Stuck on the roadside, freezing, and hoping someone picks up
Jason was stranded on the shoulder in minus 10 degree weather. His battery was dead. His two kids were bundled in the backseat, and the snow was starting to cover the windshield. He hit “call” on the CAA app, heart racing, praying he wouldn’t get stuck on hold. He needed help now.
Calls like Jason’s weren’t rare. They happened by the hundreds every time a snowstorm rolled in. For the Canada Automobile Association (CAA), that meant massive, unpredictable spikes in call volume. Their agents were experienced, empathetic, and ready to help, but their automation system couldn’t flex to meet the demand. Too many members were waiting. Too many calls went unresolved. The experience fell short of what members expected from one of Canada’s most trusted brands.
CAA serves over 2.5 million members across Ontario and Manitoba. With services spanning emergency roadside assistance, travel, insurance, and beyond, the volume and urgency of calls could change by the hour. They needed a solution that could scale instantly, work securely, and reflect their high standards for member care.
"Having implemented Replicant, we are prepared for whatever may come," said Steve Bennett, Supervisor of Dispatch at CCG. "Whether it’s an economic downturn, a spike in call volume tomorrow, or hiring challenges, we will be able to answer calls because of the automation we already have in place."
Building an AI front line for winter surges
After a disappointing experience with a previous automation vendor, CAA was skeptical about switching again, so they started small. They tested Replicant’s AI agents on a lower-volume call type: credit card updates and payments. It didn’t take long to see a shift. Within weeks, Replicant was completing nearly 30 percent of those calls and tripled their containment rate compared to the previous system.
That early success gave CAA the confidence to expand. They added three high-impact use cases:
- Credit card updates and payments, with real-time redaction of personal data
- Roadside assistance calls from members at home or in safe locations
- Tow truck dispatch calls, where AI agents relay member info to service partners
Replicant’s AI agents didn’t just answer calls. They listened, located, authenticated, summarized, and scaled. Even when calls were escalated to a live agent, that handoff included all context, so agents didn’t need to start from scratch. That made space for agents to focus on what they do best, helping people through stressful, sometimes scary moments.
"We've really used Replicant for some of the less complex call intake so we're able to give our agents more interesting, complex work to do, so they have better job satisfaction," said Tanya Weigelt, Associate Vice President for Automotive, CAA Club Group.
Now help comes faster, no matter the weather
Today, when someone like Jason calls from the side of the road, there is no hold music. Replicant’s AI agents answer right away, authenticate the caller, gather the right details, and start the process to dispatch help. Before the windows frost over, a technician is already on the way.
For more complex calls, agents step in with full context, without needing the member to repeat themselves. The entire process is faster, calmer, and more personal. What used to take minutes now takes seconds.
On a normal day, Replicant handles 30 percent of CAA’s total call volume, doing the work of 15 full-time agents. During major winter events, that scales instantly to the equivalent of 41 agents. And instead of long queues or missed calls, members are leaving compliments.
Jason got help without the wait. Now thousands of other members can too.
Transformational results:
- 2x increase in call completion rate
- 30 percent of total calls handled by AI
- Instant scale equivalent to 41 agents during winter surges
- Zero wait times for roadside service
- NPS of 82 for AI-resolved calls
"I fell off my chair when I heard people leaving compliments about the Replicant’s AI agents," said Weigelt. "We had comments in our Medallia survey saying that the customer is really happy that it understood their accent. No other bot or automation tool has ever done that."
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