Researched Sept–Oct 2026 · vendor sites and published pricing · Meta platform policy · by category

Hold the Send and the field: what we do, what we don’t, where others fit

Hold the Send is a copilot for the rep who already owns the Messenger thread. A person sends every message. This page says what Hold the Send does, what it doesn’t do yet, what we promise, and where other kinds of tools fit. Lots of good tools check AI replies now; ours is built around the rep keeping Send. We mostly describe categories; one named side-by-side, Hold the Send and Diablo AI, is below. The shareable owner briefing is Before you go full auto.

Hold the Send vs Matador AI · Hold the Send vs Dealership Copilot · Hold the Send vs Numa · Hold the Send vs Nooks AI · Hold the Send vs Fullpath

Texting, Messenger, and calls

Typing directly in your messaging app can skip a review step. A text box alone does not check a price, a payment, a discount, a trade value, or a promise before you send. With Hold the Send the rep still sends, and the draft is checked first. We do not send on Messenger. The rep pastes the lead and copies the reply back.

	Text, Messenger, or a call	Hold the Send
Speed	You can send directly, without a separate review step.	Adds a review step. The rep still sends.
Before it goes out	A text box alone does not check price, payment, discount, trade-value, or promise language.	Those lines are held on the paste desk, with the reason shown. Live
Who sends	You, in the app you already use.	You. Copy the reply back. There is no live Messenger send. Live

A draft is checked against supplied facts and rules, then reviewed and sent by a person. Checks do not guarantee that every mistake is caught.

What Hold the Send does

Human Send, always. No autonomous mode. Every message waits for a person.
Wording holds. Invented payments, discounts, trade values and promises are held before Copy. The desk does not read a live lot record. Cash or a gift offered to come in is held.
Money asks are flagged. Price, payment, hold, trade and finance asks are flagged for a manager. The rep can mark that a manager OK'd the reply.
An activity log on the desk. Kept in this browser. It stores no message text, and it cannot see calls or texts sent outside the desk. Sent means the rep marked it sent.
Built for the rep. In the click demo: queue, buddy notes, one-click booking, “why this action.” On the live desk, the queue is rolling out.

Honest limits (today)

Not a CRM. ADF is a one-way push. We don’t pull or replace your CRM.
Not a BDC replacement. It makes your reps and BDC faster and safer. It doesn’t staff the phones or chat overnight; drafts wait and a rep sends at 8 AM.
No live Meta send in the demo. The demo runs on sample threads. The live Page connection goes through App Review. Marketplace is paste-in today; the spot sidecar copies, it never auto-types.
Voice is talking points. Not a phone AI. You dial; we log.
ROI is modeled. No case studies yet. The trial gives the real numbers.

What we promise

Hold the Send never sends on its own.
A made-up discount, payment, hold or appointment is flagged for a manager.
We never automate a personal Facebook session.
Every blocked draft goes to a log you can export.
We publish what the trial measures, good or bad.
Month to month on list. Founding pricing is locked for 12 months.

Three modes

Three ways a store handles a lead: the rep does it all, the software drafts and a person sends, or the software sends. Hold the Send is the middle one on purpose. Researched October 2026 from vendor sites and public policy pages. Prices are what vendors published, not quotes. If a vendor hasn't published a check, we don't grade it.

Manual

The rep works the lead in Facebook, the CRM or a phone. The shopper gets a person who knows the lot, when that person is at the desk. Speed depends on who is working, and after hours waits. Fits when volume is low and one person owns the inbox.

A person still sends (Hold the Send)

The desk drafts the reply and checks it against the facts the rep pastes and the house rules. A person sends it. Nothing leaves on its own.

Copy turns off on a monthly payment, APR, approval promise, invented discount, trade number, out-the-door price or doc fee, holding the unit, and freight, prep or setup fees. Lowest-price, all-fees-included and easy-approval wording is held too. Price, payment, hold, trade and financing asks are flagged for a manager. Reps can download an activity log kept in the browser. Sent means the rep marked it sent.

Paste-in today; the live Page connection and guideline packs are rolling out. Slower than a tool that sends on its own. Fits when a store wants the speed of a draft and a name on every send.

Full auto

An AI agent answers, follows up and often books, day and night. The shopper gets a fast reply, even when the store is closed. Several vendors publish checks, escalation rules or a rep first-shot window. Fits when a store wants after-hours speed and has someone who reads the conversations.

