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Speed is one of the biggest factors in automotive lead conversion — dealers who respond within the first few minutes win a disproportionate share of business. Carly is Dealer Funnel’s built-in AI assistant, trained specifically on automotive sales conversation patterns, and she helps your team respond faster without sacrificing quality. Carly reads the conversation context, understands what the lead is asking, and drafts a relevant, on-brand reply in seconds. Your agents can review and send that reply, or you can let Carly run on autopilot for initial outreach so no new lead ever waits more than a moment for a response.

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Two Modes of Operation

Carly works in two distinct modes. Choose the one that fits your team’s workflow, or run both simultaneously depending on the lead source.

Assisted Mode

Carly drafts a suggested reply inside the conversation. Your agent reviews the suggestion, edits it if needed, and clicks Send. Your team stays in control of every message while still saving time on composition.

Auto AI Mode

Carly responds to new leads automatically — no agent required for the first exchanges. She handles the opening conversation, qualifies the lead, and hands off to a human agent when the lead is ready to move forward.

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Using Carly in Assisted Mode

Assisted mode is available in every conversation, for every agent, with no additional setup required.
1

Open a conversation

Click any conversation in your inbox to open the message thread.
2

Click the AI button

In the message composer at the bottom of the conversation, click the AI button (the sparkle or stars icon). Carly reads the conversation history and the lead’s profile, then generates a contextually appropriate reply.
3

Review the suggested reply

Carly’s draft appears in the message composer. Read it carefully — Carly is tuned for automotive conversations but you know your customer best. The suggestion is a strong starting point, not a final answer.
4

Edit and send

Adjust the message as needed — change the tone, add a specific vehicle detail, or modify the call to action. When you’re satisfied, click Send to deliver the message. Carly’s suggestion is never sent without your approval in assisted mode.

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Configuring Auto AI Mode

Auto AI lets Carly handle the first stage of every new lead conversation on her own. She responds immediately, qualifies the lead through natural conversation, and notifies your team when a human touch is needed.
1

Open your AI Messaging settings

In your Dealer Funnel account, go to your dealership settings and open the AI Messaging tab.
2

Enable Full AI (Carly AI)

Toggle Full AI (Carly AI) to the on position. Once enabled, Carly will begin responding automatically to new inbound leads from the sources you select.
3

Write your AI prompt

The AI prompt is the set of instructions that defines Carly’s personality and behavior for your dealership. Use this space to tell Carly:
  • Your dealership’s name and location
  • Your current inventory highlights or top-selling models
  • Any active promotions or incentives to mention
  • The tone you want (professional, friendly, energetic)
  • What information to collect from the lead (name, phone, vehicle interest, timeline)
  • When to hand off to a human agent
The more specific your prompt, the more effective Carly’s conversations will be.
4

Choose which lead sources trigger Auto AI

Select the lead sources where you want Carly to respond automatically. You might enable Auto AI for after-hours web leads while keeping human agents on for phone-up leads, for example. This granular control lets you apply AI where it adds the most value.
5

Save your settings

Click Save. Carly is now active for your selected lead sources and will begin handling new conversations immediately.

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Writing an Effective AI Prompt

The AI prompt editor is where you shape Carly’s voice and knowledge. Think of it as onboarding a new employee — the clearer your instructions, the better the results. A strong prompt includes:
  • Introduction: How Carly should introduce herself and your dealership.
  • Inventory focus: Which vehicles, trims, or categories to highlight first.
  • Offer details: Any current financing rates, lease specials, or trade-in bonuses Carly should mention.
  • Questions to ask: The qualifying questions Carly should work into the conversation naturally (e.g., timeline to buy, trade-in situation, financing needs).
  • Handoff trigger: A clear instruction for when to flag the conversation for a human — for example, “If the lead asks to speak with a salesperson, requests a specific price quote, or mentions they are ready to visit, notify the human agent.”
Update your prompt whenever your inventory mix, promotions, or team priorities change.

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AI for Email and Facebook

Carly’s capabilities extend beyond SMS conversations:
  • AI for Email: When enabled, Carly drafts replies to inbound email leads using the same conversational logic as SMS — keeping response times fast across every channel.
  • AI for Facebook: When enabled, Carly handles leads arriving through Facebook Messenger, responding immediately on the platform where the lead started the conversation.
Both channels are toggled on or off in your AI Messaging settings alongside your SMS configuration.

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Monitoring AI Conversations

Conversations that Carly is actively managing appear in your inbox with an AI indicator badge, making it easy to distinguish automated conversations from those handled by your team. You can:
  • Read any AI conversation at any time to see what Carly has said.
  • Take over at any time: Click into the conversation and start typing. The moment a human agent sends a message, Carly steps back and the conversation switches to manual mode.
  • Review the full thread: Every message Carly sends is saved in the conversation history just like a human agent’s message.
For the first week or two after enabling Auto AI, check your AI-managed conversations every morning. Read through a handful of threads and note where Carly’s responses landed well and where they could be sharper. Use those observations to refine your AI prompt — small prompt adjustments often produce a noticeable improvement in conversation quality.
Carly automatically flags a conversation for human review when a lead asks a question that falls outside the AI’s knowledge or scope — such as a very specific finance calculation, a question about a particular used vehicle’s history, or a request to speak directly with a person. When this happens, the conversation is marked in your inbox so an agent can step in promptly. Carly will let the lead know that someone will follow up shortly, keeping the experience smooth even during the handoff.