AI Sidekicks & Custom Agents

One salesperson, from first text to keys.

Your rep's Sidekick works every lead in your rep's own name, number, and writing style, it books the appointment, sends the credit link, answers the real questions, then your rep takes the same thread with one tap. No second bot. No handoff to a stranger.

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Mike Torres

Mike

Sales · Bayfield Toyota

Sidekick AI
The agent family

Four kinds of agents. One coherent team.

Every conversation in BKD is owned by a specific agent with a name, a goal, and an identity, never a vague “our AI.”

1

Sidekicks

One per salesperson

A personal AI clone of each rep. It answers in seconds and follows up for weeks, in that rep's own voice.

Texts as the rep
2

Built-in agents

Three, out of the box

Seller, Inventory and Finance Agents. The Sidekick runs the right one for each lead type. You build nothing.

Text as the rep
3

Custom Agents

Built by you, in minutes

AI staff for everything else: oil changes, win-backs, recalls, events, built from a template and six questions.

Text as your AI Team Member
4

AI Team Member

One per store

A named AI persona, like Alex, with its own real phone number. Every custom agent sends as it.

Is the persona, with its own number
Sidekicks · Layer one

It doesn't sound like AI. It sounds like Mike.

Each Sidekick's voice is built from the rep's own real messages, example texts they actually send, plus tone learned from their calls. Not a generic tone dropdown. And the rep stays in charge of their clone.

  • Per-lead-type engagement matrix: each rep chooses which leads their Sidekick auto-engages, sellers, buyers, finance, independently
  • Personal opening templates, tuned in the Training Ground
  • One-tap takeover stands the AI down, the rep continues the exact same thread, same name, same number
Mike Torres
Mike's Sidekick
AI active · Mike can take over
AI active
Built-in agents

Three agents out of the box. You build nothing.

Based on the lead's type, the Sidekick runs one of three purpose-built, automotive-native agents, each with its own pipeline, goal, scripts and tools. The agent decides mid-conversation when to book, when to send the link, and when to tap out to a human.

Seller Agent“Sell my car” leads · built in

One mission: book the appraisal.

Every “sell my car” lead gets the Seller Agent. It won't quote a number it can't know, it works the conversation toward one thing, a booked appraisal visit, and feeds the Buy Centre pipeline.

What it can do mid-conversation
  • Book the appraisal visit
  • Hand off to a human
  • Alert the rep

Ava TremblayRuns inside Ava's Sidekick. To Jordan, this is just Ava.

Jordan Taylor
Jordan TaylorSeller Agent
Website · 2019 Honda Civic LX
Hi Jordan! It's Ava at Maple Auto, got your note about selling your 2019 Civic LX. We're buying this week. Want to bring it in for a quick 20-minute appraisal?
DeliveredAva's Sidekick · 9:05 AM
Maybe, what would you give me for it?
9:38 AM
Fair question! A real number needs real eyes on the car. I have Tuesday 5:30 or Wednesday 10:15 open, either work for you?
Delivered
Tuesday 5:30 works.
Appraisal booked · Tue 5:30 PM
Day 0

The opener goes out in seconds

Every new lead gets an instant, personalized first text that references the actual car.

Day 1–3

Persistent, polite, well-timed

Send-time intelligence keeps touches inside business hours and preferred times of day. An after-hours lead gets its first text next morning, not at 2 a.m.

The reply

One answer stands the cadence down

The instant a customer replies or a rep takes over, every remaining touch cancels itself.

Call tasks

Some touches are calls

A cadence step can drop a due call straight into the rep's Power Dial queue instead of sending a message.

Sarah Mitchell
Sarah MitchellBuyer
Cadence active · Sidekick
Follow-up cadence · buyer lead
Day 0
Day 1
Day 3
Day 7
Hey Sarah, the 2022 RAV4 XLE you asked about is still here. Want to take it for a spin this week?
DeliveredDay 0 · 8:02 AM
Quick follow-up, I grabbed a few extra photos of the RAV4 for you.
DeliveredDay 1 · 9:15 AM
Sorry for the delay! Yes, still interested.
Day 3 · 6:40 PM
Cadence stood down · rep notified
Call task created
Added to Ava's Power Dial queue
Ava Tremblay
Custom Agents · Agent Builder

Hire AI staff for everything else.