The paste desk holds invented payments, discounts, trade values and promises before a person can copy the reply. Whatever you're comparing, ask each tool to show you its check on a real thread: a price ask, a payment, a hold.

Public record

What two widely used tools publish about themselves. Checked October 14, 2026.

Podium Jerry

Podium sells Jerry as an AI employee for dealerships that works sales and service leads across text, phone calls, webchat, social and email, qualifies trade-ins and schedules test drives. Jerry 2.0 shows owners which policies, data and validation checks ran before a message, lets them coach it in plain English, and escalates pricing commitments to a person. Source, channels.

Matador

Matador publishes AI agents that answer new leads in about 30 seconds, run the conversation on live inventory and book the visit. It says every message passes accuracy, relevance, compliance and tone checks before it's sent, and stores can give reps a first-shot window before the AI replies. Source.

What we will not claim

Live Meta inbox today	The demo runs on sample threads. The live Page connection is rolling out store by store.
The AI takes $2,500 off	A made-up discount, payment or hold is flagged for a manager.
Replaces your BDC	No. It makes your reps and BDC faster and safer.
Approved by an automaker	No. A made-up price, discount or payment is flagged for a manager. Guideline packs you load in are rolling out. No certification, no guaranteed compliance.
Guaranteed ROI	No. Soft ROI is modeled, never guaranteed.
We're Beakon	No. Beakon is lot GPS. Hold the Send drafts the reply. Your rep presses Send.

Hold the Send, capability by capability · for a Messenger lead

Capability	What Hold the Send does	Status
Facebook Messenger (Page inbox)	Official Messenger Platform after Meta App Review. The demo runs on sample threads.	Rolling out
Marketplace threads (personal profile)	Paste-in on the desk today. The sidecar that copies a draft is in the click demo. A person pastes and sends. We do not send on Messenger.	Live
Automating a personal Facebook session	Never. No auto-typing, no logged-in browser automation (Facebook Terms 3.2.3).	Not offered
A person approves every send	Always. There is no autonomous mode. Copy is the gate.	Live
Wording holds	The paste desk holds invented payments, discounts, trade values, out-the-door prices, promises such as an approval, a hold, or a warranty, and cash or a gift to come in. A listed color or a full mile count that is not in the notes, the vehicle line, or the label is held. Navy, reddish, 12k, and a clock time are not those facts. It does not read a live lot record. A person still copies the reply.	Live
Claim check against a lot record	In the click demo, a draft that names a price or unit the sample lot does not support is blocked. That inventory check is not on the paste desk.	In demo
Price, payment, hold, trade and finance asks	Flagged for a manager. The rep can mark that a manager OK'd the reply.	Live
Buyer-intent tags	A pasted message is tagged price, availability, trade-in, financing or negotiation.	Live
Get a manager on negotiation	A chip flags a negotiation for a manager. The draft does not invent a discount. The rep can mark that a manager OK'd it.	Live
Ad wording holds	Lowest-price and all-fees-included wording is held. Not legal advice.	Live
Quiet hours and opt-out	From 9 PM to 8 AM on a buyer-local guess when the thread has a ZIP, a single-zone state, or an area code. That guess is labeled. Without one, this device's clock is used. Copy stays off until the rep types why. Copy also stays off after a buyer says stop. A person still sends.	Live
Channel block on the signed-in floor	A rep can block text, email, Facebook, or phone for one buyer. A draft on that channel stays held until they type a reason. The code is in the deployed floor. A signed-in production exercise of this screen is not recorded. Nothing is sent.	Live
STOP reason on the signed-in floor	STOP blocks marketing copy for that buyer and stores a reason code on the buyer and the timeline. A separate downloaded report is not included. A signed-in production exercise is not recorded.	Live
Vehicle and lot holds on the signed-in floor	A draft that names a different vehicle is held. A sold or pending unit is held. Saying a unit is available is held when the lot check is older than 24 hours. There is no checked-at time on every sentence, and no live inventory feed.	Live
Promise and evidence timeline	A rep can record a promise with a due time and mark it done. Done is a button, not a message the person sent. A dated timeline can be built on screen. Message text is not kept, and it is not a downloaded file. A signed-in production exercise is not recorded.	Live
Internal handoff	The published floor can save who a handoff is for, a summary, and a next step, and the named person can accept it. An isolated preview proved that accept. A signed-in production exercise is not recorded. Nothing is sent. A packet filled from the thread is not built.	Live
Stock number or VIN tag	One tap ties a conversation to a unit the rep typed. It does not look the unit up in a live feed.	Live
Today's Plays	Threads saved on this device, waiting buyers first.	Live
Per-lead show-likelihood trends	Trend lines shown in the click demo, on sample threads. Not on the paste desk.	In demo
Two times plus a booking link	The rep picks two times and can add the store's own link. Nothing is booked from here.	Live
Source on a fact the rep pasted	A price, year, mileage, time or stock number the rep pasted can show its source.	Live
Honest speed	Paste to marked-sent, on this device, plus a store median of those times on the signed-in floor.	Live
Starter replies and first-run checklist	Starter replies on the desk, and a first-run checklist on this device.	Live
AI-help disclosure note	A rep can add the note on this device. A manager can turn it on for the store from the signed-in floor.	Live
Exportable log of every blocked draft	JSON / CSV with the reason for each block.	In demo
Per-rep queue with the next action	Queue, buddy notes, “why this action”, one-click booking.	In demo
Two verified slots + one-click book	Proposed from the store calendar; a person sends.	In demo
7-day human-agent reply window	A person sends every reply. Meta decides eligibility for the tag, and a review step alone does not establish it. We will ask during App Review for the Page connection.	Rolling out
SMS / email / voice	Store 10DLC SMS, email subject + body, voice talking points. Same checks, human Send.	In demo
CRM push (ADF)	One-way ADF XML. The demo builds a sample file; live endpoints are rolling out. We don’t pull or replace the CRM.	Rolling out
Finance and GSM handoff page	Shown in the click demo. A person still sends. Not a live Messenger send, and not on the paste desk.	In demo
Owner ROI with editable assumptions	Soft ROI in the click demo, modeled, with the assumptions visible. Not a guarantee and not a customer result.	In demo
Phone AI / 24-7 staffed chat	Not offered. Drafts wait overnight; a rep sends at 8 AM.	Not offered
Contract	List is month to month, or annual with 2 months free. Founding locks 12 months.	In demo

