Franchised dealers are investing heavily in advertising and lead generation while routinely failing to answer the calls those investments generate — and AI-powered analytics are emerging as the most effective tool for closing that gap, according to a new report from CDK Global by senior product marketer Natalia Mischenko.

CDK survey data finds that 47% of customers book a sales appointment by phone and 61% book a service appointment by phone. Yet the average hold time for dealership service runs 9.3 minutes and 29% of service shoppers report difficulty scheduling by phone, according to the report.

“That gap isn’t just a missed call,” writes Mischenko. “It’s a missed customer and everything that customer represents over a lifetime of purchases, service visits, referrals and trust.”

AI is changing the calculus, Mischenko argues. Where managers once had to manually listen to call recordings to find coaching opportunities, AI-powered transcripts, summaries, sentiment analysis and keyword detection now surface patterns automatically — flagging price-shopping conversations, competitive mentions, recurring complaints and calls that never resulted in follow-up.

“AI-powered call analytics surface these patterns automatically so your team stops reacting and starts leading,” she writes. “This isn’t just communication technology. It’s operational intelligence that’s captured in real time.”

CDK’s 2026 State of F&I at the Dealership report found that 81% of customers are satisfied with the time spent with the F&I manager — a reminder that the quality of every dealership interaction, including the first phone call, directly shapes the overall customer experience.

Read the full report at CDK