Build a deal as a draft order in the Admin Portal, then let the buyer finish checkout on a store tablet or from a link, with your discount, payment options and deposit already in place.
A lender waterfall sets which lenders get a buyer's credit application, in what order and when, so a decline moves it on to the next lender. It also sets when offers appear and whether they sort by lowest APR or lowest monthly payment.
Switch the Admin Portal between light, dark or your computer's own setting from the menu at the top right. Each browser keeps the choice you make.
Improvements 8
AI Sales Agent When your store is closed and the AI Sales Agent passes a buyer's question to your team, it tells the buyer you are closed and when you open again.
AI Sales Agent When a buyer becomes a lead, the vehicles they looked at and searched for on your site beforehand fill in their vehicle of interest, so your rep knows what they were shopping for before the first message.
AI Sales Agent On phones, the Talk to us button sits above your site's bottom navigation and the vehicle page's buy bar, and steps aside while a panel such as Price details is open.
AI Sales Agent While a buyer is waiting on your team's answer to a question the agent passed on, the agent holds its follow-up texts. Once your answer goes out, follow-ups start again from the beginning.
Transaction Engine Storefront search results can show an itemized price behind each vehicle card's price: retail price, any dealer discount, freight, setup and fees, adding up to the advertised price.
AI Sales Agent The AI Sales Agent tags rental and transport inquiries as Rentals or Transportation rather than General, so those leads are easy to find and hand to the right people.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Storefront search results show each unit's stock number. On a lead, pre-qualification and abandoned-cart cards show the stock number too, with a link to the unit in your inventory.
Transaction Engine Promotion cards on the vehicle page and in checkout spell out the details of each offer, such as $500 off this vehicle, a promotional APR, or a manufacturer rebate.
API 1
Transaction Engine Ekho.checkout.createInventoryCart and validateInventoryCart accept vin to name the unit, alongside inventory_id and vehicle_details_url. Only a unit that is live for online sale resolves.
Work your leads and orders from your phone. Every Admin Portal list turns into cards, drawers fill the screen, and the menu opens from the bottom of the screen.
Set a manufacturer rebate on any unit from its inventory drawer, and say whether your advertised price already includes it. Shoppers see the rebate on the vehicle page, and checkout applies it to the order.
Improvements 9
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Cmd+K search lists what you opened before, grouped by day, and a Type filter narrows any search to orders, leads or another kind of record. If you work in several accounts, one search covers all of them, and opening a result switches you to its account.
AI Sales Agent Each lead action item in the inbox opens with a one-line summary and the facts your rep needs to answer it. When the agent will turn the rep's answer into the reply to the buyer, the form says so.
Transaction Engine When your DMS sends a deal number, the order drawer shows it beside the order number, ready to copy, so you can open the same deal in both systems.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Search, filters, sort and page on your inventory, accessories, promotions, team, action item and report lists are part of the page link, so a reload keeps your view and a shared link opens the same one. Accessory and team drawers also step to the previous or next record.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Connect your ad and analytics accounts in Integrations > Marketing, whichever Ekho products you use. Your chat widget and your checkout both report conversions to them.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Turn on consent before tracking yourself in Integrations > Marketing. You can also stop Ekho loading your marketing pixels on your website when your own tag setup already runs them.
Transaction Engine Preorder buyers pay their deposit in the faster checkout and, once you invite them, finish the purchase there too, with the deposit already taken off the balance. It is rolling out dealer by dealer.
Transaction Engine Shoppers filter your storefront from a new panel with quick filters and removable chips, and can pick several models, body colors, seat colors or seat counts at once. It is rolling out across dealer storefronts.
AI Sales Agent When a shopper sends a question from your storefront, the lead shows their message and the vehicle they asked about.
API 1
Transaction Engine Partners can mark a vehicle in transit to its fulfillment center from their own systems with mark-in-transit-to-fulfillment-center, through the API or a matching Zapier action. The call takes the estimated arrival date.
The vehicle page headline is the total vehicle price with your dealer fees included, and the monthly payment is based on that total. A Price details section shows shoppers the same receipt they see at checkout.
