What the agent handles
- Books damage estimates
- Collects claim numbers and adjuster info
- Explains the repair process plainly
- Gives repair status updates
- Coordinates tow-ins to the shop
Automotive
AI receptionist for collision and body shops
Walks shaken drivers through what happens after an accident, books damage estimates, and keeps them posted while their vehicle is in the shop.
CallerSomeone backed into me in a parking lot and my insurance said to call a body shop. Now what?
CallerDo I need an appointment for an estimate or can I just swing by?
CallerHi, I'm calling about my car, it's the blue sedan, when's it going to be done?
Where calls go
EstimatorsCustomer servicePartsProduction manager
Warm transfer: When an adjuster calls to discuss a supplement on a claim, the agent warm-transfers them straight to the estimator on the file.
What it books
Damage estimates and vehicle drop-offs
Why auto body and collision shops miss calls, and what an AI receptionist changes
Collision calls arrive at a bad moment for everyone. The caller has just been rear-ended or backed into, their insurer has told them to find a body shop, and they're phoning from a parking lot with their hands still shaking. At the shop, estimators are walking around a crumpled quarter panel with a tablet, the production manager is chasing parts for cars already in the booth, and the front desk is on the other line with an adjuster. The driver who reaches voicemail calls the next shop they can find.
A RealVoice AI receptionist for body shops answers those calls calmly and tells the driver what happens next at your shop: how an estimate visit works, roughly how long it takes, what to bring, and how a tow-in to your lot is arranged if the vehicle can't be driven. It books damage estimates and drop-offs into the schedule and collects the insurer, claim number, adjuster's name and date of loss, and the driver can text photos of the damage before they arrive, so your estimator starts with a full file.
It doesn't assess damage from a description, guess whether a car is a write-off, or promise a completion date. Adjusters calling about a supplement are put straight through to the estimator on that file. As part of setup, the team connects it to your shop's production system so a driver calling for an update hears the stage their vehicle is at, and gets a text when it's ready for pickup. Questions about fault or coverage stay with the insurer and your team.
Example call, start to finish
- CallerHi, someone backed into my RAV4 in a grocery store lot in Kanata. My insurance gave me a claim number and said to get an estimate.
- AI receptionistI'm sorry, that's a rotten way to spend an afternoon. Is the RAV4 drivable, or does it need a tow to us?
- CallerIt drives. The back bumper is pushed in and the tailgate won't close properly.
- AI receptionistThen you can bring it in. I have an estimate time tomorrow at 10:15 or Thursday at 2. What's the claim number, and do you know your adjuster's name?
- CallerTomorrow at 10:15. The claim is 7741-0920 and the adjuster is Lisa Moreau. Oh, and I'll need a car while mine's being fixed. I commute to Arnprior every day.
- AI receptionistI'll note that you need a rental during the repair. Whether it's covered depends on your policy, so I'm flagging it for the estimator to sort out with Ms. Moreau. Bring the claim paperwork and anything the other driver gave you, and the estimator will photograph the damage when you arrive.
- CallerSure. It's Hannah Kowalczyk.
- AI receptionistThanks, Hannah. You're booked tomorrow at 10:15 for an estimate on the RAV4. I'll text you our address and what to bring: the claim number, your licence and the ownership.
After the call: The estimate is in the RealVoice schedule with the insurer, claim number and adjuster attached, and the estimator gets a text and email flagging the rental request. Hannah has her confirmation text, and the summary, recording and the photos she sends are kept with the call in the RealVoice portal.
How it fits your day
- Right after the crash
- A driver calling from the scene gets calm next steps, then either an estimate booked or a tow-in request sent to your team, instead of a phone that rings out.
- Estimate mornings
- While estimators write sheets in the lot, the agent books the afternoon's estimates and takes the claim details, so nobody has to call the customer back for a claim number.
- Adjusters and supplements
- An adjuster reaches the estimator on the file directly, with a private note on which vehicle and claim it's about, so a hidden-damage supplement doesn't turn into phone tag.
- The first icy week
- The first slick week of December fills every body shop's phone. The agent answers the whole wave at once and spreads estimates across the times you open.
Your software
Today it books estimates and drop-offs into the RealVoice schedule in the portal, keeps claim details and call summaries there, and texts each driver a confirmation. If your shop runs CCC ONE (Secure Share), Mitchell RepairCenter or Shopmonkey, the team can set up a connection to it; custom integrations are quoted separately.
What a missed call costs
Collision tickets run bigger than most mechanical work. A bumper cover, tailgate and paint blend can come to $3,000 to $4,000, and a front-end hit with sensors behind the grille goes well past that. If the front desk lets three estimate calls a week go to voicemail and just one of those drivers takes the car to another shop, that is fifty-odd repairs a year, worth well over $150,000, rolling into someone else's booth. See what your own figures say in the missed-call calculator on our homepage.
Questions auto body and collision shops ask
Can it tell a driver whether their car is a write-off?
No. It doesn't judge damage or total-loss decisions over the phone. It books the estimate, collects the claim details and leaves that conversation to your estimator and the insurer.
What claim information does it collect?
Whatever your estimators ask for, usually the insurer, claim number, adjuster's name and contact, date of loss, and the year, make, model and VIN. Drivers can also text photos of the damage to your shop number before the visit, and they're kept with the call in the portal for the estimator.
How does it handle adjusters calling the shop?
Adjusters are warm-transferred to the estimator on that claim, who hears a quick private summary first. If the estimator is tied up, the adjuster's message reaches them by text and email at once.
Can it give a customer a completion date?
It gives the target date your team has entered, once the team links it to your production board during setup, along with the stage the repair is at. It never makes up a date of its own, and a hold-up like a backordered part is passed to the estimator to explain.
Can it arrange a tow to our shop?
It takes the vehicle's location and details and passes the tow-in to your team or tow partner right away, by transfer or by text. It doesn't promise a pickup time.
How does it handle a caller who's upset after a crash?
It slows down, asks one thing at a time and starts with whether everyone is okay and where the vehicle is. If the caller mentions an injury, it follows your instructions first, such as telling them to call 911.
Hear it as your own body shop's front desk
Request a free demo call and the agent will phone you, set up as a business like yours.