturers including Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Audi, Porsche, General Motors and Stellantis. Their Sales AI works a lead over SMS and email and, in their words, is "autonomously working every lead, in your voice, across every channel, without ever waiting to be told", with shared inventory awareness across group rooftops and units in transit, autonomous appointment booking into the CRM, and a VinVision AI product that answers a shopper with a personalised avatar video. Their Chat AI answers on the website and books sales and service appointments inside the conversation. That is a serious product and on a franchise store spending co-op money it is very hard to argue against. Where Ekho differs is what happens at the two ends of the conversation. The agent runs soft-pull pre-qualification against real lenders inside the thread with a credit floor you set, it answers in 25 languages you turn on per site, and where you switch it on the same thread can carry a ready buyer through signing, taxes, fees, titling and registration in all 50 states. Impel prepares the lead and hands it over; we can finish it. Outside franchise automotive, Impel runs a Kawasaki programme, but marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs are not described on their site and are segments Ekho was built in.
SIDE BY SIDE
Ekho AI Sales Agent and Impel (Sales AI, Chat AI), capability by capability
| Capability | Ekho AI Sales Agent | Impel (Sales AI, Chat AI) | Stronger |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the product is for | Answering the buyer, and optionally finishing the deal | Working every lead autonomously to a booked appointment, across a suite that also covers service, marketing and merchandising | Comparable |
| Channels the AI speaks on | Website chat and text, held as one continuous thread, with email and AI phone calls in development | Sales AI runs "SMS + email orchestration", and Chat AI covers the website. Email is a channel we do not have | Impel |
| First response | Under five seconds, any hour | No figure published. Their material describes intelligent automation that runs around the clock | Ekho |
| Answering from live inventory | Names the actual unit, the actual price and real availability from your live feed, and answers questions about it | "Knows your entire network: every rooftop, every lot, every unit in transit", and Chat AI pulls photos and features into the conversation | Comparable |
| Autonomy on the lead | The agent answers the buyer itself and escalates only what it cannot finish | "Autonomously working every lead, in your voice, across every channel, without ever waiting to be told", with alerts that loop your team in "only when it's go-time" | Comparable |
| "Can I get approved?" | Soft-pull pre-qualification in the thread against real lenders, with a credit range you set deciding who gets an approval and who goes to a finance manager | Sales AI "answers complex inquiries on inventory, financing, and trade-ins". No soft-pull pre-qualification is described | Ekho |
| "What's the monthly on this?" | Surfaces a pre-qualification CTA when payments or financing come up, and the approval range comes back in the thread. The agent does not quote a monthly on the unit; the payment is built in checkout | Not described on their site | Comparable |
| Trade-in valuation | In development. The agent can book a trade-in appraisal, but not return a number | Chat AI "fields detailed questions across inventory, financing, trade-in value, and service", which they describe as the conversations that usually force a handoff. No standalone valuation tool is named | Impel |
| Completing the sale | Checkout, financing, taxes and fees, signing, titling and registration in all 50 states. Optional and off unless you turn it on | Not described on their site. The agent works the lead to an appointment and your team closes it | Ekho |
| Languages | 25 languages you turn on per website, Spanish included. The agent picks up the buyer's language on their first message and stays in it, and the buyer can switch from a language pill in the chat widget | No languages named on their site, though they claim dealers and OEMs in "50+ Countries" | Ekho |
| Who configures the agent | You do. Name, personality, permissions, greeting and source documents, per rooftop, from the Admin Portal, live and without a release | The agent works "in your voice", but who edits it and how quickly is not described on their site | Ekho |
| What the agent knows about your store | Upload your own manufacturer, finance and policy documents and the agent answers from them, on web chat and over text | Chat AI "pulls from your live inventory and your dealership's own policies, so shoppers get accurate, store-specific answers instead of generic deflection" | Ekho |
| Appointment booking | Reads your real open windows, proposes a time, takes the buyer's name and number and books it into your calendar | "CRM and inventory integrations for autonomous appointment booking", and Chat AI "schedules sales and service appointments inside the conversation itself, connecting to your CRM and scheduler" | Comparable |
| Handover to your rep | Everything the agent could not finish lands in one queue with the buyer, the unit and the ask. The moment the rep replies the agent stands down on every conversation that lead has, so nobody gets two voices at once | Intelligent alerts loop the team in, and "your team can jump in seamlessly from desktop or mobile" | Ekho |
| A group of several rooftops | One parent account with an agent per store, group defaults each rooftop inherits, cross-location routing, and one place to see every lead | Sold as unified infrastructure across a group, with shared inventory awareness across rooftops | Comparable |
| Manufacturer-level deployment | A brand-scoped agent on a manufacturer's own site that hands each buyer to the nearest authorised dealer, whose agent picks the conversation up | Certified in manufacturer programmes for dealers. An agent running on the manufacturer's own site is not described | Ekho |
| Vehicle segments | Automotive, new and used, plus powersports, golf carts and LSVs, marine and RV, with the integrations and titling work each one needs | Automotive, and powersports through a Kawasaki programme. Marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs are not described on their site | Ekho |
| Installed base | Newer, and growing fast. Three manufacturers deploy Ekho across their dealer networks, and stores run it across automotive, powersports, marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs. | "Trusted by 8,000 Dealers and OEMs in 50+ Countries", by their own account | Comparable |
WHERE WE WIN
Where Ekho is stronger
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The approval question gets answered, not queued
"Can I get approved?" is the moment a buyer goes quiet, and it is answered in the thread: soft-pull pre-qualification against real lenders, with a credit range you set deciding who gets an approval and who goes to a finance manager. Impel's agent can discuss financing; ours can run it.
