How to use Ai Assist in Work Orders or Estimates. – Bayboss

AI Assist gives service advisors and shop owners a quick, realistic baseline for labor hours without flipping between separate reference guides or leaving the work order screen.

It analyzes the vehicle details (Year/Make/Model/Engine) alongside the repair job title to return low, expected/average, and high labor hour suggestions. The shop always maintains total control—the AI provides a starting point, and you choose or adjust the final hours.

How It Works

Context Extraction: When you trigger AI Assist on a job line, Bay Boss pulls the vehicle specs already tied to the ticket along with the job description (e.g., 2018 Ford F-150 3.5L EcoBoost – Water Pump Replacement).

Hour Range Generation: The system evaluates standard industry book times and common repair scenarios to return: ◦ Low: Clean replacement under ideal conditions (no rusted bolts, unobstructed access). ◦ Average / Baseline: Standard expected book time for the job under typical conditions. ◦ High: Difficult access, severe corrosion, or related disassembly considerations.

Recommened while in there - offers additional hour considerations for items you may want to address while you are doing the work above. These hours are not automatically added to the Suggestion totals below.

One-Click Application: Select the suggested hour tier that matches the job's condition, or manually tweak the field as needed.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open or Create an Estimate / Work Order ◦ Ensure the customer vehicle is added with complete Year, Make, Model, and Engine details. Accurate vehicle specs ensure precise labor estimations.

Add a Job Line Item ◦ Enter a clear, descriptive job title (e.g., Front Brake Pads and Rotors Replacement or Alternator R&R).

Click "AI Assist" on the Labor Line ◦ Click on the Purple AI Assist icon/button next to the Labor Hours input field. ◦ The tool generates low, baseline, and high estimated hours in seconds.

Optional - Copy the Primary Repair Steps to the labor description. This will pull in the steps to make your Repair Order more professional.

Select or Fine-Tune Hours ◦ Click the desired baseline (e.g., 2.4 hrs) to automatically populate the labor field. ◦ If the vehicle has rust belt wear, aftermarket modifications, or requires extra teardown, adjust the number directly in the input box.

Save the Line Item ◦ Bay Boss applies your shop’s configured hourly labor rate to calculate the labor subtotal automatically.

Best Practices & Tips

Specific Job Titles Yield Better Results: Entering Replace Starter Motor gives a much tighter, more accurate estimate than typing No crank issue.

Designed as a Baseline, Not an Mandate: AI Assist is meant to eliminate writer's block and speed up estimate creation, not replace technician inspection or shop discretion. If a vehicle has known complications, use the high estimate or adjust upward.

Customer Facing Clarity: Pair your labor estimate with the built-in AI Summary Assist on closeout to automatically turn internal job line items into clear, professional notes for the customer's final invoice.