Where leads come from and where they go: lead providers, CRM delivery and PBS on Settings → Connections, who handles each kind of request and the service and general-inquiry inboxes on Settings → Routing, all per dealership. AutoBook Agent answers every new lead instantly, with nothing to set up.
Where leads come from, who handles them, and what lands in your CRM is split across two Settings pages (open Settings from your account menu: your name or photo at the bottom of the left menu):
- Settings → Connections is every system AutoBook talks to: Provider feeds (your lead sources) and Where new leads go (your CRM, and where a lead goes when there is no CRM). Connections needs the integrations permission, which administrators have by default.
- Settings → Routing is who handles what: the Sales desk and Service desk, Where each request goes (how each kind of hand-off is delivered), and Email inboxes (the general-inquiry and service-department addresses).
AutoBook Agent's instant reply to a new lead is not set up anywhere: it is always on (see below). Almost every control here is per dealership, so each dealership in a group sets up its own.
Connecting a lead provider (AutoTrader, vAuto, CDK and others)
1
Add the feed
Go to Settings → Connections. In the Provider feeds section, press Add feed. Leave Connection on ADF email / webhook, type the Provider name (for example AutoTrader, vAuto, CDK, Dealertrack), add an optional Label, and if your group has several dealerships pick the Dealership the leads belong to. Press Create feed.
2
Copy the inbound address
The new feed appears in the list with its own Inbound address, built from the provider's name. Use the copy button beside it. The address stays in the list, so you can copy it again any time.
3
Give it to the provider
Send the provider the inbound address and ask them to deliver their ADF leads there. Most lead providers already deliver this way.
4
Check it is working
Each row shows Last received and how many leads have come in. Once the provider sends its first lead, the time updates and the lead appears in the Sales pipeline and the Inbox.
Several dealerships? One feed per store
With more than one dealership, create one feed per store and pick the store when you create it. That feed's address sends its leads to that store automatically.
Turning off or deleting a lead feed
In Provider feeds on Settings → Connections, each row has Disable (and Enable to turn it back on). Disabling refuses new mail to that feed's address but keeps its history. The red delete button removes the feed for good and cannot be undone. Prefer Disable if the provider might come back.
Kia Canada leads (Shift Digital)
A store whose brand includes Kia (the brand is picked when the store is set up) sees a second Connection choice when adding a feed: Kia Canada certification (HTTP). It is used only for certification testing with Shift Digital, Kia Canada's lead partner. It asks for the Shift dealer code, then shows a one-time credential to give Shift. Save it then, because it is not shown again.
The feed's row has a Reporting button. Reporting tells Kia what happened with each Kia lead (activity facts only; conversations and recordings stay in AutoBook), and it stays paused until the credentials are set up. Only Sales conversations are reported. A Service conversation is never reported, even when the customer wrote to your main number, and a Sales conversation is reported whichever of your numbers it used. Service visits are never reported. Production use needs Shift's approval and a separate activation by AutoBook. The row's switch reads Disable intake / Enable intake; disable intake or pause reporting rather than deleting a feed that has taken leads.
AutoBook Agent's instant reply to a new lead
Speed to lead is automatic, and there is no switch for it. The moment a feed (or your website contact form) delivers a new lead, AutoBook Agent answers within seconds on every contact method the lead left you: email if they left an email, text if they left a phone number, both if they left both.
It is a real reply, not a filing confirmation. It names where the inquiry came from ("AutoTrader") and the vehicle it was about, and it answers what the customer actually wrote on the form. Whichever channel they answer on, their reply lands in the same conversation in your Inbox.
It always respects consent, quiet hours, your daily caps, and the switch that pauses AutoBook Agent.
How much AutoBook Agent writes follows AutoBook Agent Autonomy
The acknowledgment itself always goes out, like a booking confirmation. How much AutoBook Agent adds to it follows that channel's row on Settings → AutoBook Agent Autonomy:
- On: AutoBook Agent's answer to what the customer wrote goes out with the acknowledgment.
- Approve first: the acknowledgment goes now and AutoBook Agent's answer waits in the Inbox as a draft for a rep to approve.
- Off, or the channel isn't set up yet: the plain acknowledgment goes on its own.
A text only goes where the SMS row's How it replies isn't Off and its Starts conversations switch is on, and the same for Email. So a lead is never contacted on a channel you haven't turned on.
Connecting your CRM (ADF email)
AutoBook sends leads to your CRM by email in the ADF (Auto-lead Data Format) standard that VinSolutions and most other CRMs read. There is no connector to install: you point AutoBook at the address your CRM already watches for ADF leads.
1
Add the CRM address
Go to Settings → Connections, section Where new leads go (the left rail calls it Where leads go). Press Add integration (or Connect a CRM when none is set), enter the CRM email address (your CRM's lead-import inbox, for example your VinSolutions ADF address), and press Add integration. It is added for the dealership you have selected; each dealership has one CRM inbox.
2
Send a test
Press Send Test on the row to send a sample ADF lead, then check it arrived in your CRM.