Open the chat widget preview in the Admin Portal while the widget is still off for your site, so your team can try the agent before visitors see it. Choose which quick actions the widget offers, and the agent still answers if a buyer asks about one you turned off.
AI Sales Agent Buyers can text photos, such as their trade-in, to your Sales Agent number, and your reps see them in the conversation in the Admin Portal. It is rolling out across dealers.
Transaction Engine The vehicle page shows the description you keep for each unit, with the full text one tap away.
AI Sales Agent The leads filter has an Assigned to section, so you can see the leads of one rep or several at once, with a count beside each name.
AI Sales Agent The first text the agent sends a new lead asks about the vehicle they inquired on, or what they are looking for, without recommending other units.
AI Sales Agent When a buyer's inquiry reaches you from a listing site or your CRM, the agent texts them back as soon as it arrives rather than waiting for the morning.
Transaction Engine Each ready document on an order's Documents tab has a Print button beside Download, so you can print it without saving the file first.
AI Sales Agent When a rep answers a question the agent passed to them, the text to the buyer restates what they asked before giving the answer. In web chat, the agent tells the buyer that the answer will arrive by text.
AI Sales Agent Each lead lists the vehicles the buyer wanted or passed on with more accuracy, and a vehicle the buyer only owns or needs parts for stays off the list.
Transaction Engine On phones, the vehicle page keeps Get started, Send inquiry, Trade in and Share in a bar pinned to the bottom of the screen from the moment it loads. Preorder units show an estimated delivery date beside the price.
API 2
Transaction Engine Cart responses from the REST routes and the browser SDK list each requested accessory that could not be added, and why, in dropped_accessories (droppedAccessories in the SDK). The cart is still created.
Transaction Engine Ekho.checkout.createInventoryCart and createBuildToOrderCart take the same body as POST /carts/inventory and POST /carts/build-to-order, promo_codes included, so a cart built in the browser with an inventory_id moves to your server unchanged. In the browser, createInventoryCart also accepts vehicle_details_url in place of inventory_id.
Press Cmd+K (Ctrl+K on Windows) from any screen in the Admin Portal to find an order, lead, conversation, inventory unit or preorder, and open it right away. Every page and settings section you can reach, plus the records you opened last, show up before you even start typing.
Transaction Engine Buyers who pay in full can check out with Apple Pay in Safari on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, and approve the payment with Face ID or Touch ID. The option appears only on a device that can use it, and it is rolling out across dealer storefronts.
AI Sales Agent In the Admin Portal conversation view, your reps see what the buyer did with each form or booking the agent offered: completed it, has not opened it, or left it. When a rep answers a question from the agent, the question, the answer and the rep's name appear together on one card.
AI Sales Agent The Conversations inbox has the same department filter as Action items, so each team sees only the Sales, Finance, Parts, Service or General conversations that belong to it.
Transaction Engine Buyers can apply your dealer and manufacturer promotions in checkout whether they pay in full or finance. If an offer changes before the buyer submits, checkout shows the new total first.
API 3
Transaction Engine The API reference gains a Guides section. Its first guide walks a partner through keeping their own system in step with dealer inventory, from registering an inventory event destination to the first GET /inventory backfill and recovering missed deliveries.
Transaction Engine POST /carts/inventory and POST /carts/build-to-order accept nested JSON objects and arrays in metadata, and return the metadata exactly as the cart holds it.
Transaction Engine Ekho.checkout.createCart() accepts promoCodes, so a dealer site can apply the promotions it set up in the Admin Portal to the cart it creates. A code that does not apply is skipped and never blocks the cart.
A conversation in the Admin Portal shows the vehicle cards, bookings and pre-qualification results the buyer saw in web chat, where they saw them. A message sent from a nudge is marked as sent automatically.
AI Sales Agent Buyers can set their location in the AI Sales Agent chat with a Canadian postal code or city, as well as a US ZIP code or city.
AI Sales Agent A buyer who shared their contact details with the AI Sales Agent is not asked for them again after closing the tab or coming back to the site later in the same browser.
AI Sales Agent Each row in the Conversations inbox names the rep assigned to the lead, or shows Unassigned. The inbox keeps every conversation in one list, narrowed with search and filters.
Transaction Engine The Delivery section of Transaction Engine settings has an Estimated delivery time card, so you can change the delivery estimate on your orders yourself.
