> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.chrt.com/prod/shippers/ai-order-builder/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.chrt.com/_mcp/server.

# AI Order Builder

> Use the AI order builder to seed a draft from unstructured text — what it reads, what it produces, and how to review before submitting.

The **AI order builder** lives on the Order setup tab of the draft builder.
Paste an email, a customer's quote, a Slack message, or any freeform
description of a shipment, and chrt populates the draft's cargo, stops, and
segments for you to review. It's the fastest path from "here's what we're
moving" to a submittable order.

## Before you start

* The AI order builder appears only when a draft is empty (no cargo, no tasks
  yet). Once you've started populating fields manually, the panel hides itself
  so it doesn't overwrite your work.
* chrt will create a new draft for you on demand — you don't need to start the
  draft yourself.

## 1. Open the draft builder

Go to [chrt.com/orders/drafts/new](https://chrt.com/orders/drafts/new) and
land on the **Order setup** tab. The AI order builder appears as a section on
that tab.

## 2. Paste the source text

Drop the source into the textarea. chrt accepts freeform text — emails,
quotes, Slack threads, internal notes, anything that describes pickup and
delivery details. The placeholder shows an example like:

> Ship 2 pallets of electronics from Miami to New York, pickup tomorrow at
> 9am.

Click one of the four **Example** buttons to load a starter prompt if you
want to see the shape of input that works well.

> **Note**
>
> The AI order builder reads only the text you paste — it does not parse file
> attachments, images, or PDFs in this release. Paste the email body in plain
> text.

## 3. Generate the draft

Click **Generate** (or the equivalent action). chrt streams the result back,
showing progress as it populates the draft. When it's done, the panel collapses
and the Order setup, Segments, Stops, and Cargo tabs are filled in based on
what the AI extracted.

## 4. Review every field before you submit

This is the important step. The AI is a starting point, not a final answer.
Walk through each tab and check:

* **Order setup** — is the right forwarder or courier assigned?
* **Cargo** — quantities, weights, dimensions, and cargo types correct?
* **Segments** — ground vs. flight chain matches what you actually need?
* **Stops** — addresses, time windows, contacts, and special instructions
  match the source?
* **Cargo at each stop** — every stop has the correct cargo lines selected.

Fix anything that's off, then continue with the normal
[Creating shipments](/shippers/creating-shipments) flow.

> **Warning**
>
> Always review AI-populated fields before you submit. The AI can mis-extract
> weights, dates, time zones, or cargo line counts — small mistakes here turn
> into real exceptions during execution.

## How to know it worked

* The AI panel collapses and shows a success summary.
* Cargo, Segments, and Stops tabs have populated data.
* The Preview step shows the assembled order without "no cargo" or "no stops"
  validation errors.

## If something looks different

* **The AI panel isn't visible** — your draft already has cargo or tasks on
  it. The panel only shows when the draft is empty. Start a new draft from
  [chrt.com/orders/drafts/new](https://chrt.com/orders/drafts/new).
* **Generation fails or returns nothing** — try simplifying the source text
  (just the key fields: from, to, what, when), or use an example prompt as a
  starting point and edit.
* **Fields are mostly right but a few are wrong** — edit them by hand in the
  normal draft builder tabs. The AI's output is just regular draft data after
  it lands.
* Contact [hi@chrt.com](mailto:hi@chrt.com) if you have issues.

## Related guides

* [Creating shipments](/shippers/creating-shipments) — the full draft builder
  reference for editing what the AI produced.
* [Order schedules](/shippers/order-schedules) — for recurring shipments, use
  schedules instead of regenerating a draft each time.
* [Cargo types](/docs/concepts/cargo-types) — double-check the AI's cargo
  type guess against the full enum.

> Paste an email, quote, or freeform description and let chrt populate the draft order for you.