3
Change or pause it
Edit changes the address. The switch on the row turns the integration on or off without deleting it. The red delete button removes it.
4
Check what was sent
Under the list, ADF email history has a View ADF history button: every ADF email sent, with status (Sent or Failed), recipient, customer, subject and the full ADF content. Use it to confirm leads are flowing or to see why one failed. Viewing it needs the logs permission.
No CRM connected? Your leads still reach someone
There is no switch here, on purpose. Unless Sales leads are on Team queue (then nothing is emailed; the lead is worked in AutoBook), new leads and bookings go to your CRM as an ADF email, or to your general-inquiry inbox when no CRM is connected. The section states where they go today. If a dealership has neither a CRM nor a general-inquiry inbox, the section says leads are captured in the Sales pipeline but not emailed anywhere, with a Set a general-inquiry inbox link to Email inboxes on Settings → Routing.
Connecting PBS (your dealer system)
PBS is connected in the Dealer system (PBS) section of Settings → Connections, per dealership. AutoBook reads from PBS: customers, their vehicles, service history, and optionally your inventory.
Writing back to PBS is switched on by AutoBook, store by store, once PBS allows it. At a store that writes, AutoBook writes only for that store's own customers, and only these things:
- Service visits: AutoBook Agent, your online Book page and your staff book, move and cancel service visits in PBS. A customer or car not yet in PBS is added so the visit can be booked.
- Contact details: a new cell number or email once it is proven (the customer confirmed both the old and the new one, or a rep or manager confirmed it).
- Contact preferences: an opt-out from texts, email or calls, a "no promotions", and an opt-in the customer gave us after unsubscribing in PBS.
AutoBook never changes a name, address or note on a customer PBS already has, and never blanks a value. Deals stay read-only: AutoBook does not send deals to PBS.
1
Ask AutoBook to start the connection
PBS has to authorize AutoBook for your store first. Contact AutoBook support; once PBS confirms, AutoBook enters the PBS serial number for you. You cannot change the serial yourself.
2
Enter the store login
In Store username type the store's PBS PartnerHub email, and in Store password its password (or ask AutoBook support to enter them). Press Save in the save bar. AutoBook checks the login straight away and shows whether it worked. The password is never shown back; type over it to replace it, or clear both boxes and save to remove it.
3
Choose what AutoBook reads
Turn on Sync customer records so AutoBook reads this store's contacts, their vehicles and service history. Turn on Inventory from PBS to take your lot from PBS (photos still come from your website); it takes effect at the next inventory refresh. Both need the serial and login first.
4
Verify
Press Verify connection. Connection verified. means PBS answered for this store.
Service switches and group stores
Two PBS switches live beside what they decide, and the PBS section just states them: Quote service prices heads Service pricing on Settings → Knowledge Base, and Propose live service times heads the Service menu on Settings → Booking.
PBS shares contacts across a dealer group (for example a group that also runs other brands). Being in that shared list does not make someone your store's customer: anything AutoBook starts (campaigns, follow-ups, service outreach) goes only to your store's own customers. When a customer's PBS record says they unsubscribed from texts, email or calls, AutoBook Agent starts nothing on that channel.
Choosing where each kind of request goes: Email only, Team queue, or Both
The Where each request goes section of Settings → Routing sets, per kind of hand-off, how it reaches your team. It is per dealership.
- Email only: goes to your inbox or CRM; nothing is tracked to complete in AutoBook.
- Team queue: a tracked work item your team completes in AutoBook. No email.
- Both: the email keeps flowing and a tracked work item is created too.
The kinds are Service requests, Sales leads, Complaints & safety and Document requests (Carfax, window sticker, spec sheet). Voice message picks Rep answers first (filed for a rep to listen to and answer) or AutoBook Agent answers first (AutoBook Agent texts a reply itself and hands it to a rep when needed). Missed inbound call always alerts the team; there is nothing to choose. The website chat follows the Sales leads row. Make your choice, then Save in the save bar.
Which choices your plan offers
Team queue, Both and voice message AutoBook Agent answers first are part of the AI Communication plan. There, Sales leads, Complaints & safety and Document requests start on Team queue, and Service requests start on Both. A Reception-plan store gets Email only, except Service requests, where it can pick Both (the default: service inbox emailed and service team alerted in the app) or Email only. The locked options show an upgrade path. If a store is downgraded, the other kinds go back to Email only automatically, so keep your inbox emails set up so nothing is stranded.
What each kind of request does in each mode
Service requests
A service request from the chatbot or booking page. Both (the default) emails your service inbox and alerts your service team in the app. If nobody on the service desk responds within 60 working minutes (30 for a safety concern), the request moves to whoever is working the service desk. Email only sends just the email and nobody is alerted in the app. Team queue stops the service email; the request is still captured, the customer still gets their confirmation, and your service team is alerted in the app. This row is the one place service routing is set.
