Cars24 Turns Test Drive Chatter Into a 35% Sales Lift

Cars24, an Indian used-car retailer, has turned test drive conversations into valuable sales data, resulting in a 35% increase in sales conversions, a 20% boost in customer satisfaction, and a 10% reduction in operating costs, as reported by ElevenLabs. The company records approximately 22,000 hours of audio from more than 300 retail hubs, analyzing it to extract insights from buyers' concerns, salesperson shortcomings, and missed sales steps.

During a test drive, customers raise financing worries, point out cars' issues, and ask questions that salespeople may not address adequately. Previously, such interactions went unnoticed, causing an uneven buying experience across different hubs. Tablets equipped with open microphones record these conversations, and ElevenLabs software transcribes the speech, identifies speakers, and tags each conversation based on customer, salesperson, car, and hub information.

The system highlights mechanical problems identified during the drive, categorizes buyers' hesitations, and detects steps that salespeople may overlook. With this information, managers can analyze patterns by car model, region, or hub. Seventy percent of Cars24 buyers are first-time car purchasers, and the conversations also vary according to the car and local language. Many of these sales are finalized over the phone after the test drive.

To support this data-driven approach, Cars24 employs over 1,300 contact center agents, with nearly half of its sales involving assisted calls. The retailer is gradually transitioning some of this work to AI voice agents, aiming for AI to handle 30% of all calls. Currently, AI voice agents have processed over 3 million minutes of customer calls, cutting calling costs by 50%.

Other retailers are also adopting AI voice agents to improve customer interactions. Home Depot reported that its agents resolved customer inquiries within 10 seconds and completed solutions four times faster than traditional phone menus. Japanese appliance chain Yamada Denki found that its voice agent engaged shoppers in a more personalized manner, resulting in a 92% positive response rate from survey participants.

Akira Fukabori, CEO of avatarin, the company that developed the voice agent, emphasized that customers prefer intelligence over chatbots, as they can openly discuss budgets and concerns without feeling pressure from a salesperson. Among consumers, 45% would be comfortable allowing an AI agent to complete their purchase, rising to 54% among Gen Z. Currently, 43% of surveyed retailers are piloting AI shopping agents with autonomous capabilities, while 81% trust AI to operate independently once appropriate safeguards are implemented.