Flexport opened its freight platform to outside AI agents on Tuesday with a Model Context Protocol server that lets Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, or an in-house bot track, quote, and book cargo without a human logging into the forwarder's dashboard.

The San Francisco-based digital forwarder said its own AI agents already handle 21 million tasks a year. The new MCP server routes requests through the same quoting and booking agents, returning a booking ID and transit time in plain language. Shippers can submit cargo details and book against negotiated rates directly from the tool they already use.

"The future of global logistics is autonomous: intelligent supply chains that see problems before they happen, calculate the fix, and execute it in a recurring self-improvement loop," founder and CEO Ryan Petersen said in the release.

What can shippers' AI agents do through the MCP server?

The MCP layer accepts four job types:

• Track shipments
• Surface exceptions or customs holds
• Search rates on any lane
• Book outright

Each request lands on Flexport's internal agents, where a quoting agent converts inquiries into custom quotes whether they arrive by email, through MCP, or inside the platform.

Flexport said every agent runs inside an evaluation framework built for governance and traceability, and that flagged exceptions still route to a human expert before any action is taken. For the 13,000-plus companies that use Flexport, the practical effect is that a procurement team can wire its existing Claude or Copilot instance to Flexport and let the agent place bookings against rate contracts already on file.

How is Flexport extending its customs and classification tools?

With U.S. tariff policy shifting frequently, Flexport pushed updates to its Customs Technology Suite. The suite audits entries against hundreds of rules before they reach government agencies. Customers can now write audit rules around their own standard operating procedures, and the rules run against every entry in real time.

The feature is live for U.S. entries. The Netherlands and the U.K. come next.

A new classification tool turns 10-digit Harmonized Tariff Schedule code assignment into a guided conversation. It returns a recommended code in seconds, with linked U.S. Customs and Border Protection rulings and the reasoning shown in real time. Users can then send the code to one of Flexport's licensed customs brokers for validation before filing.

What does Atlas add for routing decisions?

Flexport Atlas, the no-cost global trade map the company introduced in February as an ocean view, now covers air, rail, and barge. Users can compare every mode between any two locations.

Atlas also gained an AI-curated disruption layer that monitors news sources for events that could affect shipments, plus per-container emissions estimates on every ocean route.

Robots outside Chicago

Flexport opened its first fully automated e-commerce fulfillment center outside Chicago, deploying more than 350 robots that bring inventory to workers. The company said the site runs at double the efficiency of a traditional warehouse.

The opening follows Flexport's launch of fulfillment services in Mississauga, Ontario, and Manchester, England, earlier this month. Over the past year the company opened offices in eight new countries — Japan, France, Belgium, Cambodia, Brazil, the Philippines, Australia, and Indonesia — bringing its footprint to 47 offices worldwide. AI-powered translation in Japanese and French brings the platform to 11 supported languages.

"Our goal is to let the companies we serve spend all their time developing amazing products, building their brand, and connecting with customers — with Flexport's autonomous supply chain execution platform handling everything," Petersen said.

The combination of MCP-based booking, customs automation, and multi-mode Atlas positions Flexport to capture more of the small and mid-sized shipper workflow that still routes through email and spreadsheets. The next data point to watch is whether negotiated-rate booking through third-party AI agents translates into measurable volume gains on Trans-Pacific and Asia-Europe lanes.