Side by side · Hold the Send and Diablo AI

Diablo AI, from Dealer Ignition, is an AI lead-response platform for dealerships: it answers new leads in seconds at any hour, runs website chat, works old leads, and can run the store's ads and trace them to the sold vehicle. Hold the Send is a different job: a desk where your rep drafts, checks and sends each reply themselves. Many stores could use both. The short version for an owner is Before you go full auto.

Who presses Send

Hold the Send · Live

A person, every time. The desk drafts; the rep copies the reply and sends it from their own account.

Diablo AI · as published

The AI replies and follows up on its own, around the clock, by text, Facebook, email and website chat. Built for after-hours speed. Managers can read every conversation.

Claim checks

Hold the Send · Live

Copy turns off on a monthly payment, APR, approval promise, invented discount, trade number, out-the-door price or doc fee, holding the unit, and freight, prep or setup fees. Also loan terms, warranty promises, towing claims, and slip or storage promises.

Diablo AI · as published

Says it never quotes a price the store didn't set, doesn't quote a payment or promise financing, and leaves the trade number to the appraiser. APR, discount, out-the-door, hold and fee checks: not publicly listed.

Flagged for a manager

Hold the Send · Live

Price, payment, trade, credit or upset-customer messages keep Copy off until the reply hands off to a manager, or a manager OKs it.

Diablo AI · as published

Its manager academy tells managers to take over when a customer names a down payment or a monthly budget. It also hands the thread to the store's team on a price exception, a finance question, a request for a person, or a complaint.

STOP handling

Hold the Send · Live

If the customer says stop, Copy stays off and the message is never sent to the AI.

Diablo AI · as published

Follow-up stops when the customer asks. Its US terms describe opt-out handling, sending hours and message limits.

Customer contact details

Hold the Send · Live

Before a draft goes to the AI, the desk masks these items. Phone numbers, emails, Social Security numbers, labeled dates of birth, labeled account, loan and policy numbers, and street addresses. The same mask runs when a thread is saved on the device.

