FreightConnect

Agents / Customer Service Agent

Customer Service Agent

Roadmap. The customer service agent is in development and not live yet. This page describes how it will work when it ships. Today, shipper questions are largely answered by product design instead: shippers see their own tracking, documents, and escrow status directly on the Shipper Dashboard, and anything else goes to support.

The customer service agent will handle 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

Last updated: April 2026