Change is happening at lightning speed in the collision repair industry. Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just a buzzword—it is actively reshaping how body shops operate, serve customers, and interact with insurers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). From marketing and damage assessment to customer service and internal processes, AI creates incredible opportunities for repairers willing to think differently.
At CCIF Toronto during the Canadian Auto Care Industry Conference (CAIC) on March 210, 2025, Ryan Taylor, CEO of BodyShop Booster, showed attendees various ways that artificial intelligence can impact collision repair shops—for the better.
Ryan Taylor, BodyShop Booster
Integrating AI into collision repair shop processes
When AI first made its way into the collision repair conversation, many shop owners were not exactly sure where it fit; today, there are many opportunities for integration.
1. Customer service
First impressions make or break customer relationships, yet many shops still lose potential business due to missed calls, slow responses, or overwhelmed front-office staff. AI-driven virtual assistants solve this by providing instant, 24/7 support—answering calls, replying to texts, collecting photos, and even generating preliminary estimates without delay.
This always-on availability helps capture more leads, builds customer trust, and eases the workload for the team as a whole. AI ensures every customer interaction is fast, professional, and consistent, helping shops improve capture rates while allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks like managing repairs and building relationships.
2. Damage assessments
Damage assessment has long been time-consuming for collision repair shops, often slowed by outdated tools, estimator availability, and inconsistent documentation. These delays frustrated customers and led to missed repair opportunities and inefficiencies with insurance partners.
AI-powered assessment tools now streamline this process by analyzing customer-submitted photos or drive-thru scans, detecting damage with impressive speed and accuracy. Preliminary estimates can be generated in under 90 seconds, improving consistency and freeing up human estimators to focus on complex cases. The result is faster cycle times, better documentation, and a scalable workflow that enhances customer satisfaction and shop productivity.
3. Service lanes
Service lanes represent one of the most underutilized revenue streams in the industry. Studies show that up to 41 per cent of vehicles passing through have repairable damage, yet most go unnoticed. AI is changing that by seamlessly integrating damage detection into the service process.
AI-powered scanners, QR-code tools, and mobile apps quickly identify and document damage during routine service visits, generating on-the-spot estimates and automatically following up with customers. By utilizing AI in service lanes, this enables shops to tap into new repair opportunities that boost revenue and enhance the overall customer experience.
Increasing shop efficiency with AI
The industry has changed dramatically since the days when one front-office employee could support four production technicians. Today, the ratio has narrowed to nearly one-to-one. By 2026, forecasts suggest that ratio will be even tighter.
To help alleviate some of that pressure, AI can step in, acting as a digital teammate that can help with repetitive tasks, such as scheduling repairs, collecting customer photos, generating estimates, answering texts, and automatically following up.
Studies show that if customers do not hear back from a shop within five minutes, their likelihood of moving forward drops by 78 per cent. Most shops, already stretched thin, cannot meet this expectation consistently. However, with the help of AI, they can.
These systems consolidate multiple platforms into one smooth workflow, often reducing administrative labour by up to 27 per cent.
Since AI can optimize repetitive tasks, employees have the opportunity to connect with customers. With vehicle technology becoming increasingly complex, customers want to know what is going on with their vehicle and the intricacies behind it. While AI takes care of mundane, repetitive, and sometimes tedious, tasks, employees can focus on the customer and their questions, ultimately elevating their experience and increasing customer loyalty.
AI’s impact on insurance and OEMs
AI is strengthening the connection between body shops, insurers, and OEMs by making communication faster and processes more efficient. AI-generated estimates, automated documentation, and structured photo evidence streamline claims, reducing cycle times and improving collaboration. It also helps OEMs retain customers by automatically identifying total loss events and guiding them into loyalty programs for vehicle replacement. On the shop floor, AI reduces administrative overload by organizing communication and documentation, ensuring tasks are completed consistently and customers stay engaged.
The future of AI in the industry
AI’s current capabilities represent only the beginning of its potential within the collision repair industry. Today, advanced AI systems are already able to anticipate customer needs, identify vehicle damage through drive-through scans, design personalized sales journeys, facilitate multi-language communication, and maintain long-term engagement by following up with customers well beyond the completion of repairs.
Looking ahead, AI is poised to further elevate shop performance by enabling seamless integration with insurer and OEM platforms, streamlining front-office operations, and consistently enhancing the customer experience. Additionally, AI-driven sales coaching and intelligent automation will help improve capture rates and conversion, positioning shops to operate more efficiently and effectively in an increasingly competitive market.
AI is not about replacing people, but rather, it is about empowering your team to deliver faster, smarter, and more personalized service.
This blog has been created based on Ryan Taylor’s presentation, The impact of AI on collision: Unlocking smarter, faster, and better repairs, at CCIF Toronto 2025 at the Canadian Auto Care Industry Conference.