Chain, a Nevada-based logistics technology startup, has launched an AI-powered Autopilot Booking Agent designed to automate carrier outreach, rate negotiation, and booking for freight brokers, allowing them to handle more loads without increasing headcount.
Company background and philosophy
Founded by husband-and-wife team Param Sandhu and Annalise Sandhu, Chain began by automating track-and-trace operations before expanding into AI workflow automation. The company now serves more than 90 freight brokerages, with some customers automating as much as 95% of routine track-and-trace communications, according to Kevin Coomes, chief revenue officer at Chain.
Coomes said the company’s goal isn’t to replace carrier sales representatives but to eliminate repetitive administrative work. “We had a customer tell us, ‘I don’t want AI to replace my people. I want to give them an Iron Man suit,’” Coomes told FreightWaves. “That’s really been our philosophy. We want to free brokers from the manual, mundane tasks so they can spend more time on the freight that actually requires human judgment.”
How the Booking Agent operates
The Booking Agent works inside brokers’ existing communication channels. It gathers carrier offers from load boards and email, verifies carriers through compliance integrations, negotiates rates within broker-established pricing guardrails, and writes completed bookings back into the transportation management system. When negotiations fall outside predefined limits, the AI escalates the load to a human representative.
The technology is designed to handle repeatable freight rather than complex or high-risk shipments. “The goal isn’t to automate the really hard freight,” Coomes said. “It’s to pre-book the freight that’s already moving with carriers in your network so your carrier reps can focus on the 50% that’s actually difficult to cover.”
Carrier interaction and autonomy
Concerns about whether carriers know they are interacting with software instead of a broker are addressed by Chain’s communication method. Coomes said the platform primarily communicates through email and text rather than voice, using natural language responses that resemble conversations with brokerage employees. “So far, they generally think they’re dealing with the broker they’ve always dealt with,” he said, adding that Chain has intentionally avoided relying heavily on AI voice agents because many drivers prefer speaking with people.
Brokers set guardrails for what AI can handle autonomously. Coomes noted that customers generally prefer to keep humans involved with high-value freight, hazmat shipments, and other specialized loads, while allowing AI to negotiate and book routine lanes with trusted carriers. “There are 20 different nuances to every load,” Coomes said. “The guardrails determine what AI can handle and what should still go to a human.”
Operational impact and metrics
Rather than measuring success solely by labor savings, Chain is evaluating whether AI can help brokers cover more freight while maintaining service quality. Early customer metrics focus on automating 20% to 40% of routine loads, allowing carrier representatives to handle more freight without sacrificing margin or customer service.
| Metric | Before AI | After AI (target) |
|---|---|---|
| Routine loads automated | 0% | 20–40% |
| Loads handled per rep per day | 100 | 150 |
Coomes explained: “If one rep is handling 100 loads a day and we can automate 20% to 40% of those, can that same rep handle 150 loads a day? It’s not necessarily about increasing margins. It’s about protecting the margins you already have while giving people more time to focus on difficult freight.” Another objective is increasing carrier reuse by matching freight with carriers that brokers already work with.
Implications for the logistics industry
For freight brokers, the Autopilot Booking Agent represents a shift toward augmented operations rather than full automation. By handling the repetitive 20–40% of routine loads, brokers can scale their coverage without adding headcount or sacrificing service quality. The tool’s ability to blend into existing workflows and appear as a human counterpart to carriers may ease adoption on both sides of the transaction. For shippers and 3PLs, this could translate into faster capacity matching and more consistent service on standard lanes, while still keeping human judgment on complex or sensitive freight.
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