Freight moves fast, and even the most seasoned carriers and brokers can struggle to keep up. Opportunities appear in inboxes and vanish before the recipients can react. Drivers call with urgent issues at delivery stops, emails pile up and the clock keeps ticking.
PCS Software wants to change that. The company demonstrated Cortex AI – its new AI solution embedded directly into the PCS Carrier TMS – at F3: Future of Freight Festival last month. The demo drew attention from attendees for its real-time problem solving, and it was recognized with a Best of Show distinction.
Cortex AI is designed for both carriers and brokers, streamlining the workflows they use every day. It doesn’t live in a separate system or sit on top of existing tools. Instead, Cortex AI is woven into the company’s TMS itself, enhancing opportunity scoring, dispatching, backhaul matching, and communication. Due to its embedded nature, users don’t have to jump between apps or manually enter the same information multiple times.
PCS Chief Product Officer Danielle Villegas and Senior Director of Product Chris Noble walked attendees through how the system works during the demo. Villegas illustrated a scenario anyone in logistics knows all too well: A driver calls with an issue while a hot load appears in the inbox, only to disappear before a broker can act. That’s where Cortex AI steps in, helping logistics teams prioritize opportunities, match the right drivers, and keep operations moving smoothly.
Smarter decisions, built in
Cortex AI doesn’t wait for a load to exist before kicking in. Its Opportunity Manager sweeps tenders, emails, and voicemails, scoring each load using the client’s profitability metrics.
Every score comes with transparency: cost benchmarks, ERP data, and other key metrics show why one load rises to the top. Once a client picks a load, Cortex automatically creates it in the system. Origin, destination, rate, accessorials, and equipment requirements are all captured without rekeying.
Dispatching gets the same treatment. Cortex evaluates more than 36 data points—hours of service, driver certifications, location, past experience—to find the best driver. The Dispatch Manager shows recommendations right in PCS, complete with reasoning behind each match.
Additionally, the Backhaul Booster keeps trucks rolling. By analyzing lanes and capacity, it surfaces smart backhaul opportunities so assets keep moving efficiently. This feature offers major profitability boosts for carriers while simultaneously unlocking cost-saving opportunities for brokers.
Communication without the busy work
Cortex AI makes communicating with shippers simpler too. Users can send prebuilt email templates with all load details or let Cora, PCS’s AI voice agent, handle it. During the F3 demo, Cora confirmed a recurring load from Fargo to Houston, negotiated rates, processed changes, and updated the TMS automatically.
Villegas noted that while the demo showed manual steps, Cortex’s Load Automation Agent can handle the entire workflow—from spotting opportunities to assigning drivers and confirming with shippers—without the user lifting a finger.
The big takeaway: Cortex AI is not a bolt-on—it’s AI built into PCS TMS. That means logistics pros aren’t just reacting, they can strategically pick the right loads for profitability, capacity, and efficiency.
Click here to learn more about Cortex AI and PCS TMS.