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The deal can actually finish
Signing, taxes and fees, titling and registration in all 50 states sit under the same conversation, so a ready buyer is not handed off at the appointment. It is a switch per rooftop and it is off until you turn it on, so you can run Ekho purely as an appointment-setter and turn the rest on later without changing tools.
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It answers in the buyer's language
25 languages, Spanish included, turned on per site by you. The agent picks up the buyer's language on their first message and holds it for the whole conversation, and the buyer can switch it themselves. Impel names no languages on their site.
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It is your agent, not ours
The name, the personality, what it is allowed to do, the greeting on your site and the documents it answers from are set by you, per rooftop, from the Admin Portal. Changes go live without raising a ticket or waiting on a release.
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One platform, whatever is on your lot
The same agent, checkout and 50-state compliance run across cars, powersports, marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs. That matters most to a group with a car store and a non-car division, which would otherwise buy two products and reconcile two sets of leads.
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Years in the segments an automotive product has to stretch to reach
Ekho started in powersports and grew out from there, so multi-line brand rules, boat-motor-trailer deals, LSV street-legal paperwork and RV financing terms are things the product already models. Impel runs a Kawasaki programme, so they are not absent here; ask both of us how many stores like yours we run today.
BY WHAT YOU SELL
Segment by segment, and how deep it goes
The same product across every kind of titled vehicle. This is what else you will run into in each segment, what runs the back office there, and what is specific about selling that vehicle type.
| Segment | What else you will see | Systems Ekho connects to | What is segment-specific |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive | The most crowded segment, and the one Impel is built for | Two-way sync with the dealer CRMs we support, ADF lead delivery into any CRM without a direct integration, and inventory over your existing feed | Closest fight on the site. They are ahead on scale, OEM certification, email and the service lane; we are ahead on pre-qualification in the thread, dealer-owned configuration, languages and the option to finish the sale. On a franchise store spending co-op money, settle certification first. |
| Powersports | Texting widgets, lead-generation tools, and automotive AI agents stretched to fit | Two-way sync with the DMS and CRM platforms powersports stores actually run, and scheduled inventory feeds where there is no direct connection | Impel runs a Kawasaki programme, so this is not empty ground for them. Our argument is depth: multi-line brand rules, unit-level titling and registration, and actual powersports dealers and OEMs running the product. |
| Golf cart and LSV | Thin, and mostly automotive products adapted after the fact | Inventory over an existing XML or CSV feed where there is no DMS to integrate with, which is most of this segment | LSVs are titled vehicles with state-by-state rules a generic automotive product has no concept of. Street-legal configuration and the paperwork that follows are part of the sale. |
| Marine | Thin, and mostly automotive products adapted after the fact | Feed-based inventory sync, plus the CRMs marine dealers already run | Boat, motor and trailer are three items on one deal, and the trailer is the part that needs a title. A product built for one VIN per sale does not model this. |
| RV | Thin, and mostly automotive products adapted after the fact | Feed-based inventory sync, plus the CRMs RV dealers already run | Long consideration windows on high-ticket units, where follow-up with no fixed cut-off matters, and where financing terms differ enough from automotive that a generic pre-qualification is worse than none. |
HOW TO EVALUATE
4 questions that settle it in ten minutes
Put these to any AI sales agent you are evaluating, including ours. The answers tell you more than any comparison table, including this one.
- 01
"Can I see if I would get approved without hurting my credit?"
Either the agent runs a soft pull and comes back with a range, or the buyer waits for a callback. It is the question most likely to end the conversation if it goes unanswered.
- 02
"Is this exact unit still available, and what is the out-the-door price?"
Tests whether the agent reads live inventory and whether it can add up fees and tax rather than sending the buyer a phone number.
- 03
"Will my manufacturer reimburse this?"
Certification is worth real money on a franchise store, and it is the clearest advantage Impel has. Ask for the brand and the programme by name rather than a yes.
- 04
"What happens after the buyer says yes?"
Both agents will book an appointment. Ask each what the buyer can do without waiting for a person, and on which rooftops.
Go and try to catch it out
A live store with a live agent. Ask it all four, right now, and see what comes back.
IN DEVELOPMENT
What we have not shipped yet
- Email In development
Impel's Sales AI runs SMS and email together. Ekho's agent answers on web chat and over text today, and email is being built. If email is the channel your leads actually reply on, that is a real gap right now.
- Manufacturer certification and co-op Partial
Impel publishes certified programmes for around twenty manufacturers. Ekho holds no automotive co-op certification, though three manufacturers each run Ekho across their own dealer networks. If you are spending co-op dollars, ask us plainly whether your brand will reimburse before you go further, because on most franchise brands the answer today is no.
