Customer Service Agent

The customer service agent handles shipper inquiries 24/7, reducing your team's support burden.

How It Works

When a shipper sends an email or uses the chat widget:

1. Agent receives inquiry
2. Understands context — shipper name, previous loads, current shipment status
3. Determines if auto-answerable — common questions with clear answers
4. Responds automatically or escalates to human
5. Logs conversation — you see the history in your dashboard

Auto-Answerable Questions

The agent confidently answers:

• "Where's my shipment?" — "Your load ABC-123 is in transit. Current location: Memphis, TN. ETA: 6pm today. Tracking link: [URL]"
• "When will it arrive?" — Shows updated ETA based on tracking data
• "What's my rate?" — "Your shipment is $2,150 at $2.15/mile. Invoice attached."
• "Do you have capacity?" — "Yes, we can accept shipments from [locations] by [dates]"
• "How do I track?" — Sends tracking link and explains how to use the portal
• "What's my account balance?" — Shows outstanding invoices and payment status
• "Can I reschedule?" — "Yes, reschedule at [portal URL] or reply with new dates"

These are resolved in < 1 minute without human involvement.

Escalation Scenarios

The agent escalates to a human if:

• Angry tone detected — customer is frustrated or upset; better handled by person
• Complex issue — dispute, refund request, damage claim
• Multiple failed attempts — agent's answers haven't satisfied the customer
• Special request — "Can you waive the late fee?" or custom pricing
• Sensitive topic — complaint about a carrier, quality issue

Escalations go to your support team (or a designated person). Response time: typically < 1 hour during business hours.

Proactive Outreach

The agent also reaches out proactively:

• Pick-up reminder — "Your shipment picks up tomorrow at 8am. Confirm ready?"
• Delivery ETA update — "Your shipment will arrive at [time] instead of [original time]"
• Delivery confirmed — "Your shipment arrived at [time]. Photo attached."
• Problem alert — "We detected a delay. We're working with the carrier. Will update by [time]"

These are sent automatically based on shipment status. You can customize the messaging in Settings → Communication Templates.

Agent Personality & Tone

You control how the agent talks:

1. Go to Settings → Agents → Customer Service Agent
2. Choose tone:
   • Friendly — "Hey! Your shipment is on the way 🚚 ETA is 6pm. Cool?"
   • Professional — "Your shipment is in transit. Expected delivery: 6:00 PM."
   • Formal — "Shipment ABC-123 is currently in transit with carrier XYZ. Estimated delivery: 18:00."
3. Add company context: "We're a woman-owned brokerage based in Chicago..."
4. Escalation policy: "If customer seems frustrated, escalate immediately"

The agent maintains consistency with your brand voice.

Integration Points

The agent integrates with:

• Email — shipper replies to your outbound emails (agent reads responses)
• Chat widget — embedded on your website (customers click to chat)
• Phone — (planned Q3 2026) shipper can call and get voice responses
• Shipper portal — customers message you in their tracking dashboard

All conversations are in one inbox (Support → Messages).

Language Support

The agent communicates in:

• English (all features)
• Spanish, French, Mandarin, Vietnamese (planned Q2 2026)

For now, non-English requests are auto-escalated.

Feedback Loop

If a shipper marks an agent response as "unhelpful":

1. Response is flagged for review
2. Your team sees the feedback
3. Agent learns from the pattern (multiple "unhelpful" marks = modify behavior)
4. You can provide feedback: "This response tone is too casual" or "This didn't answer the question"

Agent improves over time with feedback.

Escalation SLA

You set escalation response targets:

• Standard — respond within 2 hours (business hours)
• Priority — respond within 30 minutes (e.g., for VIP shippers)
• Emergency — respond immediately (for critical issues)

If escalation SLA is missed, you get an internal alert: "Priority escalation overdue — 45 min late."

Customization

Go to Settings → Agents → Customer Service Agent:

1. Auto-answer topics — select which questions to auto-answer vs. escalate
2. Escalation rules — define conditions that trigger human review
3. Response time targets — set SLAs
4. Team assignment — route escalations to specific people
5. Communication templates — customize how the agent talks

Example Configuration

• Auto-answer: tracking, rate confirmation, account balance
• Escalate: complaints, refunds, special requests
• Tone: friendly
• Response target: 1 hour (business hours)
• Route escalations to: sales-support@yourcompany.com

Enterprise Features

Custom AI Training — provide your FAQs and past shipper emails. Agent learns your specific business language and context.

Multi-language support — Spanish, French, Mandarin (coming Q2 2026)

Phone integration — shipper can call a toll-free number and get voice responses

Sentiment analysis — detect shipper mood (happy, neutral, frustrated) and route accordingly

Limitations

The agent can't:

• Authorize refunds (only recommend escalation)
• Change rates retroactively
• Guarantee carrier performance
• Handle contracts or legal questions

These always escalate to you.

Performance Metrics

Go to Analytics → Agent Health to see:

• Resolution rate — % of conversations handled without escalation (goal: > 75%)
• Escalation rate — % of conversations escalated (goal: < 25%)
• Response time — avg time to first response (goal: < 5 min)
• Satisfaction score — shipper feedback on agent helpfulness (goal: > 4.5/5)
• Containment — % of issues fully resolved without follow-up

Use these to optimize the agent.

Troubleshooting

Agent keeps escalating: Adjust the escalation rules. Maybe you're being too conservative. Increase confidence thresholds.

Agent gave wrong information: Flag the conversation and we'll investigate. Provide feedback so it learns.

Shipper complains the agent was rude: Check tone settings. Adjust to more friendly. Escalate to human for damage control.

Privacy & Data

Shipper emails and chat messages are:

• Encrypted in transit and at rest
• Visible only to your team (we don't train on your data)
• Retained for 1 year (for audit)
• Deleted after 1 year unless you request longer retention

Next Steps

• Support Setup — configuring your support team
• Agent Configuration — detailed agent customization
• Security — how we protect shipper data