Title: KIA Italia generates 40x return on ad spend through AI-powered WhatsApp sales journey

URL: https://www.infobip.com/news/kia-italia-infobip-conversational-ai

Vodnjan, Croatia - September 03, 2026 – KIA Italia, the Italian subsidiary of KIA Corporation, has partnered with Infobip to reduce the time between viewing an advertisement and purchasing a car. Thanks to an AI-powered conversational sales journey on WhatsApp, the company generated 144 qualified leads, eight direct vehicle sales and a return on ad spend (ROAS) of 40x.

In the automotive sector, the journey from initial interest to purchase is often long and complex. Customers compare models, request information, visit dealerships and weigh up various options before deciding. For this reason, KIA Italia was looking for a solution that could capture the interest of potential customers the moment it arose and guiding them more quickly towards a purchase, whilst at the same time qualifying prospects more efficiently.

To achieve this objective, KIA Italia partnered with Infobip to create a conversational sales experience on WhatsApp. The campaign used Facebook and Instagram “Click-to-WhatsApp”ads, enabling interested users to start a conversation immediately with an AI agent. Integrated with Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Salesforce CRM, the solution automated lead management and the real-time transfer of qualified opportunities to the sales process.

Unlike traditional online forms, users were able to interact naturally with the AI agent, receiving immediate answers about models, prices, features, availability and financing options. At the same time, the solution gathered the information needed to qualify leads and directed the most interested customers to their nearest dealership to request a quote or book a test drive.

The results confirmed the effectiveness of the approach. In just two months, the campaign generated 144 qualified leads, 116 requests for quotes and eight direct car sales. Furthermore, KIA Italia recorded a 53% reduction in the cost per vehicle sold compared with traditional “Click-to-WhatsApp”campaigns.

With an average of over 10 messages per session, the campaign demonstrated that consumers are willing to engage with personalised conversational experiences when they receive immediate responses and relevant information. The results confirm the potential of conversational artificial intelligence to transform messaging channels into tools capable of supporting and accelerating sales processes.

## About Infobip

Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey, with AI as the driving force of innovation. Through a single, natively built platform, Infobip delivers omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions that help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications while driving growth and increasing customer loyalty. Infobip is focused on enabling and accelerating AI adoption as it continues its transformation into an AI-first company. Infobip’s technology has the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices in 6 continents connected to 10k+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. The company was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić and CTO Izabel Jelenić.

## Recent recognitions include:

- Infobip ranked #16 in Fortune’s Europe’s Most Innovative Companies 2026 (June 2026), up from its inaugural #68 ranking in 2025.
- Infobip named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) for the fourth consecutive year. Positioned furthest for Completeness of Vision for the second time (May 2026)
- Infobip named the number one Established Leader in the Juniper Research RCS for Business 2026 Leaderboard (Feb 2026)
- Infobip recognized as a growth and innovation leader in Frost Radar™: Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) by Frost & Sullivan (Oct 2025)
- Infobip ranked as the number one Established Leader in the Juniper Research Mobile Messaging Fraud Prevention Market report (Sept 2025)
- Infobip ranked as a Leader in the Omdia CPaaS Universe Report for the third time (April 2025)
- Infobip ranked an Established Leader in the Juniper Research Conversational AI Leaderboard (Feb 2025)
- Infobip named a CPaaS Leader for the third time in the IDC MarketScape (Feb 2025)
- Infobip named one of the top CPaaS providers in Metrigy’s CPaaS MetriRank Report (Dec 2024)
- Infobip recognized as the number one provider in the AIT Fraud Prevention market by Juniper Research (Oct 2024)

## About KIA Corporation

KIA is a global mobility brand with a vision to create sustainable mobility solutions for consumers, communities, and societies around the world. Founded in 1944, today Kia employs 52,000 people worldwide, has a presence in nearly 200 markets and manufacturing facilities in six countries, selling more than three million vehicles a year. Kia offers customers choice with accessible ICE and electrified models, spearheading the popularization of hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles. The company is developing a growing range of mobility services and encouraging millions of people around the world to explore the best ways of getting around. Kia’s brand slogan – ‘Movement that inspires’ – reflects the company’s commitment to inspire consumers through its products and services.