Podium⁠(opens in a new window) 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.”

—Liam Golightley, Vice President, Automotive and Enterprise, Podium

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.”

—Walker Ward, Principal Software Engineer, Podium

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.