AI front desk for auto repair shops
The front desk
that never
goes home.
ZOL picks up the calls nobody gets to, books the job, texts the estimate and chases the approval — then leaves the shop software you already run exactly where it is.
- Answers every call, night and weekend
- Texts estimates and chases approvals
- Orders parts and flags vendor delays
The board, this morning
Every job, and who moved it last
| RO | Vehicle | Job | Last move |
|---|---|---|---|
| RO-4471In bay | 2018 Ford F-150 XLT8XKR241 | Front brakes + rotors | Call answered 9:41pZOL |
| RO-4459In bay | 2016 Ram 1500 Big Horn5KJB728 | A/C not cooling | Booked from voicemailZOL |
| RO-4456In bay | 2014 Nissan Altima 2.5 S6WQX155 | Alternator replacement | Approval received 8:12aZOL |
| RO-4465Waiting on parts | 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 15004YHN092 | Transmission service | Part ordered 11:20aZOL |
| RO-4468Waiting on customer | 2020 Toyota RAV4 LE9CMD517 | Check engine diagnostic | Estimate sent 10:04aZOL |
| RO-4462Ready | 2021 Hyundai Elantra SEL8PDF470 | Oil service + tire rotation | Picked up, invoice paidPerson |
- RO-4471In bay2018 Ford F-150 XLTFront brakes + rotorsZOLCall answered 9:41p
- RO-4459In bay2016 Ram 1500 Big HornA/C not coolingZOLBooked from voicemail
- RO-4456In bay2014 Nissan Altima 2.5 SAlternator replacementZOLApproval received 8:12a
- RO-4465Waiting on parts2015 Chevrolet Silverado 1500Transmission serviceZOLPart ordered 11:20a
- RO-4468Waiting on customer2020 Toyota RAV4 LECheck engine diagnosticZOLEstimate sent 10:04a
- RO-4462Ready2021 Hyundai Elantra SELOil service + tire rotationPersonPicked up, invoice paid
Sample shop — illustrative data
- Cars in bays
- 4
- of 6 bays
- Calls answered
- 3
- today, by ZOL
- Awaiting approval
- 2
- needs a customer reply
- Avg text reply
- 8s
- ZOL, unattended
A day on the sample shop board — illustrative data
01·How it works
From the missed call
to the follow-up
One job, start to finish, on an ordinary Tuesday. ZOL runs the emerald steps with nobody watching and hands you the rest.
- 019:41 PM
The call
The phone rings four hours after close and ZOL picks up. It takes the complaint, the vehicle, and how the customer wants to be reached, then books the slot. Voicemails get transcribed and called back.
ZOL2m18s · complaint, VIN and callback captured
- 027:12 AM
The diagnosis
The call is already a repair order before anyone unlocks the door. When your tech finishes the scan, the codes and findings attach to that same record — nothing gets retyped.
PersonP0455 · purge valve stuck open, found on smoke test
- 038:30 AM
The quote
The estimate goes out by text with a photo of the failed part and the reasoning in plain English. If nobody replies, ZOL nudges once, then stops and hands it to a person.
ZOL$742.18 texted · approved by reply in 4 minutes
- 044:20 PM
The follow-up
The customer hears the car is done, with the total. The invoice goes out by text, payment happens at your counter, and the visit that brings them back is already scheduled.
ZOLReady notice texted · invoice sent · follow-up set
02·One record
Everything on
one ticket
Nothing here was retyped into a second system. This is RO-4471 exactly as it happened, from the call after close to the invoice.
2018 Ford F-150 XLT
- Plate
- 8XKR241
- VIN
- 1FTEW1EP4JKD82910
- Mileage
- 118,420
- Bay
- 2
Pedal pulse above 45 mph. Rotors measured below spec at 26.1 mm. Rears still have roughly 40% left.
Call answered
Mon 9:41pZOLAfter hours. 2m18s. Captured the complaint, VIN and callback preference.
Ticket written
Tue 7:52aPersonService writer Dana K. confirmed the vehicle and opened the job.
Estimate sent
Tue 8:30aZOL$742.18 texted to (661) 555-0142 with the rotor measurement attached.
Approval received
Tue 10:15aZOLCustomer replied YES by text. The RO released to the board on its own.
Job started
Tue 12:40pPersonTech Manny R. pulled the truck into bay 2.
