What Is An Auto Attendant Phone System? Benefits For Dealerships

Picture this: your dealership is open for business, and the phone rings. You know from experience that the call is likely from a potential customer. But before you answer the phone, you realize it’s a Saturday afternoon and your dealership is closed. You pick up the call anyway, only to hear a recording, as it’s an auto attendant phone system collecting information from this customer to help your team provide better service when they return on Monday. The next day, your sales team will have a detailed overview of this customer’s needs so they can address them quickly and efficiently, making for a better customer experience. This is just one of the ways an auto attendant can help dealerships increase profitability by enhancing operations and customer service. So, How to Increase Dealer Profitability?

In this article, we’ll outline exactly what an Auto Attendant Phone System is, how it works, and the benefits for dealerships. An auto attendant solution is part of a larger technology platform that uses AI for car dealerships to increase dealership profitability.

What is an Auto Attendant Phone System?

An auto attendant, an automated phone system, is a cloud-based telephony feature that automatically answers incoming calls, greets callers with a pre-recorded message, and routes them to the appropriate department or individual based on their keypad input or voice command.

It’s a virtual receptionist that ensures every call is acknowledged and directed efficiently, without requiring a live operator.

How Auto Attendant Phone Systems Work

Here’s a step-by-step look at how auto attendants function:

1. Inbound Call Received

When a customer calls your business, the auto attendant picks up the call instantly.

2. Custom Greeting Played

The system plays a personalized greeting like, “Thank you for calling [Your Business Name]. Our office hours are 9 AM to 6 PM, Monday through Friday.”

3. Call Routing Menu Provided

Callers hear a menu of options, such as “For Sales, press 1. For Customer Support, press 2. For Billing, press 3.”

4. Caller Makes a Selection

The caller selects their desired option using the phone keypad or by speaking if voice recognition is enabled.

5. Call Is Routed

Based on the input, the system routes the call to the correct person, department, or voicemail box. The system may direct the caller to a hold queue or an alternate contact if the destination is unavailable.

Advanced Features

Many modern auto attendants go beyond simple routing:

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Callers can speak their needs instead of pressing numbers, enabling more natural interaction.
• Multi-Level Menus: Offer submenus for more specific routing, ideal for larger teams or complex workflows.
• Holiday/After-Hours Handling: Auto attendants can deliver special messages and route calls differently outside business hours.
• Voicemail Routing: When agents are unavailable, calls can be sent directly to voicemail or rerouted based on set rules.

Whether you're a small business or a multi-location enterprise, an auto attendant helps ensure no opportunity or customer is left hanging on the line.

Benefits of Using an Auto Attendant Phone System

An auto attendant phone system enhances call management within your dealership. This means customer calls are received and redirected seamlessly and efficiently. As a result, customers are promptly directed to the relevant department, where their inquiries are handled.

24/7 Customer Engagement with a Virtual Auto Attendant

Your AI receptionist agent functions even outside of regular business hours with around-the-clock customer engagement. No matter the time, customer queries will be answered.

Auto Attendant Phone Systems Integrate with Automotive CRMs

Integration with automotive CRMs in SaaS allows the dealership to manage customer information and track call records from all agent conversations. Consequently, it streamlines the communication process by providing detailed records.

Improved Customer Communication with Virtual Receptionists

An auto attendant phone system enhances customer engagement by quickly and efficiently connecting customers to the correct department. This proactive communication between automotive CRM providers and customers solidifies a dealership’s reputation.

Boosted Lead Conversion Rates with Auto Attendant Systems

This automotive dealership service tremendously boosts lead conversion rates through prompt and effective customer communication. With automotive CRM tools, better clarity on call leads to reliability and assures customers that their requirements are met.

Strengthened Dealership Presence with an Auto Attendant Phone System

A service like an auto dealer CRM would give your business a competitive advantage. In other words, they showcase a superior advantage with more efficient customer service that would help you stand out in the automotive industry.

Why Dealerships Choose Pam’s AI Receptionist Over Human Agents and Other AI Solutions

Pam's 24/7 AI receptionist never misses a call, scheduling service, or nurturing leads even when your team is off the clock. Experience the technology delivering a 20% revenue increase and 10× ROI for over 100 dealerships nationwide, with seamless integration into your existing systems like Tekion and XTime.

Pam outperforms human agents and competing AI for car dealership solutions. Schedule your personalized demo today. Implementation takes just one day. Book a demo to boost your revenue by 20%, like hundreds of dealerships nationwide.

