Two different layers of your dealership stack.
Numa is a voice-first AI platform that works with your existing CRM and DMS, and it is strongest in the service drive. BKD is the CRM itself, with AI agents that work seller, buyer, and subprime finance leads over text and email.
What Numa does well.
Voice AI that picks up every call
Numa's Voice AI answers inbound calls around the clock and books service appointments during the call. Numa reports an 80%+ appointment booking rate and over 1 billion calls handled.
Deep fixed ops coverage
Service is where Numa grew up. It handles status calls, missed call recovery, and appointment confirmations, and its LiveCSI product watches live conversation sentiment to flag heat cases before the survey lands.
Broad DMS integrations and OEM certifications
Numa claims 90% DMS coverage, with integrations including Reynolds & Reynolds, Tekion, DealerBuilt, and PBS, plus BMW and GM certifications and a Ford OEM program.
Real scale and momentum
Numa says it is live in 1,300+ dealerships across the US and Canada, tripled revenue in the year ending April 2026, and acquired the AI sales platform Ficus to push beyond fixed ops.
Where BKD is different.
BKD is the CRM, not a layer on top
Numa positions itself as an AI operating layer that coordinates phone, text, and messaging alongside your existing CRM and DMS. BKD is the system of record itself. Leads, conversations, deals, and delivery live in one login.
Built for sales-side leads from day one
BKD ships three lead types with purpose-built AI agents: sellers, vehicle buyers, and subprime finance. Each agent knows its pipeline and its job.
AI texts and emails. Humans make the calls.
BKD's agents work over text and email only. There is no voice AI by design. Calls stay human through a browser Power Dial, so a customer never talks to a robot.
Appraisal to delivery in the same login
BKD includes an appraisal workbench with sold comps, a scatter plot, and Blackbook values, plus live DMS inventory sync, a deal pipeline, and a delivery board.
Build, test, and version your own agents
BKD has a guided agent builder with a live Test Drive pane and version history. Each store gets a named AI team member with its own phone number, and leads route by availability-aware round robin or weighted distribution.
Choose Numa if
- Unanswered service calls are your biggest leak. Their voice AI answering and booking service appointments 24/7 is the core of the product.
- Fixed ops CSI and heat cases are the fire you need out. LiveCSI and their heat case tooling are built for exactly that.
- You like your current CRM and DMS and want AI added on top rather than a platform switch.
Choose BKD if
- You want the CRM and the AI in one system instead of another tool bolted onto your stack.
- Your problem is sales-side follow-up: trade-in sellers, vehicle buyers, and subprime finance leads.
- You appraise and desk deals every day and want appraisals, inventory, and the deal pipeline in the same login, with humans on every phone call.
Five questions to ask both of us.
Take these into every vendor call, ours included. The answers separate demos from reality.
- 1Which departments does your AI cover in production today, and which are roadmap?
- 2What exactly happens when the AI does not know the answer? Show me the handoff to a human.
- 3Which of my exact DMS and CRM versions are live integrations, and what data flows both directions?
- 4How is pricing structured: per rooftop, per user, per conversation, or performance based? What does a typical single store pay all in?
- 5Can I see the actual messages or calls your AI handled at a real store last week, and can my team edit the AI's behavior without a support ticket?
Based on Numa's public materials as of July 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us on a demo and we'll correct it.
See the difference on your leads.
A 30-minute walkthrough with our team. Bring your toughest lead source.