ActivEngage, founded in 2007 and headquartered in Maitland, Florida, is a managed live chat and digital messaging platform purpose-built for automotive dealerships, dealer groups, and OEMs. The company provides human-powered (no-bot) managed chat, SMS/text messaging, and omnichannel engagement services that help dealers qualify shoppers, set appointments, and generate leads 24/7. Its product suite also spans service scheduling, reputation management, and an AI Suite of tools (debuted at NADA 2026) designed to augment — not replace — live agent conversations.
Community evidence
→ Stable
ActivEngage has 79 mentions across 20+ years of DealerRefresh dealer discussion — rated 94% · Favorite. The community includes 50 positive and 3 negative takes.
79 mentions · 50 positive · 3 negative · Scored from 20+ years of candid DealerRefresh discussion. Scores shift as new conversations happen.
POSITIVE
"ActivEngage promotes their Certified and Co-Op programs, highlighting that dealerships can use existing OEM co-op budget dollars to fund their messaging services. The key benefit emphasized is enabling 24/7 live customer service on dealership websites to capture and engage potential customers who might otherwise leave without contact."
Did you know... →
POSITIVE
"ActivEngage, a managed live messaging provider for dealerships since 2007 and DealerRefresh's first-ever sponsor, is reviewed across 45 threads covering their 24/7 human-agent chat, SMS, and video services. The thread synthesizes community feedback on their platform integrations, conversational commerce tools, and Cox Automotive partnerships. Dealers weighing outsourced messaging will find a seasoned vendor with deep community ties and a broad feature set worth evaluating."
Community Review: ActivEngage →
POSITIVE
"We are currently partnered with the best automotive technology vendors, so if you've been reading DealerRefresh you can expect to become familiar with: Dealer.com, iMagicLab, ActivEngage and a few"
Checkered Flag Internet Department →
POSITIVE
"Stephen Jackson from ActiveEngage promotes a free eBook titled "Epidemic! The 8 Diseases Plaguing Dealer Websites" that identifies eight conversion-killing mentalities affecting dealer websites and offers solutions for each."
There are eight diseases killing dealer websites. →
POSITIVE
"Recently, we started using TikTok for brand awareness, visibility, and just plain old fun! What we find is that dealerships and, any company really, can benefit from tapping into this viral app for consumers in their region. It also goes beyond sales and lead generation and can just be a fun way to humanize your organization and possibly provide memorable content so folks think of you when it's time to buy a car in the future! This is a recent TikTok of ours that just shows our office personality and people; and we have so much fun making them!"
Thoughts on using TikTok for your dealership? →
POSITIVE
"Russell Blackstone shares success using ActivEngage, a hosted chat service that captures customer information and sales leads from impatient online shoppers who won't call or email, and he's exploring expanding it across his dealership group."
Chat Vendors →
POSITIVE
"asks about a free trial for ActivEngage software, mentioning that his dealership was convinced to adopt other tools after seeing measurable results like a 20-25% lead closing rate increase"
Introducing Myself →
POSITIVE
"BrendanHirstAE from the ActivEngage team posts seasonal greetings for Cinco de Mayo and May the Fourth, wishing dealers success with their sales goals while sharing festive graphics created by their design team"
May the Cinco Be With You! →
POSITIVE
"We could could even have someone sponsor that portion of the info graphic. Like activengage."
The nums →
POSITIVE
"ActivEngage, a managed messaging provider founded in 2007, announces its return as a sponsor to DealerRefresh and introduces its live messaging services (emphasizing real people rather than bots) to the automotive dealer community."
Is this thing on??? ActivEngage is what the DR ordered. →
POSITIVE
"The ActivEngage team solicits recommendations for favorite automotive industry shows and conferences, with particular enthusiasm for the DealerKnows Summer Camp as a more personal alternative to traditional convention center events."
Shows, shows, shows! →
NEGATIVE
"vendor support failures—particularly poor communication practices (email-only support, slow responses), ticket closure without resolution, and a lack of dealership industry knowledge among support staff"
Question for dealers! What are your... →
MIXED
"Chrysler's PAP co-op approval of ActivEngage... ActivEngage requires paid upgrades for Saturday support"
AvtivEngage VS CarChat24? →