What is an automotive answering service?
It is the service that picks up the calls of an auto repair shop, a tire shop, a car wash or a body shop when nobody at the counter can: in the morning rush, over lunch, after closing. Zanus AI goes further than taking messages. It answers on your own number from what you approved, books the job into the right bay or technician, puts the calls your rules name through to a person, and does the same on the chat, the e-mail and the forms.
Can the AI book service appointments into our bays?
Yes. Each bay, lift or technician can have a calendar of its own, and the AI books into the one that fits the job: the express lane for an oil change, the alignment rack for a wheel alignment, the diagnostic slot for a warning light. The customer gets a confirmation and a reminder, and AI Auto-Call can phone the day before to confirm the visit or free the slot.
Does the AI diagnose the car or give a repair price over the phone?
No. It gives no diagnosis and no price for a repair nobody has seen. It asks the questions your advisors would ask, writes the answers down in the driver's words and books the inspection. For standard services on your price list, such as an oil change or a tire rotation, it prepares a quote that waits for your yes before it goes out.
What happens when a customer calls to ask if the car is ready?
The AI does not guess a status. It puts the call through to the advisor on the job, saying who is calling and about which car, or, when the advisor is busy, takes a message and reads the callback number back. The request lands on the customer's record, so nobody has to hunt for it later.
Will the AI replace our service advisors?
No, and it is not meant to. It takes the repeat questions, the overflow and the calls after closing, so your advisors can stay with the customer at the counter and your techs with the car on the lift. Every desk is set to AI only, AI first or person first, and you can change that whenever the shop needs.
Can we keep the shop's phone number?
Yes. The number on your sign, your website and your invoices stays exactly as it is. You point it at the AI with ordinary call forwarding, with nothing to port and nothing to install, and you can switch the forwarding off whenever you like.
Does the AI answer when the shop is closed?
Yes: evenings, Sundays and holidays, under the after-hours rules you set. It books the first open slot, takes down the breakdown details and where the car is, reads out your safety instruction when a caller describes a warning sign, and leaves everything on the record for whoever opens the shop in the morning.
Does it work for tire shops and auto body shops?
Yes. A tire shop sets up the sizes it stocks, its install times and its seasonal changeovers, and the AI holds a set for the visit. An auto body shop sets its estimate appointments and the questions it wants asked about a claim, such as the insurer and the claim number. Each business answers from what it approved, and every department keeps rules of its own.
Can a car wash use it for detail bookings and wash plans?
Yes. The AI answers questions about your wash packages and detailing from your own list, books detail appointments into the bay's calendar and sends the reminders. Wash plan changes and cancellations become help desk tickets for your manager. It takes no card payments, so billing stays with the system the car wash uses today.
Which languages does it speak with our customers?
The caller's own. The phone answers each driver in the language they speak, the website chat handles 40 languages by text or by voice, and a call can be put through to the advisor on your team who speaks it. Your rules and your price list stay the same in every language.
Does the AI record our customers' calls?
Call recording is off as shipped, and turning it on is your decision. The calls your advisors take can be transcribed onto the customer's record, each department receives only its own transcripts, and every team member sees only the departments you give them.
How much does an automotive answering service cost?
Zanus AI is priced per company, never per seat, so every advisor, technician and manager at the shop works under one subscription. You pick the modules the shop needs, from the phone and the booking to quotes and the help desk, and the plans are listed on the pricing page.
How long does it take to start answering our calls?
About 2 minutes. Forward the shop line, tell Lisa your services, bays, hours and the calls that must reach a person, and the AI starts answering. Lisa fills in the rest from your website and shows you every change first, so nothing reaches a customer without your yes.
What is the difference between the 7-day free trial and the demo?
The free trial builds a sandbox around your own shop from your website and runs for 7 days, with no card: a phone line that answers as your shop, your site with Lisa on it and a dashboard. The demo needs nothing at all; it shows the AI front office ready-made and arrives by e-mail in about 2 minutes.