Ready notice + invoice
Tue 4:20pZOLCustomer told the truck was done, invoice texted, next service scheduled.
Sample repair order — illustrative data
03·Runs itself
The work your front
desk never gets to
Not a chatbot bolted onto a calendar. Four jobs ZOL does end to end — and hands back the moment judgment is required.
It answers the phone
Nights, weekends, and every call your front desk cannot get to. It captures the complaint, the VIN and a callback preference — or transcribes the voicemail and calls back to book the slot.
Booked from voicemail — transcribed 6:48p, booked 8:00a
It texts back in seconds
Inbound texts get a real answer before the shop opens. ZOL offers open slots, confirms one, and writes the appointment straight onto the board.
Inbound text 7:02a — answered in 8 seconds
It chases approvals
The estimate goes out with a photo of the failed part and plain-English reasoning. If nobody replies, ZOL sends one nudge — then stops and flags it for a person.
No reply after 20h — one nudge sent, then paused
It catches parts delays
Parts get ordered against the approved estimate. When a vendor pushes an ETA, ZOL surfaces the bay conflict before the car is stuck on a lift.
Vendor moved ETA to Thursday — bay 4 conflict flagged
Your numbers
What the missed ones are worth
After hours, on another line, or nobody free to grab it.
Share of those callers with real work to sell.
Your typical ticket, parts and labor together.
Walking out the door each year
$104,832
12 × 52 weeks × 40% × $420. Your arithmetic, not our claim.
See it on your own numbers04·No rip and replace
Keep the system
you already run
Your shop management software records the work. ZOL does the work nobody has time for, and sits on top — customers, vehicles and repair orders stay in sync both ways, so your writers keep working where they already work.
- Tekmetric
- Shopmonkey
- Shop-Ware
- Mitchell 1
- AutoLeap
Two-way sync. Integrations roll out shop by shop during onboarding.
Where we actually are
We're signing up the first shops now
Carrier registration — the compliance step every business calling and texting line has to clear before it can go live — is in progress. Until it lands we're running demos, setting up shops and tuning the diagnosis on real calls.
Book a demo and you'll see the whole thing end to end, and get first slot when the line opens.
Book a demoBuilt on
- TwilioVoice and SMS on a number that stays yours
- OpenAIUnderstands the call, writes the ticket
- Google CloudRuns in one place, doesn't fall over
- PostgreSQLYour shop's history, exportable, yours
Questions
The things shop
owners ask first
Straight answers. If yours isn't here, ask it on the demo.
Do I have to replace my shop management software?
No, and that's the point. Tekmetric, Shopmonkey, Shop-Ware, Mitchell 1 and AutoLeap record the work — they're not the problem. ZOL sits on top and does the phone, the texting and the chasing that nobody has time for. Customers, vehicles and repair orders sync both ways, so your writers keep working exactly where they already work.
Will my customers know they're not talking to a person?
It introduces itself as Zol and it won't claim to be a human if someone asks. In practice callers care about two things: that somebody picked up, and that whoever picked up knew their truck. It does both.
What happens when it doesn't know the answer?
It says so. It won't invent a diagnosis or a price it isn't sure about — it takes a number, flags the call for you, and you can set it to transfer straight to your cell for anything outside what you've told it to handle. Everything it did is on the board with the full conversation attached.
Does this replace my service advisor?
No. It covers the hours nobody is standing at the counter, and the calls that come in while your advisor is already on the other line. Shops with an advisor use it for after-hours and overflow; shops without one use it as the counter.
Where do the quoted prices come from?
From you. Your labor rate, your book times, your parts margin, set during onboarding. Nothing goes to a customer at a number you haven't approved, and you can cap what it's allowed to quote without checking with you first.
Does it text customers from a robot number?
No. It works on your shop's own line, so the number your customers already have keeps working. When a person on your team picks up a thread, ZOL steps aside.
Who owns the recordings and the customer data?
Your shop does. It lives in your shop's own database, you can export all of it whenever you want, and you can have it deleted. We don't sell it and we don't hand your customer list to another shop.
It rings again tonight
See it answer
your phone
Twenty minutes. We'll put a call through ZOL while you listen, price a job at your rates, and show you the repair order it writes — on your own shop's numbers.
Opens our calendar · no card, no commitment