Diablo AI · as published

Masking before the AI: not publicly listed. Data is hosted in Toronto, Canada, with role-based access.

Activity log and tracking

Hold the Send · Live In demo

The activity log is kept in this browser. It stores no message text and cannot see calls or outside texts. Sent means the rep marked it sent. The owner dashboard is in the click demo.

Diablo AI · as published

A dashboard of leads and conversations, every conversation open for managers to read, and ad-to-sold reporting traced to the VIN on its top package. It also runs the store's ads and creative.

Dealer types

Hold the Send · Live

Cars and trucks, RVs, boats, motorcycles and powersports. The desk checks cover boat, RV and powersports topics too.

Diablo AI · as published

Its terms describe franchise car dealerships in Canada. Its testimonials include an RV dealer. Boat and powersports offerings: not publicly listed.

Pricing transparency

Hold the Send · Live

Prices are on the pricing page: Solo $149 · Independent Lot $299 · Franchise Store $599. Month to month, or yearly with 2 months free.

Diablo AI · as published

Publishes package prices in Canadian dollars, with a three-month minimum, then month to month, and no setup fees. Ad management and creative are priced separately.

Compliance posture

Hold the Send · Live

Hold the Send sends no texts or messages, so there is no automated texting to manage. It isn't approved or certified by any automaker, and it doesn't guarantee compliance with TCPA, the FTC Safeguards Rule or any other law. Your store's own policies still apply.

Diablo AI · as published

Its terms are written around Canada's CASL and PIPEDA. For US texting they name TCPA, CAN-SPAM and the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and require a signed US messaging addendum. FTC Safeguards Rule: not publicly listed.

Setup

Hold the Send · Live

Each rep signs in to the desk in a browser with their own code. Setup is booked within 2 business days. There is no onboarding fee.

Diablo AI · as published

Diablo sets it up and runs it, with a month-one onboarding process, alongside the store's existing CRM.

What Diablo AI does that Hold the Send doesn't

Replies to leads overnight without a person, website chat, old-lead reactivation, private-sale events, Marketplace listing automation, service-drive AI, and ad management with sold-vehicle reporting. Hold the Send does none of these today. If you want a person to keep Send and the checks in front of every reply, that is the job Hold the Send does.

Last checked Oct 14, 2026, from Diablo AI's public website, Speed to Lead, manager academy, terms and press. Their product may have changed since. Is anything here out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.

Field grids

Each competitor cell comes from what the vendor published, checked October 14, 2026 (Nooks AI on November 6), and links to the source. "Not publicly listed" means we didn't find it on a public page, not that the product lacks it. On a phone, the tables scroll sideways.

Solutions

Solution	Job	Who sends	Channels	Checks they publish	Published price
Hold the Send	Paste desk: drafts the reply, checks it against the facts the rep pastes and the house rules, and a person sends it.	A person, every time.	Any channel the rep can copy into: Messenger, Marketplace, text, email. Paste-in today. The live Page connection is rolling out.	Copy turns off on a monthly payment, APR, approval promise, invented discount, trade number, out-the-door price or doc fee, holding the unit, and freight, prep or setup fees. Lowest-price, all-fees-included and easy-approval wording is held too. Not a compliance certification.	Solo $149 · Independent Lot $299 · Franchise Store $599
Nooks AI	Prospect research, tailored call scripts and live coaching.	A rep handles connected calls. Nooks can also generate personalized emails.	Outbound calls and email.	Live battlecards help reps respond to objections during calls.	Request a quote.
Diablo AI	Answers new leads in seconds at any hour, books the appointment, and follows up.	The AI sends replies and follow-ups.	Text, Facebook, email and website chat.	Says it never quotes a price the store didn't set. Leaves the trade number to the appraiser. Terms written around CASL and PIPEDA, with a US messaging section and opt-out handling.	Packages published in CAD with a three-month minimum.
Podium Jerry	AI employee that works sales and service leads, qualifies trade-ins, answers financing questions and schedules test drives.	Jerry sends replies and follows up on its own.	Text, phone calls, webchat, social and email.	Jerry 2.0 shows which policies, data and validation checks ran before a message, and escalates pricing commitments to a person.	Not publicly listed
Matador	AI agents that answer new leads in about 30 seconds, hold the conversation on live inventory, and book the appointment.	The agents send. Reps get a configurable first-shot window, and the AI steps back when a rep replies.	Text, calls and website chat.	Every message passes accuracy, relevance, compliance and tone checks before it's sent.	Not publicly listed

