Quote requests arrive in every shape: a one-line email, a forwarded thread, a spreadsheet of 200 lanes. Someone has to read each one, look up rates, add a margin and reply. That's where quotes sit for hours, or get missed after 5 p.m.
With AI freight quoting, software reads the request and fills in what it can. It prices the load with your rules and puts a draft in front of a rep to send.
How it works, step by step
Fig. 2 One clean line from request to log; the only loop is a quick question back to the shipper.
- Read the request. Pull out origin, destination, equipment, pickup date, weight, commodity and any special needs. They may be in the email, an attachment or a spreadsheet.
- Ask for what's missing. If the email has no pickup date or equipment type, the system replies and asks right away, instead of waiting for a rep.
- Look up the price. Check your own recent loads on that lane, plus the market rate source you already pay for (DAT, Truckstop, Greenscreens, or similar).
- Apply your rules. Your markup by customer, lane or season; minimum margins; fuel; accessorials.
- Draft the reply. In your format and tone, ready for a rep to approve or edit.
- Log it. Save the quote in the TMS or CRM, so you can see win rates by lane and follow up on the ones that went quiet.
Where a person stays in the loop
Fig. 3 Each lane row is read and priced; the odd one is left for a person to quote.
- Approving the price, at least until the system has proven itself on your lanes.
- New customers and odd freight (oversize, hazmat, multi-stop).
- Big RFPs, where strategy matters more than speed.
A good rule: let the system send on its own only for repeat lanes and customers where its drafts have been right for weeks.
A sample freight quote request email
You can quote faster when shippers send their requests in one simple format. Here's one to share with them:
Subject: Quote request: [Origin city, ST] to [Destination city, ST], [date]
Pickup: [city, ST, zip] on [date], [time window]
Delivery: [city, ST, zip] by [date]
Equipment: [dry van / reefer / flatbed], [length]
Weight and pieces: [lbs], [pallets]
Commodity: [what it is], [hazmat yes/no]
Notes: [appointments, liftgate, temperature, etc.]
A sample quote reply
Hi [name], thanks for the request.
[Origin] to [Destination], [equipment], pickup [date]: $[all-in rate] all-in, including fuel.
Valid until [date/time]. Accessorials, if needed: detention $[x]/hr after [y] hrs free, lumper at cost.
Reply "book it" and we'll send the rate confirmation.
What to measure
Track 3 numbers: time from request to reply, quotes sent per rep per day, and win rate by lane. If replies get faster but win rate drops, the pricing rules need work, not the speed.
Where we come in
We're a small team based in the Hudson Valley, NY, spread across the globe, serving clients in many countries. We build automation for freight brokers, 3PLs and carriers. For quoting, we connect your inbox, your rate source and your TMS. Then every quote request gets read, priced with your rules and drafted for a rep, even after hours. It starts with your Redprint, a map of how your work runs today, delivered within 48 hours of your intake. There's a 30-day money-back guarantee: if you don't like what we plan to build, you get all your money back. After the build comes the Optimizing Phase. We stay on as your operational partner and keep improving the system as AI and your business change. You can cancel anytime. The automations run on our system, so they stop when the Optimizing Phase does.
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Questions
What is AI freight quoting?
Software that reads quote requests from email or spreadsheets and prices them. It uses your rate history, market data and markup rules, then drafts a reply for a rep to send.
Can AI price freight on its own?
It can draft a price from your data and rules. Keep a person approving prices until the drafts are right, week after week, on your lanes.
How do I write a freight quote request email?
Include origin and destination with zip codes, and pickup and delivery dates. Add equipment type and length, weight and pallet count, the commodity, and any special needs.
Does AI quoting work with RFP spreadsheets?
Yes. It can read each lane row, price it with your rules, and fill the sheet back in for review.
Do I need a new TMS for AI quoting?
No. It can work with your existing inbox, rate source and TMS.