Transaction Engine The inventory table shows each vehicle's full name, so vehicles that differ only by package or color are easy to tell apart.
AI Sales Agent When a buyer's store has no match, the AI Sales Agent looks across your other stores and tells the buyer which one has the vehicle.
Transaction Engine The Reassign and Ship action item walks you through the MCO in three numbered steps, with the buyer's state requirements listed in the first.
Transaction Engine The orders table shows each order's stock number in its own column, and you can search orders by it.
Transaction Engine From a lender's credit app item, ask the buyer for information the lender needs before it takes an application, such as bank details, and review the answers before you submit. You can also clear a lender's conditions from the lender decision.
AI Sales Agent When a buyer asks to buy without visiting, the AI Sales Agent offers to connect them with your team and asks for their contact details, or follows your own remote buying process when you have described one.
AI Sales Agent Transaction Engine With ten or more accounts, the Switch account menu opens with a search field, so you can find a rooftop by typing its name.
AI Sales Agent When you add a lead or reach out to one, the Vehicle of interest picker searches the vehicles you have in stock, new and used.
The AI Sales Agent texts a rep the moment a lead needs a person. A reply of a few words answers a buyer's question or puts a hot lead in the rep's hands to call, so it is even easier to turn leads into buyers.
AI Sales Agent The reply box in a conversation expands with a longer message, so you can read the whole reply before you send it.
Improvements 9
AI Sales Agent A department filter beside Filters narrows the Action items inbox to Sales, Finance, Parts, Service or General, with a count on each.
AI Sales Agent Each conversation shows the buyer's name, the channel and how recent it is, with the last message on one line and a clear mark on paused threads with an unread buyer message.
AI Sales Agent A dealer group's account sees the leads at each of its rooftops and can work them the same way the rooftop can: stage, assignee, notes, outreach and action items.
Transaction Engine Buyers who pay in full can finish in express checkout by card or by bank transfer, without leaving the flow. Express checkout starts from the buyer's cart, so the promotions and ad attribution on it carry through to the order.
AI Sales Agent Hand a paused conversation back to the Sales Agent straight from its action item, with an optional note for the agent. When you mark a reply item complete, the portal offers to hand the conversation back for you.
Transaction Engine Financed buyers see what their insurance policy needs to list before they choose how to get covered. A buyer whose order is still being prepared sees what they are waiting for and gets an email when they can continue.
AI Sales Agent Transaction Engine Integrations has its own item in the Admin Portal's left navigation, directly under Settings, with the same tabs and cards as before.
Transaction Engine An order's fulfillment details name the pickup location for a pickup, and the dealer coordinating delivery for a delivered vehicle.
AI Sales Agent Move an action item, and the lead behind it, to another rep from the Action items inbox, without opening the lead.
API 1
Transaction Engine Updating a location through POST /locations with a new address in the same state moves it there. A change that cannot be applied safely returns a conflict and leaves the location as it was.
A new Action items tab under Inbox collects every open item your team needs to handle to keep a lead or an order moving. Filter by item type or by assignee, and the tab opens on the items assigned to you.
AI Sales Agent Most action items ask for a single answer, such as a unit's price, and the Sales Agent writes the reply to the buyer and keeps the conversation going. The agent handles more buyer questions on its own and asks your team only when it needs information you have, or when a buyer needs a person.
AI Sales Agent When a lead arrives by ADF from a marketplace, a listing site, or a manufacturer website, the buyer's comments carry over to the lead details, so your team sees what the buyer asked without leaving the lead.
Ekho reads the standard automotive lead format, so a lead from any site that sends it becomes a lead in your CRM that the AI Sales Agent answers. Autotrader, Cars.com, CarGurus, CycleTrader, ATV Trader and your own website forms all reach one address.
AI Sales Agent Business Details now offers Canadian time zones, including the two that keep a fixed offset year round rather than moving with daylight saving. A Canadian rooftop can set the zone its business hours actually run on.
AI Sales Agent Ekho reads the department a buyer wants more accurately across your website forms and inbound text messages, so a parts or service question stops arriving as a sales enquiry. The department travels with the lead and shows as its own column in the CRM.
