5 Hours to Book a Truck? AI Is Coming for That

AI load negotiation is becoming a reality for trucking carriers, potentially reducing the time spent booking trucks. Gabe Ribeiro, Head of Partnerships and Marketing at Hey Bubba AI, explains where fleets currently stand on AI adoption, why small carriers lag behind slightly, and how AI can handle negotiations with multiple brokers simultaneously via email, calls, and APIs.

Ribeiro also discusses trust concerns, data safety, and how fleets can begin using tools like Claude or ChatGPT without overwhelming complexity. Negotiating a single difficult-to-cover truck can take an owner-operator up to five or six hours, and Hey Bubba AI aims to eliminate most of that manual effort. Their platform can simultaneously negotiate with five to ten brokers, presenting carriers with ranked options instead of forcing dispatchers to work each opportunity sequentially.

The system also checks rate confirmations and bills of lading for errors, delivering real-time location updates to brokers through automated tracking calls. The technology integrates with existing tools like ELDs, VoIP services, load boards, and telematics feeds. Hey Bubba AI recently launched ActionWeave AI, an agent-orchestration backend that allows carriers to select individual agents from a menu to manage specific operations.

For drivers, Hey Bubba AI is developing a hands-free application supporting around 30 to 40 languages, enabling voice commands similar to Siri for driver queries at any time of day, reducing safety risks associated with distracted driving and improving driver retention. Ribeiro notes that carriers with fewer than 50 to 100 trucks are still early in their AI journey and suggests starting small by opening paid accounts with tools like Claude or ChatGPT for repetitive internal tasks before attempting broader workflow automation.