AI agents for auto repair shops

In an independent repair shop the service advisor writes up the car, builds the estimate from the technician's findings, explains it to the customer and gets approval for extra work. Technicians inspect, diagnose and repair. The shop foreman assigns jobs and handles comebacks. A parts person orders from several suppliers and chases returns and core credits. The owner sets labour rates and keeps the shop compliant on waste and refrigerant.

The advisor's day is mostly interruptions. Customers call to ask whether the car is ready. Digital inspection notes like "LF pads 3mm, rotors scored" have to be rewritten for someone who does not speak shop. Declined work never gets a call back. Approvals for extra work are a phone call and a scribble on the repair order. Core returns sit on a shelf, and the credit may never appear on the supplier statement.

The agent reads the shop management system and drafts the routine messages and reports for the advisor, foreman or owner.

• Sends repair order status updates from each stage, worded and approved by the advisor.
• Turns digital vehicle inspection findings into a plain-English estimate note.
• Checks each car for open safety recalls one VIN at a time at check-in, so the advisor can tell the customer.
• Follows up on declined work at the right time, with the advisor's approval.
• Keeps a log of every customer approval for extra work: time, amount and who said yes.
• Reviews comebacks weekly so the foreman sees what keeps returning.
• Compares labour hours billed with hours worked, and tracks technician certificates before they lapse.

Diagnosis and urgency ratings belong to the technician. Estimates and prices belong to the advisor, and so does getting the customer's authorization before extra work, as the shop's state repair law requires. The agent never says a car is safe. Recall repairs go to a franchised dealer, and the agent only reports what it found. Refrigerant work stays with Section 609 certified technicians, and waste handling and spills stay with the shop. Conversations about a technician's performance are the owner's. Card numbers never pass through the agent, and customer messages go out only after the advisor approves them.