Sales reps

Solution	Who writes	Who sends	After hours	Marketplace	When a person steps in
Hold the Send	The desk drafts. The rep edits.	The rep.	Drafts wait for a rep. Slower than a tool that sends on its own.	Paste-in today. It never types into a personal Facebook session.	Price, payment, hold, trade and financing are flagged for a manager.
Diablo AI	The AI writes.	The AI.	Built for replies when the store is closed.	Facebook Marketplace automation on its Turbo and Full packages.	A manager taps Take over; the customer keeps texting the same number.
Podium Jerry	Jerry writes.	Jerry.	Works leads around the clock.	Not publicly listed	Owners coach Jerry in plain English.
Matador	The agents write.	The agents, after a rep first-shot window the store sets.	About a one-minute reply after hours is a common setup.	Not publicly listed	A rep replying inside the window keeps the AI out.
Manual (CRM and the Facebook app)	The rep, in Facebook, the CRM, or a phone.	The rep.	Depends on who is working.	The Facebook app itself.	Price, payment and availability come from memory and training. Little record of what was almost sent.

Managers

Solution	Escalation	Record you can review	Store voice and rules
Hold the Send	Price, payment, hold, trade, credit and upset-customer messages keep Copy off until a manager hand-off or OK.	On the desk, an activity log of drafted, flagged, copied and marked-sent, kept in the browser, no message text. Sent means the rep marked it sent. Owner dashboard rolling out.	Store and brand guideline packs: rolling out.
Diablo AI	Its academy tells managers to take over when a customer names a down payment or a monthly budget.	Managers can read every conversation. Ad-to-sold reporting on its Full package.	Each store gets its own persona, name and tone.
Podium Jerry	Escalation triggers on pricing commitments and sensitive situations.	Not publicly listed	Owners coach it in plain English.
Matador	AI steps back when a rep jumps in.	AI-booked appointments show in reporting as AI-influenced.	Instructions the store can change, with suggestions.

Five desk checks · as of Oct 14, 2026, based on public info

Hold the Send shipped these five on October 14, 2026. Other columns are what each vendor publishes, with the source linked. Not publicly listed means we didn't find it on a public page, not that the product lacks it. Several of these tools send on their own; Hold the Send only drafts.

Solution	Buyer-intent tags	Negotiation goes to a manager	Ad wording checks	Quiet hours and opt-out	Stock number or VIN
Hold the Send	Each pasted message is tagged: price, availability, trade-in, financing or negotiation.	A Get a manager chip appears on negotiation. The draft never promises a discount.	Holds lowest-price, all-fees-included and easy-approval wording for a rewrite.	From 9 PM to 8 AM on a buyer-local guess (ZIP, single-zone state, or area code), copy stays off until the rep types why. The guess is labeled. Without one, this device's clock is used. Copy also stays off after stop.	One-tap stock number or VIN tag on each conversation.
Diablo AI	Its privacy policy says the AI analyzes customer intent and classifies urgency.	Web chat hands price exceptions and finance questions to the team.	Says it doesn't invent a price, quote a payment or promise financing. A claim-by-claim ad list: Not publicly listed.	Terms list sending hours, message limits and opt-out handling for US recipients.	Answers stock-number questions from inventory. A per-thread tag: Not publicly listed.
Podium Jerry	Works out what the customer is trying to do, then runs a playbook.	Escalates pricing commitments and sensitive situations to a person.	Shows which policies and validation checks ran. An ad-wording list: Not publicly listed.	The store sets outreach hours and when outreach stops, including on an opt-out. A built-in quiet-hours warning: Not publicly listed.	Confirms the VIN before booking a test drive.
Matador	Reads intent first (price, negotiation, trade-in), with per-intent rules.	Negotiation past the store's floor routes to the sales manager. No unauthorized discounts or approval promises.	Accuracy, relevance, compliance and tone checks, plus pricing display rules. A named ad-wording list: Not publicly listed.	Quiet hours 8 PM to 9 AM, auto-enforced, and a full stop on reply.	A live inventory model by unit. A per-thread tag: Not publicly listed.