Transaction Engine Running more than one rooftop from one account is easier. Work that belongs to a rooftop in your network is now reachable by the people who own it.
Transaction Engine Buyers can share a vehicle from its listing page, from the bar that follows them down the page, and from the payment card, so a shopper can send a unit to a partner or a friend without copying the address out of the browser. Share is always on and sits outside your call-to-action settings.
Transaction Engine Units move through the steps that make them eligible for online sale with less waiting, so more of your stock is available to buy online and it gets there faster.
API 4
Transaction Engine POST /carts/inventory builds a checkout cart for a dealer unit named by inventory_id, and POST /carts/build-to-order builds one for a vehicle named by manufacturer_id, model_id, variant_id and style_id. Both take carts:write and return a checkout_url to send a buyer to. A new manufacturers:read route returns a catalog vehicle with its trim and model inline, so a partner can name a vehicle before any transaction exists.
Transaction Engine GET /inventory and GET /inventory/{id} return a dealer's stock under a new inventory:read scope, with catalog_vehicle on every item and location available through expand[]. Each item carries a pricing block with advertised and compare_at, both base vehicle prices, and the same block rides on the inventory.created and inventory.updated webhooks.
Transaction Engine GET /locations, POST /locations and DELETE /locations/{location} let a program owner set which dealerships act as its pickup and last-leg delivery points, under locations:read and locations:write. A repeat write updates rather than conflicts, so a nightly full sync is safe.
Transaction Engine mark-pickup-scheduled and mark-pickup-fulfilled join the postable partner actions on POST /orders/{order}/vehicles/{vehicle}/action-items/{action}, under orders:write. An order a buyer collects in person can now be advanced over the API rather than only in the portal.
Automatically ask each buyer for a public review of your dealership when their deal closes. Choose the deal stages in Ekho or your CRM that count, and Ekho texts the buyer once with your Google Business Profile review link, or a review page you choose, plus an optional follow-up if they have not clicked.
Vehicles that were waiting on confirmed details now go on sale online as soon as Ekho holds complete, consistent data for that vehicle, so more of your inventory is available to buy online, sooner.
Transaction Engine Checkout now carries a buyer's ad-click and analytics identifiers from your site through to purchase, so Meta (Facebook and Instagram) and Google credit the ad that started the visit.
The short blurb you write on your own listings now appears on the vehicle page, in a Purchase details box beneath the location and delivery cards. The words you chose to sell a unit reach the buyer who is reading about it.
Someone working at group level can create widget links for the whole group. The list offers only the actions every active rooftop can carry out, so a buyer never lands on one their own rooftop cannot complete.
Ekho's documentation is rebuilt around four sections: buyers, the AI Sales Agent, the Transaction Engine, and a full API reference. The buyer and AI Sales Agent guides are open in full, the Transaction Engine opens on a preview, and the API reference appears once an Ekho client signs in.
Transaction Engine The buy buttons you embed on your own site render only on units a shopper can purchase online right now. A unit that is not ready for online sale shows no button at all.
AI Sales Agent The leads table shows the stage each lead sits at in your CRM, and you can filter the table by it. The column appears wherever there is stage data to show.
Transaction Engine The preorder confirmation screen spells out what happens next, and confirms the buyer's deposit and their place in the delivery queue.
API 2
Transaction Engine catalog_vehicle now publishes the four ids that place a vehicle in the Ekho catalog: oem_id, model_id, variant_id, and style_key. Each is null for a vehicle the catalog does not yet describe. variant_id with style_key is the pair that names a build-to-order vehicle when creating a cart, so a partner can match on ids rather than on catalog_vehicle.name.
Transaction Engine A webhook destination now takes a list of event types in eventTypes, so a single endpoint URL and a single signing secret can cover every event you subscribe to.
Dealers can sell preorder vehicles ordered directly from the manufacturer through Ekho's fast checkout flow, not just inventory already on the lot. Buyers picking up in person can also choose from multiple pickup locations.
Dealers with the Transaction Engine can let their AI Sales Agent guide a buyer straight into checkout during the conversation, instead of only answering questions about buying online. Turn it on or off from Capabilities in Admin Portal.
Transaction Engine Vehicle images load fully during checkout, without partial renders.