Related Reading

• AI in the Automotive Industry
• Future of Car Sales
• Dealership Customer Retention
• Automotive Sales Funnel
• Automotive Lead Management
• Automotive Lead Generation
• Lead Generation for Car Dealers

9 Top Auto Attendant Phone Systems to Check Out

1. Pam: The Best Auto Attendant Phone System for Dealerships

Regarding handling inbound calls, speed, consistency, and follow-through are everything, especially in industries like automotive sales and service, where every missed call is a missed opportunity. That’s where Pam stands out as the leading auto attendant phone system.

Always On, Always Accurate

Pam is more than just a digital receptionist. It’s a 24/7 AI-powered assistant that never sleeps, never forgets, and never puts a lead on hold. Whether your team is in a meeting, busy with customers, or off the clock, Pam handles every call with the same efficiency and professionalism, ensuring no inquiry goes unanswered.

Proven Performance

Pam isn’t just another AI solution. It’s already delivering measurable results:

• 20% revenue increase on average for dealerships using it
• 10× ROI, consistently reported by clients
• Used by 100+ dealerships across the country

These results aren’t theoretical. They’re happening in real businesses.

Seamless Integration

Pam works with your existing systems, so there’s no need to overhaul your tech stack. Whether you're using platforms like Tekion or XTime, Pam integrates seamlessly, syncing appointments, service schedules, and lead data in real time.

Outperforms Humans and Other AI

Unlike traditional call center agents or less advanced AI tools, Pam does more than just take messages. It can:

• Schedule service appointments directly
• Route leads to the correct department
• Provide answers to FAQs
• Capture and nurture leads for follow-up

In head-to-head comparisons, Pam consistently outperforms human reps and other AI competitors in speed, accuracy, and lead conversion.

Easy to Set Up, Even Easier to Scale

Pam’s implementation takes just one day, with zero downtime or disruption to your business. From there, it scales effortlessly as your needs grow, whether operating in one location or twenty. 

2. RingCentral MVP

RingCentral is a more well-known cloud-based communications platform with a VoIP phone system. Although it markets itself today as a cloud phone system, it’s been around for decades, and its technology is built on a traditional PBX system.

RingCentral offers the primary communications channels you’d expect, like voice calling and text messaging. Its most basic plan, Essentials, does not include video conferencing or even basic integrations like Google Workspace and Microsoft Teams, so it’s further down this list.

3. Vonage

Vonage is another relatively well-known phone system provider that markets itself toward small businesses. It offers basic features, including local and long-distance calls and a desktop and mobile app. One of the most significant drawbacks of Vonage is its lack of scalability.

Many features that you’d expect to be included in a basic unified communications or cloud phone package are add-ons that you have to pay extra for, like a multi-level auto attendant, call recording, and voicemail transcription. These aren’t advanced features and should be included in a basic plan. (At least, if you’re looking at comparable providers.)

4. Nextiva

Much like Dialpad and RingCentral, Nextiva is a UCaaS provider that offers a single platform for making phone calls and having video meetings. Nextiva is another name that has been around for quite a few years, but for small businesses, what’s important to note that you don’t get call recording and mobile SMS/MMS until you get to the upper-tier plans.

The other thing to know about Nextiva is that it is reselling or white-labeling its call center and unified communications platforms.

5. Phone.com

Phone.com is a business communication platform that offers phone, video, and productivity features. Their auto attendant can answer calls and provide menu options to customers before routing them. These menus can include business hours, your company directory, or any other important information.

Phone.com’s basic plan is only $12.74 per month per user, making it one of our list's most affordable automated phone systems. In addition to the many voice features, Phone.com offers features like video meetings, document sharing, and meeting chat on all tiered plans. Some features like call recording, additional phone numbers, and shared phone lines are available a la carte for an additional monthly fee.

6. Grasshopper

Grasshopper is a virtual phone system for sole proprietors and small business owners. It is available through its desktop and mobile apps. All plans have an auto attendant feature that greets callers before routing them to the right person.

Grasshopper also offers add-on features for an additional monthly charge. These features include call blasting, which can ring up to 15 lines simultaneously and reduce wait times, and voice studio, which utilizes voice actors to record professional phone greetings.

7. Ooma

Ooma is an automated phone system that offers multi-level auto attendant features on each phone plan. This feature, which they call a virtual receptionist, directs incoming calls and shares important business information with customers.

