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Put an AI call center and photo pre-estimate on every collision lead so weekend inquiries don't sit for days

who David Black, Corporate Collision Director at Body by Cochran (11 body shops in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio, part of #1 Cochran Automotive Group), interviewed by Autobody News; BodyShop Booster's Ryan Taylor and Cochran wholesale parts director Justin Kendrick are also quoted

The problem

Insurance assignments and customer inquiries sat unanswered for days when shops were closed or busy. Each store's response rate to assignments was below 70%, and most were missing nearly half.

What happened

Per Autobody News / Black: AI contacts 95% of assignments (was below 70%). Capture rate of people contacted nears 90%. Tractable pre-estimates are useful for anything under 25 hours of work and write a slightly better estimate in 90 seconds instead of 30 minutes. BodyShop Booster's Ryan Taylor says 78% of customers go with "first responders." Four of 11 Cochran collision centers were live at the time of the article, with all 11 planned by year-end. No dollar revenue figure is published for the AI itself.

Quoted in the source: David Black, Corporate Collision Director, Body by Cochran. Source: Autobody News: $75M Dealership Collision Center MSO Expanding AI Call Center, Estimating Effort (Body by Cochran / David Black) (2025-08-27) · Added 2026-10-15.

How to set it up yourself

1. What Body by Cochran used: BodyShop Booster as a 24/7 virtual CSR for calls and insurance assignments, Tractable for photo pre-estimates on jobs under about 25 hours, and AI-produced "Amy" videos that text customers through the repair.
2. DIY adaptation (not what Cochran used): forward only unanswered and after-hours calls to Smith.ai AI Receptionist (free tier 25 calls/mo; Pro $150/mo). Paste the prompt below with your hours, services and how you handle insurance assignments.
3. For photo intake without Tractable: text every new lead a link to a shared Google Form that asks for 8 photos (all corners, both sides, VIN plate, dashboard warning lights) and the insurance claim number. Review the form yourself before quoting; do not auto-send a price.
4. Set a follow-up rule: if the AI or form does not book within 2 hours during open hours (or by 9 a.m. the next open day), flag the lead to a service advisor with the transcript or form answers.
5. Keep a person on anything over light cosmetic damage, total-loss questions and upset callers. Cochran's system already hands failed first follow-ups to a human.

Copy-paste prompt

You are the 24/7 virtual CSR for {SHOP NAME}, a collision repair shop in {CITY}. For every caller or insurance assignment: collect name, phone, email, vehicle year/make/model, claim or policy number if they have it, whether the car is drivable, and a short damage description. Offer the next open drop-off or appointment from {OPEN SLOTS}. Explain that a photo link will be texted so we can start a pre-estimate. Answer only from: hours {HOURS}, services {SERVICES}, rental partners {RENTAL}. Never quote a dollar repair price. If the caller wants a person, sounds upset, or the job sounds like a possible total loss, say a collision advisor will call within {CALLBACK WINDOW} and tag FLAG FOR ADVISOR. Summary: name | phone | email | vehicle | claim# | drivable | concern | appointment | flag.

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