Increasing revenue 300% by bringing AI to SMBs

Podium 构建面向本地商户的 AI 软件——比如暖通空调（HVAC）服务商、汽车经销商和医美水疗（medspa）——帮助他们捕获并转化更多需求、提高营收并提升客户服务体验。

在与中小企业（SMB）并肩合作 11 年后， Podium 看到用 AI 改造本地商业营销、销售和增长方式的机会：把漏接的电话和迟缓的回复变成已预订的服务、更多收入和更满意的客户。

2020 年， Podium 与 OpenAI 的早期试验集中在垃圾信息过滤和潜在客户信息增强等点状解决方案上。随着模型进步，这些工具逐步演化为他们亲切称为 “ Jerry ” 的 AI 代理，它能自然对话、遵循企业政策，并通过安排与确认预约或跨渠道跟进来推动业务结果。

商户很快把 Jerry 当作队友而非工具来看待。许多人给自己的 AI 代理起了名字，有些顾客甚至进店时会问能否“见到 Jerry”，以为是在和真人交流。

自 2024 年 3 月推出首个代理 “ Jerry ” 以来， Podium 已为数万家本地商户部署了代理，AI 收入实现了 300% 的年增长。 Podium 的 AI 代理通过在不到一分钟内响应并提供全天候服务，影响着数十亿美元的收入，让企业能在不增加人手的情况下扩张。

“人们以为 AI 是大科技的专属。但本地商户比任何人都更需要它，他们看到的影响也最大。”—— Liam Golightley， Podium 汽车与企业业务副总裁

在需求最迫切的时刻抓住客户

对本地商户而言，每一个线索都很重要——而且很多线索在没人值守的时候到来。大约 40% 的咨询发生在非工作时间。 Podium 的分析显示，转化率最高的商户大约在两分钟内回复，而人工通常要两个多小时才能回应。

错过的电话直接等于错失的收入：一位暖通空调业主估算，一个周六流失的单子可能损失数万美元；一位医美经营者甚至把手机放在淋浴间里，以免错过高价预约。

但仅仅为了速度而开发 AI 代理并不够。每家企业的服务、语气和政策各不相同，很多是经过数十年形成的运营惯例。为此， Podium 打造了可以用自然语言训练并随时调整的 AI 代理。为持续改进，团队还建立了严格的评估框架，把衡量重点放在转化效果上，而不仅仅是回答的“正确性”。

用 GPT‑5.1 实现规模化自动化

Podium 的下一代 AI 代理 “ Jerry ” 使用了 GPT‑5.1，能快速处理线索捕获、排期、服务请求、销售和后续跟进，并在跨渠道交流时保持语气、细节和上下文的连贯性。

业主可以用自然语言更新偏好，系统会实时适配。例如，一位医美客户可以写“用 ‘injectable’ 替代 ‘fillers’”，下一代代理就会在所有渠道中统一用词，无需工程师介入。

为了把 Jerry 2.0 打造得既准确又能规模化部署， Podium 做出了三项关键决策：

1. 垂直业态基线 + 业务级调优： Podium 提供面向汽车、家居服务、美容和零售等行业的定制化代理，开箱即用即可达到行业领先水平。每家企业还能根据自身品牌语气、操作手册和流程进一步定制，使 AI 成为业务的延伸。
2. 以结果为先的编排： Jerry 采用验证过的服务与销售话术来筛选线索、应对异议并促成成交，需要时可升级给人工处理。
3. 工业级评估：每次版本发布都经过数千个近似生产环境的场景测试。在一对一比较中， GPT‑5.1 在 65.4% 的对决中胜出，单次对话成本降低 41%，响应速度比竞争对手快 39%。

“小企业没有工程师。一个暖通空调业主想说：‘对于超过 1000 美元的维修要推介维护计划’，他希望看到 Jerry 把话题推进。一个汽车顾问说：‘跟进被拒绝的刹车服务’，Jerry 就会预定一项 400 美元的服务。这更像是在管理员工，而不是在配置软件。”—— Walker Ward， Podium 首席软件工程师

用 AI 影响数十亿美元的年收入

Podium 的 AI 代理已在约 10,000 家企业中上线，带来可量化的影响。使用 Podium AI 代理的客户平均表现为：

• 收入提升约 30%
• 线索转化提升 45%
• 出现了 AI 运营负责人、新型呼叫中心职能和以客户体验为导向的岗位，取代了传统的业务拓展代表

一大型中西部汽车集团的非工作时间预订增长了 80%，抢回了此前流失给竞争对手的销售与服务机会。德州一家暖通空调店在一个月内因即时的非工作时间响应额外接到了 15 个紧急维修单。

犹他州一位医美店主说：“ Jerry 大约两分钟就会回复，如果客户没回，他会第二天再跟进，然后再跟。它为我们的营收做出了贡献。”

如今，AI 代理是 Podium 增长最快的产品线。内部团队的工作也因 AI 提速：非技术人员利用 ChatGPT Enterprise 和 OpenAI APIs 在数小时内就能搭建好入职流程、对话话术和角色扮演场景，而非耗费数周。

Podium 仍偏好 OpenAI 作为模型供应商，原因只有一个：性能。 GPT‑5.1 在推理、执行指令、速度与成本之间提供了最佳平衡，几乎不需大量微调，诸如函数调用和流式输出等功能也能无缝地集成到 Podium 的多代理架构中。

下一步， Podium 将把 AI 代理扩展到客户运营的全生命周期，继续推动本地商户的增长。

更快、更安全、更智能地工作

用 OpenAI 代理承担例行任务、减少错误并保持运营高效。想试试吗？可以体验 ChatGPT Business，或联系销售。

Podium⁠ builds AI software for local businesses—such as HVAC providers, auto dealers, and medspas—that help them increase revenue by capturing and converting more demand and providing better service to their customers.