Ooma is great for small businesses and in-person teams that don’t need many collaboration features since it doesn’t offer integration or video conferencing features on its standard plan.

Essentials vs. Pro Plus Plans

Their Essentials phone plan includes over 50 features, a user extension, a local phone number, and unlimited calling to the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Features like analytics, call recording, video conferencing, call queues, and voicemail transcriptions are only available on their Pro and Pro Plus plans.

Similarly, CRM integrations are only available on the Pro Plus plan, which is something to keep in mind for businesses that need that connectivity.

8. 8x8

8x8 is a cloud-based business phone system with a multi-level auto attendant feature on all paid phone plans. Their auto attendant feature is completely customizable and allows you to design multiple call flows based on predefined rules.

8x8 offers unlimited calling to 48 countries, making it ideal for growing businesses expanding outside the U.S. In addition to their business phone features, they offer unified communication capabilities complete with video features and integrations with CRM and productivity tools.

9. GoTo Connect

GoTo Connect is a cloud-based phone system with an auto attendant feature that answers incoming calls with pre-recorded messages you set, including greetings, company updates, and other critical business information. Their cloud phone system includes local, toll-free, and vanity numbers, intelligent call routing, and international calls to over 50 countries.

GoTo Connect also offers a wide range of collaboration features, like team messaging with file sharing, video meetings, breakout rooms, and meeting notes, making it a great communication platform for remote teams.

Related Reading

• Car Sales Tips
• Automotive Digital Transformation
• Future of Automotive Retail
• Predictive Analytics Automotive Industry
• Auto Dealership Customer Experience
• Dealership Best Practices

How to Set Up an Auto Attendant Phone System

First, select a business phone system or VoIP provider with auto-attendant features. Many cloud-based platforms offer robust auto-attendant functionality as part of their standard packages. Look for a system that provides for customizable call routing, multi-level menus, business hours configuration, voicemail forwarding, and integration with your CRM or other tools.

Map Out Your Call Flow

Before setting anything up, plan how you want calls to be routed. A clear and intuitive call flow improves caller satisfaction. Ask yourself:

• What departments or teams should be included?
• Should you offer different options during business hours vs. after hours?
• Do you need multiple menu levels (e.g., “For Support, press 2” → “For Technical Support, press 1”)?

Keep menus short and easy to understand. Avoid overwhelming callers with too many choices.

Write and Record Your Greetings

Create professional voice recordings for:

• Welcome message (“Thanks for calling [Business Name]…”)
• Main menu (“For sales, press 1. For support, press 2…”)
• After-hours message (“Our office is currently closed. Please leave a message or call back during business hours.”)

You can record these in-house or use a professional voiceover service for added polish.

Configure the Auto Attendant

Now it’s time to build the menu in your phone system. This typically involves:

• Uploading your recorded greetings
• Assigning keypad options to specific destinations (users, departments, voicemail boxes, etc.)
• Setting different rules for business hours, holidays, and after-hours calls
• Enabling fallbacks (e.g., route to voicemail if no one answers)

Your provider’s admin portal should offer a visual menu builder or setup wizard to simplify this process.

Test the System Thoroughly

Before going live, run a full test:

• Call the number yourself and navigate the menus
• Verify that each option routes to the correct person or voicemail
• Check how the system behaves after hours
• Test call forwarding, hold queues, and fallback options
• Testing ensures that your system works as intended and your callers won’t run into dead ends or confusion.

Related Reading

• DMS vs CRM
• Automotive Digital Retailing
• Dealership Service Department Best Practices
• Best CRM for Auto Dealerships
• Automotive Chatbots

Book a Demo to Boost your Revenue by 20% (Trusted by Hundreds of Dealerships Across the Nation)

Pam is an auto attendant phone system that acts like a 24/7 AI receptionist for your dealership. She never misses a call and schedules service to boost your revenue even when your team is off the clock. Pam also nurtures leads while you sleep. Best of all, she integrates seamlessly with the systems your dealership already uses, like Tekion and XTime.

Boost Revenue by 20% Like Hundreds of Other Dealerships Nationwide

Experience the technology delivering a 20% revenue increase and 10× ROI for over 100 dealerships nationwide. Schedule your personalized demo today and see how Pam outperforms human agents and competing AI solutions. Implementation takes just one day.

Book a demo to boost your revenue by 20%, like 100s of dealerships nationwide.