ORLANDO, Fla. — ActivEngage, Inc. was recently voted as the No. 1 technology leader in the automotive industry for live chat as part of Dealer Marketing Magazine’s 2014 Technology Leadership Awards.

This is the first year in which a panel of car dealership executives judged each vendor, and it is also the second year in a row that ActivEngage has received this award, officials said.

“Winning the Technology Leadership Award confirms that dealerships prefer a chat provider that has quality conversations with their website shoppers, provides cutting-edge technology with proven results, and offers extensive analytics to ensure a dealership’s digital marketing success,” said Todd Smith, CEO of ActivEngage.

The Technology Leadership awards were judged by a panel of auto dealer executives, which included representatives from Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, Joyce Koons Honda Buick GMC, VW Southtowne, Papa’s Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Colonial Automotive Group, Lexus of Edmonton, Haley Toyota Certified Center, Ed Martin Buick GMC, and Subaru of Wichita.

Also, to ensure an unbiased vote, coordination of the awards was handed off to a third party, Joe Webb of DealerKnows Consulting.