Service reminders, win-backs, recalls, events, pick a template, answer six questions, and the builder compiles your agent. No prompt engineering. Take it for a Test Drive before it ever texts a real customer.

app.bkd.ai · Agent Builder
Start from a template
Oil Change ReminderPost-Purchase Check-inRecall NoticeLease RenewalWin-backEvent / Promo InviteWarranty Quote Qualifier
Guided setup · six questions
1. What is this agent for?
Oil change reminders for past service customers
2. Why is it reaching out?
It's been about 6 months since their last oil change
3. Info to collect
When they last had the oil done · Approximate mileage
4. Goal, what does success look like?
Book a service appointment
5. Hand off to a person when…
3 always-on protections + 2 custom rules
6. Tone
Friendly
Compiled agent
Greeting · customer name + vehicle
Reminder logic · last service date
Collect · last oil change, mileage
Book · service calendar, real availability
Prompt assistant
“Make it less pushy about booking”
AppliedUndo
v4 · every edit versioned, one-click rollback
Test Drive
Sends as Alex · AI Team Member

You play the customer. Chat with your agent before it ever texts a real one.

  • Seven ready-made templates, from Oil Change Reminder to Warranty Quote Qualifier
  • Plain-language prompt assistant, “make it less pushy about booking”, with one-click undo
  • Each agent gets its own first message, follow-up cadence and handoff routing
  • Attach agents to tags, campaigns and workflows, so a lead source gets its own dedicated agent
Guardrails

“What if the AI says something stupid?”

The safety rails are the product. Three handoff protections are always on and can't be switched off. An agent can only use the tools its goal grants it. And nothing goes live before you've talked to it yourself.

  • Always-on handoffs: a manager request, a hostile customer, or a legal topic goes straight to a human
  • Your rules, in plain dealer language: pricing negotiation, financing beyond basics, trade-in pushback
  • Test Drive before launch, and every edit versioned with one-click rollback
app.bkd.ai · Agent Builder
5. Hand off to a person when…
Customer asks for a managerAlways on
Customer is hostileAlways on
Legal or compliance topicsAlways on
Pricing or discount negotiation
Financing beyond basics
Trade-in value pushback
Technical vehicle questions
Also hand off when… “they mention an open service dispute”
Tools · granted by the goal
Book service appointmentHand off to a personSend credit applicationBook sales appointment
Test-driven before launchEvery edit versioned
Prompt vs. person

Most AI is a prompt. A Sidekick is your rep.

Same lead, same question. A chat widget runs one generic prompt and gets clocked in a single message. Mike's Sidekick runs Mike, his rapport, his objection handling, his close.

The typical AI widget
Lot Assistant
Chat widget · one prompt, every store
Bot
Hey, is the 2021 Tacoma still available?
Hello! Thank you for your interest. 😊 A representative will contact you within 24–48 business hours to assist with your vehicle inquiry.
Instant · same reply for every lead
nvm, I’ll just call another dealer
Clocked as a bot in one message. Lead gone.
What’s underneath
You are a helpful assistant for a car dealership. Be polite and professional. Answer customer questions.

The whole playbook, one generic prompt.

Mike’s Sidekick
Mike Torres
Mike Torres
Sidekick · texts as Mike
AI active
Hey, is the 2021 Tacoma still available?
Hey, it’s Mike, yeah the Tacoma’s still on the lot. I’ve had two calls on it this week though. Want to come take it for a spin tomorrow?
Sent as Mike · his words, his number
Maybe. Is the price negotiable?
Fair question, come drive it first. If it’s the right truck, we’ll make the numbers work. I’ve got 5:30 tonight or Saturday at 10.
Delivered
Test drive booked, Saturday, 10:00 am
What’s underneath
Rapport building
Openers from 1,200 of Mike's real texts
Objection handling
His actual comebacks, not canned scripts
Closing style
How Mike asks for the appointment
Voice & tone
Learned from his calls in the Training Ground

Trained on Mike, his rapport, his comebacks, his close.

AI Team Member

Meet your newest team member.

Alex has a phone number, a personality, and never forgets a follow-up. Every custom agent sends as Alex, and replies route back to the same thread, so the oil-change reminder in March and the win-back in July are the same consistent person, not a rotating cast of robots.

  • One named AI persona per store, with its own real local number
  • Custom agents send as Alex; replies always land in the same thread
  • You choose who takes over when Alex hands off
Alex
AI Team Member
(604) 555-0184
Online · 2:14 AM
When Alex hands off
Assigned rep
A specific person
Round-robin pool
Ava TremblayAva
Dan KowalskiOff today
Priya SharmaPriya
Reps who are off get skipped. The lead never drops.
The identity rule

One customer. One thread. One person.

Sales conversations

Sidekicks text as the rep.

Sidekicks and the three built-in agents send under the salesperson's own name and number. The AI opens, the human finishes, same thread, same name, no re-introduction.

Mike TorresThe customer is texting Mike
Lifecycle & service conversations

Custom agents text as Alex.

Every agent you build sends as your store's AI Team Member, so service reminders, win-backs and event invites all come from one consistent, store-branded person.

The customer is texting Alex

Either way, a human is always one handoff away.

Give every rep a Sidekick that never sleeps.

A 30-minute walkthrough with our team. Bring your toughest lead source.

Book a Demo