Transaction Engine Checkout availability checks catch a mistyped ZIP code instead of reporting the area as unavailable.
Transaction Engine Deal creation completes reliably for dealers using their CRM integration.
Transaction Engine Rental units synced from your DMS are excluded from inventory and accessory totals.
Transaction Engine PIN entry boxes are sized and spaced for easy tapping on mobile.
AI Sales Agent The pre-qualification modal appears above the AI Sales Agent chat widget, not behind it.
Transaction Engine Vehicle listing cards show their final purchase buttons immediately, without an intermediate flash.
Improvements 4
Transaction Engine Checkout loads quicker on desktop, even for large inventories.
Transaction Engine On orders where Ekho is the seller of record, buyers can now pay by expedited ACH in all 50 states, with same-day confirmation of funds.
Transaction Engine Each lender's financing offer appears as its own card with a price and payment breakdown, making offers easier to compare before accepting.
AI Sales Agent Rep text replies at multi-location dealer groups send from the right location's phone number.
API 1
Transaction Engine The external API's vehicle field is renamed to catalog_vehicle on preorder and purchased-vehicle resources and their webhooks. Vehicle build options split into catalog_vehicle.specs and pga, and fulfillment_details.assigned_account_name reports the servicing account's name.
Nudges are targeted to the kind of page they appear on, and the AI Sales Agent can name the vehicle a buyer is viewing or viewed earlier in the same visit. Per rooftop control of the exact wording is in development.
Once a buyer shares their contact info with the AI Sales Agent, it's remembered for the rest of that session. Texting in, booking a visit, or getting pre-qualified again no longer asks for the same details twice.
The AI Sales Agent answers on the website and over text in under five seconds, at any hour, and can carry a conversation through to a completed purchase.
The AI Sales Agent inbox can start a new text conversation with a lead, not just continue one a customer starts. A rep picks a number, adds vehicle context, and sends the first message.
Leads that arrive from a dealer's own CRM can now be worked by the AI Sales Agent's automated outreach. Leads the team is already working are left alone.
Dealers can point the storefront's Learn menu at their own pages.
AI Sales Agent
Texts from new numbers start a conversation
A prospect who texts a dealer's published number gets an answer even with no lead on file. The message opens a conversation and records the buyer's consent.
AI Sales Agent
Proactive nudges on the chat launcher
The chat launcher speaks first with a short prompt above it, targeted to the kind of page it appears on. Per rooftop control of the exact wording is in development.
Fixes 8
AI Sales Agent Conversations resumed from an inbound text appear in the list, in search, and in the lead drawer.
Transaction Engine The Ekho Express buy button resets when a buyer presses back from checkout.
AI Sales Agent The lead drawer shows current CRM sync status each time it opens.
Transaction Engine The sign-in screen is tidier and easier to work through.
Transaction Engine A buyer who pre-qualifies on the storefront is not asked again at checkout.
AI Sales Agent Salesforce field mapping dropdowns stay inside their own column.
AI Sales Agent Smart reply fields show how much of the character limit is left.
Transaction Engine Fees that come to nothing are left off the order and its paperwork.
Improvements 6
Transaction Engine A unit that disappears from your website is hidden, not archived. Archiving stays your call.
Transaction Engine See which program an order belongs to and which account sold it, and filter by either.
AI Sales Agent Salesforce apps using the client credentials grant can connect, and you can map extra fields.
Transaction Engine Dealer groups that list every rooftop on one inventory page can sync each rooftop separately.
AI Sales Agent Single-rooftop dealers who sign up themselves can open their pre-qualification settings.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent Pre-qualification is standardised across the storefront, checkout and the chat widget. Ekho's own pre-qualification check is a soft credit inquiry, so it does not affect the buyer's credit score.
API 1
Transaction Engine Read orders over the partner API and subscribe to webhooks for order events.
Dealers choose which of 25 languages, including Spanish, the AI Sales Agent offers on each website. The agent detects the buyer's language from their first message and keeps the conversation in it, the buyer can switch language from the chat widget, and a web chat that continues over text stays in the same language.
