Executive Summary
Numa has introduced LiveCSI, a real-time dashboard embedded in its AI communications platform for auto dealerships. Announced on January 29, 2026 by trade publication Digital Dealer, the feature analyzes live calls, texts, and chats to surface customer sentiment and service performance as interactions unfold. The company says it aims to turn the Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) from a lagging survey metric into a live operational signal managers can act on while customers are still engaged.
Why It Matters
Traditional CSI scores often arrive weeks after a visit, offering a backward-looking view that limits a dealership’s ability to recover at-risk customers. LiveCSI is positioned to enable faster responses by flagging real-time indicators—like tone escalation or long waits—so managers can intervene before issues escalate. As CEO Tasso Roumeliotis puts it, “CSI tells you what went wrong weeks ago… LiveCSI shows what’s happening now.”
How LiveCSI Works
- Runs within Numa’s communications layer for calls, texts, and digital chats.
- Analyzes live signals such as response delays, tone shifts, and signs of rising frustration.
- Surfaces alerts so supervisors can review context and intercede immediately.
- Focuses on three operational drivers of satisfaction: response speed, empathy, and problem resolution.
What’s Publicly Available
Numa is publishing an aggregate, anonymized view of industry metrics at csi.numa.com, which the company says draws from thousands of dealerships. The dashboard updates continuously and includes brand-level benchmarks. Numa claims this is the first time the industry can access a real-time view of automotive customer sentiment based on live interactions, rather than delayed survey samples.
Use Cases for Manufacturers and Dealer Groups
- Track sentiment across regions and brands in real time rather than waiting for monthly survey reports.
- Benchmark individual stores against peers and identify systemic issues before they depress CSI scores (Numa’s contention).
- Normalize measurements across diverse operations to spot training needs and process gaps early.
Industry Context
CSI has long served as the primary benchmark for dealership performance, but its latency and survey response limitations have drawn criticism. Roumeliotis links LiveCSI to earlier efforts like Net Promoter Score, emphasizing a shift from lengthy, delayed surveys to operationally useful signals that guide day-to-day service behaviors.
What We Don’t Know Yet
- Pricing, packaging, and rollout timelines were not disclosed.
- Adoption levels and impact on legacy, survey-based CSI programs remain to be seen.
Bottom Line
LiveCSI reframes satisfaction from an after-the-fact grade to an actionable, in-the-moment operating signal. By illuminating response speed, empathy, and resolution during active conversations, Numa aims to help dealerships recover at-risk customers and influence downstream CSI outcomes—an approach the company claims is enabled by real-time analysis of modern communications data.