What dealers told us they want · initial examples, Oct 15, 2026

New rows from what dealers told us they love and hate about lead, appointment and showroom tools. Not publicly listed means we didn't find it on a public page, not that the product lacks it. Hold the Send items marked roadmap are planned, not promised.

Solution	Next action with a reason	Specific times and booking	Confirmations and no-show recovery	Manager alerts on exceptions only	CRM sync health shown	Published prices
Hold the Send	Today's Plays: a ranked list with a reason on every card, in the rep desk and the demo. Shipped Oct 15, 2026.	The rep desk adds two times the rep picks plus the store's booking link, naming the exact unit. The demo proposes two verified slots. A person sends.	On the roadmap: confirm-by-reply reminders and no-show recovery, each sent by a person.	On the roadmap: alerts only for an untouched lead, an unconfirmed visit or a no-show.	ADF push is rolling out. A visible sync health light is on the roadmap.	Published on the pricing page. Month to month.
Diablo AI	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Publishes package prices in Canadian dollars.
Podium Jerry	Not publicly listed	Schedules test drives and confirms the VIN before booking.	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed
Matador	Not publicly listed	Its AI agents book the visit.	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed	Not publicly listed

Shareable section

Before you go full auto

https://holdthesend.com/compare#full-auto · https://holdthesend.com/full-auto

What full auto means

An AI agent answers, follows up and often books, day and night, and sends each message itself. Shoppers get speed, including when the store is closed. The tools publish different safeguards: checks before sending, escalation rules, a window for a rep to answer first. Hold the Send takes the other path: it drafts and checks, and a person on your team presses Send.

What the store still owns

The FTC's Automobile Industry Pricing Transparency FAQs (September 15, 2026) say an advertised price must be the price any consumer can walk in and pay, leaving out only charges the government requires the consumer to pay, and they list text messages among the media covered. Earlier in 2026 the FTC sent warning letters to 97 auto groups about advertised prices. Whoever sends the message, it goes out in your store's name. Ask your counsel how that applies to messages a tool sends for you. Not legal advice, and not a compliance certification.

Diablo AI

Diablo AI answers new leads in seconds at any hour, books appointments and follows up. Its manager academy tells managers to take over when a customer names a down payment or a monthly budget, and says most weeks a store takes over 0 to 3 conversations. Its terms are written around Canada's CASL and PIPEDA, and add a US messaging section for TCPA and CAN-SPAM. Canadian and US rules are not the same obligation, so a US store should check which applies. The full Hold the Send and Diablo AI side-by-side is above.

Store owners

Solution	Who sends	Consent and messaging rules they publish	What you can review	Published price
Hold the Send	A person on your team, from their own account.	Hold the Send sends no messages. Your store's consent and opt-out rules still apply. A stop message turns Copy off, and drafts between 9 PM and 8 AM get a quiet-hours warning.	The checks on each draft, and the rep activity log.	Solo $149 · Independent Lot $299 · Franchise Store $599
Diablo AI	The AI, in the dealer's name. Its terms say the dealer is the sender.	CASL and PIPEDA in Canada. For US texting: TCPA, CAN-SPAM, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and a signed US messaging addendum.	Escalation rules a manager configures, and the conversations.	Published in CAD.
Podium Jerry	Jerry, for the store.	Not publicly listed	The policies, data and validation checks Jerry shows for each message.	Not publicly listed
Matador	The agents, for the store.	Quiet hours 8 PM to 9 AM and a full stop on reply.	Versioned instructions and a verification layer the vendor tracks.	Not publicly listed

Not legal advice. Not a quote. Questions to ask any vendor: Who presses Send? Show me the check on a price ask, a payment, a sold unit and a hold. What happens when a customer texts STOP? What record do I get, and can I export it?

Other kinds of tools, and where they fit

What each category is and what it typically publishes, checked Sept–Oct 2026. Individual products differ. Many stores run more than one; Hold the Send is meant to sit next to your CRM and website tools, not replace them.

All-in-one messaging platforms

Usually quote-based.

What it is · One inbox for text, calls, webchat and Messenger, often with reviews and payments and an AI assistant.

Where it fits · Stores that want one inbox for every channel.

Staffed live chat

Usually quote-based or bundled.