Transaction Engine AI Sales Agent
Cookie consent for the Ekho script
Dealers can require a visitor's consent before the Ekho script sets any cookie or loads any tracking, which regions with opt-in privacy rules need.
Fixes 5
Transaction Engine Admin Portal tables stay responsive when every row in a view is unavailable.
Transaction Engine Improvements to F&I, aftermarket coverage contracts and the order of signature execution.
Transaction Engine Units a DMS feed reports as available stay live on the storefront.
AI Sales Agent Proactive chat nudges are live.
Transaction Engine A shared storefront listing previews under the dealer's own brand.
Improvements 3
AI Sales Agent Buyers open a form from the conversation instead of being moved into it.
Transaction Engine The portal names what a listing still needs before the unit can sell.
Transaction Engine Shop results lead with photographed listings nearest the shopper.
Fixes 5
Transaction Engine Buyers can enter a promo code at every checkout, including code-only stores.
Transaction Engine The credit application names the exact fields that need attention.
Transaction Engine Inventory imports are more resilient.
Transaction Engine Publishing tells you why a unit cannot go live, and CSV inventory passes the readiness check.
AI Sales Agent Dealers signing up on their own can leave and resume at any step.
Improvements 4
Transaction Engine Checkout loads 38% faster on a first visit.
Transaction Engine Buyers who are declined for financing get clearer follow-up steps.
Transaction Engine Buyers get tracking by email as soon as their temp tag ships.
Transaction Engine Connect inventory over an existing XML feed, with no re-platforming.
API 1
Transaction Engine Read preorders with GET /preorders, authenticated with scoped API tokens.
Connect your own Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta, TikTok, Google Ads and Tracklution accounts per rooftop, and report down-funnel checkout milestones as conversions rather than page views.
A group runs a parent account with a child account per rooftop, so each store has its own agent, inventory and routing while the group keeps one set of defaults. Every agent knows what the other locations carry.
Dealers and manufacturers set up promotions with their own eligibility rules, and every offer a buyer qualifies for is priced into their deal at checkout.
A manufacturer can run the AI Sales Agent on its corporate site, scoped to its own brand and its authorized dealers' vehicles. Buyers are handed to the nearest dealer, whose own agent picks the conversation up.
The AI Sales Agent answers inbound leads at any hour, on the website and over text. It answers inventory questions, qualifies the buyer and books the appointment.
Client inventory from dealers, dealer groups, OEMs, and marketplaces is matched to the right catalog vehicle and enriched automatically, so every listing is complete and discoverable. The same record gives the AI Sales Agent deeper knowledge of each vehicle and supplies the details the Transaction Engine needs for titling and registration.
The new Lead Capture module gives dealers a suite of conversion tools — smart forms, exit-intent overlays, and contextual CTAs — all designed to turn anonymous website traffic into actionable leads. Every captured lead flows directly into the Ekho CRM with full attribution and engagement history.
What shipped, what our customers are achieving, and what we're
seeing in the field. One email every other week.
The Ekho Pit StopThis week
Four things shipped this week.
TRANSACTION ENGINE
Connect inventory over XML
Your existing feed plugs in, no re-platforming.
TRANSACTION ENGINE
Declined financing keeps moving
Structured next steps instead of a dead end.
TRANSACTION ENGINE
Listings say what they need
Action items name the gap before a unit can sell.
AI SALES AGENT
Leads route themselves
Sales, service and parts reach the right team.
You're getting this because you subscribed to the Pit Stop.
We're committed to your privacy. Ekho uses the information you provide to
us to contact you about our relevant content, products, and services. You
may unsubscribe from these communications at any time. For more
information, check out our privacy policy.
RESOURCES
Frequently Asked Questions
We write about AI trends in vehicle retail, dealer best practices for online sales, partnership announcements, product updates, and industry research — including our annual AI vehicle research study.
Yes. Every case study features a real Ekho partner with verified results. We work directly with dealers and OEMs to document their experience and share learnings with the industry.
Visit our product pages for detailed information on AI Sales Agent, Website, and Transaction Engine — or book a demo to see the platform in action with your inventory.
Hey there,
Have a question about Ekho? Send us a message or choose an
option from below.
Chat history
Your previous conversations, in one place.
Contact our team
Tell us where to reach you and someone will follow up by email.