After 11 years working side-by-side with small-to-medium (SMB)-sized operators, Podium saw the opportunity to harness AI and transform how local businesses market, sell, and grow by turning missed calls and slow replies into booked jobs, more revenue, and happier customers. 

Early experiments with OpenAI in 2020 focused on point solutions like spam filtering and lead enrichment. As models advanced, Podium evolved those tools into an AI agent they affectionately call “Jerry” that converses naturally, follows business policies, and drives business outcomes by scheduling and confirming appointments or following up across channels.

Businesses quickly embraced Jerry; not as a tool, but as a teammate. Many gave their AI agent a name. Some customers even walk into stores asking to speak with “Jerry,” assuming they had talked to a person. 

Since launching their initial agent, “Jerry,” in March 2024, Podium has deployed tens of thousands of agents for local businesses and seen 300% year-over-year AI revenue growth. Podium’s AI agents influence billions in revenue by responding in under a minute and delivering 24/7 service, allowing businesses to grow without adding headcount.

“People assume AI is for big tech. But local businesses need it more than anybody and they’re seeing the biggest impact.”

Capturing demand at the point of greatest need

For local businesses, every lead matters—and many arrive when no one is available. Roughly 40% of inquiries hit after hours. Podium’s analysis showed top converters responded in about two minutes, while the typical human reply landed in over two hours.

Missed calls translate directly into missed revenue: an HVAC owner estimated a single lost Saturday lead could cost tens of thousands of dollars; a medspa operator kept her phone in the shower to avoid losing high-ticket appointments.

But developing AI agents for speed alone isn’t enough. Every business has different services, tone, and policies, often shaped over decades, so Podium built AI agents that could be trained in plain language and adjusted on the fly. To keep improving, the team developed a rigorous evaluation framework to measure what mattered: conversion, not just correctness.

Automating for scale with GPT‑5.1

Podium’s next generation of their AI agent, “Jerry,” uses GPT‑5.1 to handle lead capture, scheduling, service requests, sales, and follow-up quickly and without losing nuance, tone, or context across channels.

Owners can update their preferences using natural language, and the system adapts in real time. For example, a medspa customer can write, “say ‘injectable’” instead of ‘fillers,’” and Podium’s next-gen agent makes the change across each channel without engineering expertise required. 

The Podium team made three key decisions to build Jerry 2.0 to prioritize response accuracy and scale:  

1. Vertical baselines + business-level tuning: Podium ships tailored agents for auto, home services, aesthetics, and retail that are best in class, right out of the box. Each business can then customize the AI to its brand’s specific tone, playbooks, and workflows to make it a full extension of their business.
2. Outcome-first orchestration: Jerry uses proven service and sales playbooks to qualify leads, handle objections, and close jobs. When needed, it escalates to humans.
3. Industrial-grade evaluation: Every release runs through thousands of production-like scenarios. In head-to-head evaluations, GPT‑5.1 won the majority at 65.4%, delivered 41% lower cost per conversation, and responded 39% faster than competitors.

“Small business owners don't have engineers on staff. An HVAC owner wants to say, ‘Pitch maintenance plans on repairs over $1000,’ and see Jerry convert. An auto advisor says, ‘Follow up on declined brakes,’ and Jerry books a $400 service. That's managing an employee, not configuring software.”

Influencing billions in annual revenue using AI

Podium’s AI agents are live in 10,000 businesses, influencing billions in revenue and driving measurable impact. Customers leveraging Podium’s AI agents experience on average:

• Revenue up ~30% 
• Lead conversion up 45%
• New roles like AI operations leads, redesigned call-center functions, and customer experience specialists replacing traditional business development representatives.

A large midwestern auto group saw after-hours bookings grow 80%, capturing sales and services opportunities that previously went to competitors. In HVAC, a Texas shop booked 15 extra emergency repairs in one month, thanks to immediate after-hours responses. 

One medspa owner in Utah says, “Jerry responds in about two minutes, and if the customer doesn’t reply, he follows up the next day and again after that. He’s driving revenue for our business.” 

Today, AI agents are Podium’s fastest-growing product line. Internal teams now move faster with AI, too: non-technical staff use ChatGPT Enterprise and OpenAI APIs to create onboarding flows, conversation playbooks, and role-play scenarios in hours, not weeks.

OpenAI remains Podium’s preferred model provider for one reason: it performs. GPT‑5.1 delivers the best mix of reasoning, instruction-following, speed, and cost. Minimal fine-tuning is needed, and features like function calling and streaming integrate seamlessly into Podium’s multi-agent stack.

Next, Podium is expanding its AI agents into the full lifecycle of its customers’ operations to continue to drive local business growth.

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