What it is · Website chat and digital retailing with AI plus live human agents, often bundled with a DMS or brand program.

Where it fits · Stores that want people answering website chat around the clock.

Brand-program AI agents

Program pricing; varies by brand.

What it is · AI sales and service messaging by email and text, plus merchandising, offered through brand digital programs.

Where it fits · Stores whose brand program already includes an email and text agent.

Lead reactivation AI

Usually quote-based.

What it is · AI assistants that follow up on older leads by email and text and hand engaged leads to a rep.

Where it fits · Working a large list of older leads.

Dealer data platforms with chat

Usually quote-based.

What it is · Customer data platforms with an AI chat agent. Some publish guardrails, FTC rules by default and human escalation.

Where it fits · Stores building first-party data and marketing audiences.

AI lead tools with published prices

About $300 to $2,500 a month per store, before usage fees, as published Oct 2026.

What it is · Test-drive booking, rep assist and AI BDC tools. Several publish pre-send checks and route trade and finance to a person.

Where it fits · Stores that want a self-serve priced tool. Hold the Send list runs $149 to $599 a month per store before extra seats, inside this range.

Marketplace auto-reply extensions

Published plans from $0 to about $799.

What it is · Browser extensions that reply to Marketplace messages from the seller’s browser.

Where it fits · Sellers who want automatic replies inside Marketplace.

Meta’s own tools

Free.

What it is · Instant Replies and AI seller replies drawn from a listing’s own price and availability.

Where it fits · Answering listing questions like “is it still available?”

DMS and CRM suites

Part of the suite.

What it is · The store’s record of truth, with built-in AI assistants, mostly for text and email.

Where it fits · Where the deal gets logged. Hold the Send pushes ADF into it.

Phone AI, website agents, citation chat

See each vendor.

What it is · Voice AI for phones and the service drive, website agents, and low-cost web chat with citations.

Where it fits · Phones, the service drive and the website.

What this research changed · roadmap

v1.0: Meta App Review for Page Messenger, including whether the human-agent 7-day window applies. Meta decides that. Until it does, plan on the 24-hour window.
v1.0: Live ADF/XML to the major dealer CRMs. The demo already builds the prospect XML. Production is the same XML against a real endpoint.
v1.0: Inventory feed connectors (feed providers and CSV). The firewall is only as good as the feed.
v1.0: Spanish reply style with the same claim checks. The desk's Spanish, Vietnamese, and Arabic text is canned demo copy, not a certified translation.
v1.1: Marketplace HITL companion: profile threads in the queue with a verified draft; the rep still sends in Facebook. Auto-type, session capture, stealth cadence: dropped.
Now: SMS via the store’s 10DLC, email subject + body, voice talking points. Same approval flow.
Oct 15: What dealers told us they love and hate about lead and appointment tools is now folded into the public roadmap: a ranked home screen, booking with two real times, confirmations, no-show recovery and exception-only manager alerts.
Dropped: Autonomous follow-up sequences. Staying human-approved is the product.

What this research changed · pricing

Current list: Solo $149 · Independent Lot $299 · Franchise Store $599. Dealership is up to 10 seats, then +$69/seat. Annual = 2 months free. No onboarding fee.

Soft ROI modeled only, not a guarantee and not a case study. Founding: Solo $74 · Independent Lot $149 · Franchise Store $299, locked 12 months, first 20 licenses. Full pricing. Human Send.

Why this price: we sit inside the published range for the AI lead tools above, because a person keeps Send, and the liability. No live Meta send claimed.

Where we fit: Hold the Send Franchise Store is $599, about $60 a rep at 10 seats, then +$69 per seat, with human Send.

“The page inbox is free.” Free is the table. We sell judgment on top: a desk that holds invented prices and promises against the facts the rep pastes and the house rules, a flag for a manager, and an activity log of drafted, flagged, copied and marked-sent kept in this browser, with no message text. It cannot see calls or outside texts. Sent means the rep marked it sent. The finance and GSM handoff page is in the click demo.

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How we researched

Vendor websites and published pricing where available, and Meta’s Messenger Platform policy (24-hour window; human-agent 7-day tag, automated messages disallowed under that tag), Automated Data Collection Terms and Terms of Service 3.2.3 (no automated access, including while logged in). Prices are estimates from public sources and change often.