The seller is calling more than one buyer
Someone has an old car in the driveway. It does not run, or it is not worth fixing, or they just want the space back. They search for a junk car buyer and start calling. They usually call several, and they tend to go with whoever answers and sounds like they can do it.
Meanwhile your drivers are out. Dispatch might be one person who is also driving the tow truck, loading cars and handling paperwork at a pickup. The phone rings in the middle of a job. By the time you call back, the seller may already have an appointment with someone else.
An AI chatbot on your website and an AI receptionist on your phone line do not tow cars. They answer the first call or the first chat, write down the details and send them to you.
What the chatbot does
Anchor Co AI trains a chatbot on your own website and it answers from what you publish. For a junk car removal company, the questions are consistent:
- Do you take it? Cars that do not run, cars with damage, older vehicles, as your site describes them.
- Where do you pick up? The cities or counties you cover.
- Is towing included? Whatever your site says about it.
- How does a quote work? What you ask the seller for and how you get back to them.
- What do you need from me? Callers want to know what paperwork to have ready.
On that last one, be careful. Title and ownership rules vary by state. The chat does not tell a caller what the law is. If your site explains your process, it can repeat that. For anything specific, it tells the caller the company will explain what it needs, and it takes the details so you can call back.
It also makes no price promises. A seller who asks how much will hear how your quotes work, not a number.
Use cases
No-title questions. This is probably the most common question you get. Let the chat say what your site says, and let a person handle the specifics for that state and vehicle.
After-hours inquiries. A seller finds you at night and has a car they want gone by the weekend. The chat takes the details so you see them first thing.
Pickup area screening. If a caller is outside your coverage, they hear that early.
Calls during a pickup. With the Front Office plan, the AI receptionist answers missed and overflow calls. It says it is an AI, asks for the vehicle and where it is parked, and emails you a summary with the caller's name, number and reason for calling.
What it will not do
It will not quote a price, promise a pickup time, or tell a caller they can sell without a title. It does not schedule pickups into a dispatch system and it does not take payment. It collects the information and you decide what to do with it.
Objections we hear
"Sellers want a number right away." Some do. If your process requires looking at the vehicle and the details, say that on your site. A seller who understands how quotes work is a better lead than one who got a vague answer.
"The title question is complicated." It is, which is why the chat does not answer it for you. It states that rules vary by state and that you will tell the caller what you need.
"A robot will turn callers off." The receptionist tells callers it is an AI. For a caller who would otherwise reach voicemail, speaking to something that takes down the details is usually better.
What it costs
Anchor Co AI is free to start, with 1 bot and 20 messages a month. Starter is $29 a month with 2 bots and 1,000 messages a month, and Growth is $49 a month with 5 bots and 5,000 messages a month. Those are chatbot plans.
The Front Office plan adds a website and the AI phone receptionist. It is a $297 one-time setup and then $249 a month, including 300 answered phone minutes a month with no overage fees. It is month to month with no contract, and there are no partial-month refunds.
Setting it up
Put your process on your website. A page covering your pickup area, what kinds of vehicles you take, whether towing is included, what a seller should have ready and how quotes work. Say that title requirements vary by state and that you will tell the seller what is needed. The chatbot is trained on that site.
Once it is live, test it with the questions sellers ask. When it says it is not sure, that is a gap in the website, not just the chat. Fill it in.
We cannot promise any number of cars or calls. The point is simple: a call that is answered and written down can be followed up, and a call that rings out cannot.