Every salesperson knows the phrase, and the AI follow-up agent was built for what happens after it. "Lovely, thanks, I'll have a think and get back to you."
Sometimes they do. More often they do not, and not because they have lost interest. Payday is a week away. Their partner wants to see the car too. They are waiting to hear what their current car is worth. Then a week goes by, and another dealer's message lands at the right moment.
Everybody agrees the answer is to follow up. Nobody has the time. On a busy Saturday the phone, the forecourt and the handovers come first, and the list of "call back next week" leads quietly goes stale in a notebook or a spreadsheet.
The AI follow-up agent does that follow-up for you, properly, and then gets out of the way.
What it does
When a lead goes quiet, the agent keeps the conversation going with a short, spaced sequence of personalised emails and text messages over about two weeks.
Each message is written for that customer, about that car. It checks in about the vehicle they enquired about, suggests similar cars in stock if theirs has sold, and invites them to book a test drive or get a part-exchange valuation.
The spacing is the point. Customers hear from you often enough to remember you, and not so often that they feel chased.
What two weeks of follow-up looks like
Here is an illustrative plan for a buyer who asked about a 2019 Volkswagen Golf and then went quiet:
Day 2, email. Checks in about the Golf, recaps its key details and offers a test drive this week.
Day 5, text. A short message offering a part-exchange valuation on his current car.
Day 9, email. If the Golf has sold by then, suggests similar hatchbacks currently in stock.
Day 14, text. A final friendly check-in. Then the agent stops and leaves a note on the enquiry.
Real messages are written from your own stock and enquiries, so the details will be yours. But the shape is the same: a reason to get in touch each time, never the same message twice, and a clear end.
That Day 9 message is worth a second look. When the car a buyer wanted has gone, most dealers lose the lead with it. Here the buyer hears about similar cars you actually have, which is the conversation a good salesperson would have started anyway.
It knows when to stop
A follow-up tool that keeps messaging someone who has already rung you is worse than no follow-up at all. So the stop conditions matter more than anything else here.
The agent stops automatically when:
- the customer replies by text message
- the enquiry is marked won or lost
- a test drive is booked
- the customer opts out
When it stops, it hands the conversation back to your salesperson with a note on the enquiry. If James texts to ask whether he can see the Golf on Saturday morning, the remaining follow-ups are cancelled and the note suggests the next step: confirm a Saturday viewing time. Your salesperson picks it up from there.
It also waits its turn. If someone on your team has been in touch with the customer recently, the next follow-up is pushed back, so the customer is never contacted twice.
Consent first, always
This is the part we were not willing to compromise on.
Follow-up messages only go to customers who have agreed to receive marketing from your dealership. If a customer has not opted in, the agent does not contact them.
And every message includes a clear way to opt out. If a customer uses it, the follow-up stops.
That keeps you on the right side of your customers and the rules, and it means the people hearing from you are the people who said they wanted to.
You stay in control
Your team can see every scheduled and sent message on the enquiry, so there are no surprises about what has gone out in the dealership's name.
You can pause or stop follow-up for any lead at any time. If you know a customer is on holiday, or you would rather handle a particular buyer yourself, one action takes them out of the sequence.
And the whole feature can be switched on or off from the AI features page in your Vehiso settings, alongside lead replies and the other AI features.
How it works with AI lead replies
The follow-up agent is built to sit behind AI lead replies.
Step 1. A new enquiry arrives, and lead replies answer it fast with a personalised draft that your team checks and sends.
Step 2. The lead goes quiet, and the agent follows up.
Step 3. The customer replies, books a test drive or the enquiry is closed, and the agent hands back to your salesperson with a note.
The first reply goes out fast. The agent handles the follow-up nobody has time for. Your salesperson does the part only a person can do.
If you want to catch buyers even earlier, before they have enquired at all, the AI website assistant answers questions on your website from your live stock and turns call back requests into enquiries, which then flow into the same process.
A few honest limits
It follows up, it does not negotiate. The agent keeps the conversation alive. Price, part-exchange figures and the deal itself stay with your team.
Only opted-in customers hear from it. If a lead did not agree to marketing, the agent will not contact them. That is deliberate, but it means some quiet leads will still need a personal call.
Keep the enquiry status honest. Marking an enquiry won or lost is one of the ways the agent knows to stop. If a sale is agreed over the phone and nobody updates the enquiry, pause the follow-up for that lead yourself.
Know the stop list. It stops on a text reply, a booked test drive, an opt-out, or a won or lost enquiry. If a customer comes back another way, such as a phone call, update the enquiry or pause the follow-up so they are not messaged again.
Which plan it is on
The AI follow-up agent is included on every paid plan, from £49 a month, with nothing extra to buy. It is not on the Free plan.
You can try any paid plan free for 7 days with no credit card required, and the full comparison is on the pricing page.
If your "I'll have a think" leads currently live in a notebook, this is the tidier way to handle them. Have a look at the AI follow-up agent and see what two weeks of follow-up would look like for your stock.