Sales leads
A new sales lead from chat, a call, or a form. Email only sends the details to your CRM or inbox as an ADF email. Both does that and also works the lead in your Sales pipeline. Team queue works it in AutoBook only, and nothing is sent to your CRM: no new-lead ADF, no appointment ADF, no sold or lost update. Send Test on your CRM integration still works. Booking is never affected: AutoBook Agent books test drives the same way in every mode.
Complaints & safety
A complaint, safety concern, job application, or other question that isn't a sale or service. On Email only it lands in your general inbox and a manager is alerted in the app. On Team queue or Both it goes to one person you pick on the row (General inquiries go to); with nobody picked, the box shows who it defaults to. That person gets one notice. If they haven't dealt with it within 120 of their working minutes, or they are away, it moves to whoever is working the desk. A job applicant or a complaint never becomes a sales rep's customer.
Document requests
A Carfax, window sticker, or spec sheet a customer asked for. The customer is emailed the document either way. On Email only, the request goes to your inbox so a rep can pull it and send it; on Team queue, a rep completes a tracked task by attaching the PDF, which is what sends it.
Voice message
A message a caller left with AutoBook Agent. Rep answers first files it for a rep. AutoBook Agent answers first lets AutoBook Agent read it and text a reply itself; a call-back request, a message it can't make out, or a customer on Approve first goes to a rep as a draft to approve.
Missed inbound call
A call nobody answered and nobody has called or texted back. It always alerts your team. Where the caller's consent and your quiet hours allow it, the caller may also get one text back.
AutoBook sets the timers; the Routing page states them
How long a hand-off may wait is set by AutoBook, not by your dealership. The Where each request goes section shows the times as a read-only line under AutoBook sets these times. Each person gets one notice per thing that needs them, never a reminder, and no manager is paged.
- The clock counts the person's working minutes: their shift inside your open hours. Days off, holidays and leave never count. Someone who is away has no working minutes, so their waiting work moves at once.
- A new sales lead needs a person's first touch within 30 working minutes. AutoBook Agent has already answered the customer within seconds. A sales hand-off, a held reply and a missed call also get 30; documents, voice messages and general inquiries get 120; a service request gets 60.
- When the time runs out, the work moves to whoever is working that desk, and they get one notice. If a customer is waiting on an answer, AutoBook Agent answers them with its best complete reply. With nobody working, the work stays put and AutoBook Agent still answers.
- A missed call or voice message from a customer with their own rep stays with that rep unless the rep is away; the customer gets one short text from AutoBook Agent so they aren't left wondering.
On Email only, leads are worked in your CRM, so nothing moves in AutoBook.
Setting the service and general-inquiry email addresses
1
Open Email inboxes
Go to Settings → Routing and scroll to Email inboxes. It has two groups, Service department and General inquiries, per dealership.
2
Service department
Enter the Service email address. Service requests from the chatbot and booking page are emailed here while the Service requests row is on Email only or Both. Add more people under More email addresses; everyone listed gets the email itself.
3
General inquiries
Enter the General inquiry email address for complaints, safety concerns, job inquiries and other non-sales, non-service requests. Leave it blank and these go to the service email. It is also where new leads go when no CRM is connected.
4
Save and confirm
Press Save. The address in the box is the one in use. To confirm delivery, submit a real service request on your booking page and check it arrives. View service history lists the service requests that came in, so you can see a request was captured even if its email went astray.
Where do I see and work the leads themselves?
In the Sales pipeline and the Inbox. AutoBook builds one deal card per person from their conversation, so there is no manual "add a lead" or "convert lead" step. Settings → Connections and Settings → Routing hold only the setup, not a leads list.
Who owns a new lead?
The Sales desk on Settings → Routing decides: a customer who already has a rep keeps that rep, and a new customer goes to the reps who take new work, the way the desk's Distribution says. Only people who are around get new work: not someone on leave, and not someone who hasn't been in AutoBook for a week. A customer who asks for a rep by name gets that rep. If the rep picked for a new customer hasn't made a first touch within 30 of their working minutes, the lead moves to whoever is working the sales desk.
Where do I find a feed's address again?
In Provider feeds on Settings → Connections. Each feed's Inbound address is on its row with a copy button.
I can't see Connections, or the buttons are greyed out.
Connections needs the integrations permission (administrators have it by default). Ask your account owner. Someone with only the logs permission sees the CRM section's View ADF history and nothing else.
Does AutoBook connect to Google Calendar or VinSolutions directly?
Calendar sync is Outlook Calendar only; there is no Google Calendar sync. CRM delivery (VinSolutions included) is by ADF email, not a direct connection: you point AutoBook at your CRM's ADF lead-import address.
Why didn't a new lead get a text (or an email)?
AutoBook Agent answers on every contact method the lead left, but the channel has to be on. Check on Settings → AutoBook Agent Autonomy that the channel's How it replies isn't Off and its Starts conversations switch is on, that the lead actually left that contact method, and that consent and quiet hours allow the message. There is no separate first-touch switch.
Where is PBS connected?
In the Dealer system (PBS) section of the same Settings → Connections page. See Connecting PBS (your dealer system) above.