- Trade-in valuation in the conversation In development
Impel's Chat AI claims to field detailed questions on trade-in value rather than forcing a handoff. Our agent can book a trade-in appraisal but cannot give a buyer a number yet. On a store where most deals carry a trade, that is a real gap today.
- The service lane Not on the roadmap
Impel sells Service AI alongside Sales AI. Ekho does not sell into fixed ops at all. If the problem you are solving is the service drive, we are the wrong tool.
- Marketing and merchandising Not on the roadmap
Impel sells Marketing AI and Merchandising AI as part of the same suite. Ekho does neither, so a dealer looking to consolidate vendors will consolidate onto them, not us.
- Personalised video answers Not offered
Their VinVision AI answers a shopper with an AI avatar video and a landing page built around the specific VIN. We answer in text. On a merchandising-led store that is a genuine difference.
- In-transit inventory Partial
Impel's agent knows every unit in transit across a group, not just what is on the lot. Ekho answers from your live feed and cross-location routing knows what other stores carry, but units in transit are only as visible as your feed makes them.
WHICH TO CHOOSE
It depends on what you sell and where the deal ends
- A franchise store spending manufacturer co-op dollars
Impel, probably
They publish certified programmes for around twenty brands and we hold no automotive co-op certification, though three manufacturers each run Ekho across their own dealer networks. If the budget you are spending is co-op money, that is likely to decide it regardless of anything else on this page, and we would rather you checked that first than after a demo.
- A dealer who wants one vendor for sales, service and merchandising
Impel
Sales AI, Service AI, Chat AI, Marketing AI and Merchandising AI are one suite. Ekho does the sales conversation and the transaction, and nothing in fixed ops or merchandising.
- A store whose leads only ever reply to email
Impel, for now
Their Sales AI runs SMS and email together. Ekho's email channel is in development, so until it ships they reach a channel we do not.
- A store where most deals carry a trade
Impel, for now
Their Chat AI handles trade-in value questions in the thread and ours can only book the appraisal. It is in development, and until it ships this is a real reason to choose them.
- A dealer who wants ready buyers to be able to finish online
Ekho
An appointment is a handoff. If you want the option of a buyer pre-qualifying, signing and paying, the agent has to sit on a checkout that can legally complete the sale in your state. You still choose which rooftops that is on.
- A store with a large non-English-speaking customer base
Ekho
25 languages you turn on per site, with automatic detection and a pill the buyer can switch. Impel names none on their site, though they operate in 50+ countries, so ask them directly rather than assuming either way.
- A powersports, marine, RV, golf cart or LSV dealer
Ekho
Impel runs a Kawasaki programme so you may meet them in powersports, but marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs are not described on their site. Ekho was built in these segments and handles the titling, registration and tax work they involve.
- A group with a car store and a non-car division
Ekho, or run both
One platform across both divisions is the argument for us. If the car stores are certified and co-oped on Impel, running them there and Ekho on the rest is a reasonable answer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Closer than most pairs on this site. Both are autonomous agents that work a lead without a person driving them, rather than chat widgets with a BDC behind them. The differences are the ends: Impel reaches email and we do not, and Ekho runs soft-pull pre-qualification in the thread and can optionally complete the purchase, which Impel does not describe.
Scale, certification and breadth. They claim 8,000 dealers and OEMs across 50+ countries, publish certified programmes for around twenty manufacturers, sell into the service lane and merchandising as well as sales, and reach email. On a franchise store spending co-op money and wanting one vendor across departments, they are a reasonable choice and we would say so on a call.
Not yet. Trade-in valuation in the conversation is in development. The agent can book a trade-in appraisal, and pre-qualification and the full checkout are live today. Impel's agent discusses trades in conversation but does not describe an instant valuation tool either, so ask both.
No. The online purchase path is optional and off until you switch it on, and you choose which rooftops have it. Plenty of dealers run the agent purely to answer leads and book appointments. The difference is that you can turn the rest on later without changing tools.
They run a Kawasaki programme, so powersports is not empty ground for them. Marine, RV, golf carts and LSVs are not described on their site. Ekho started in these segments and models what they involve, from multi-line brand rules to a boat, motor and trailer on one deal. Ask each of us how many stores like yours we run today.
Neither publishes a price. Ekho is priced per rooftop and quoted on a call, because what you need depends on which products you turn on. Get a quote from both, and if you are a franchise store ask each of us what your manufacturer will reimburse.
Sources
Every claim about Impel on this page comes from their own published material on the date shown. We re-check this page quarterly. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
- Impel homepage retrieved 2026-08-25
- Impel Sales AI retrieved 2026-08-25
- Impel Chat AI retrieved 2026-08-25
- Impel OEM certified programs retrieved 2026-08-25
- Ekho changelog, AI Sales Agent retrieved 2026-08-25
- Ekho integrations retrieved 2026-08-25
Last reviewed August 25, 2026
Put the two side by side on your own inventory
Ask our agent the four questions above on a live store, or have us walk your team through the differences on your own leads.