A survey showing a disconnect in dealerships has led to new partnership — and a new artificial intelligence tool to address that gap.

The survey, conducted by Spyne, an India-based AI technology firm making inroads into the U.S. market, found 81% of American car dealerships said they lose customer conversations or leads because their CRM, chat and inventory systems don’t communicate well.

Seeking to address that issue, Spyne has joined with dealership software provider VINCUE to co-develop Benjamin, an AI assistant powered by Spyne’s conversational intelligence technology and built natively into the VINCUE platform.

In a news release, Spyne said the technology combats “the single biggest frustration across the industry: fragmented systems that block speed, insight and conversion.”

“VINCUE is redefining the end-to-end retail stack, from sourcing to selling,” Spyne co-founder and CEO Sanjay Varnwal said. “Spyne is bringing AI-powered visual merchandising and conversational automation for automotive dealerships in the U.S., to supercharge engagement and conversion.

“Together, we’re creating a unified, AI-native ecosystem that helps dealers move inventory faster, boost gross revenue and never miss a customer conversation again.”

Benjamin is designed to automate dealership communication by qualifying vehicle acquisition leads, managing trade-in requests and delivering intelligent 24/7 responses to boost dealer conversion rates and improve operational efficiency.

“There are a lot of AI companies emerging in our space right now and we did our research to find the best tech and cultural fit,” VINCUE founder and CEO Chris Hoke said. “What impresses us most about Spyne is the quality of their software, their agility and responsiveness, and the way they put the best interest of the dealer ahead of anything else. That’s the type of partnership we were looking for and it’s the values we share.”

VINCUE serves more than 1,000 dealerships in the U.S., and Spyne said its AI technology is used by more than 3,200 stores worldwide. The companies said their partnership “is the beginning of how AI can positively reshape customer experience” in U.S. markets.

“Innovation isn’t about layering new technology on top of a legacy stack,” Spyne head of U.S. business Dave Purgason said. “It’s about creating a seamless journey. This collaboration between VINCUE and Spyne demonstrates how the right technology partnership can transform the dealership experience while putting the consumer experience first.”

Spyne’s survey of 600 U.S. dealerships, conducted in October, also found 65% of dealers said followups are delayed because their CRM and chat systems are disconnected, 72% believe AI-enabled chat tools could meaningfully improve their lead-management efficiency, and 68% said an “always-on” customer-response system would directly improve their sales performance.