The Truth About AI in Logistics: What It Can—and Can’t—Do

Featuring insights from renowned data scientist, Dr. Brian Pollack

AI is everywhere—from newsrooms to boardrooms—and the logistics industry is no exception. It’s being hailed as the silver bullet for everything from intelligent automation to AI-powered decision support.

But amid the hype, it's easy to lose sight of what AI can actually deliver—and where its limits still lie.

At Intelligent Audit, our commitment to AI isn't about chasing trends. We’ve been building and refining AI-powered tools for years, well before it became a buzzword. That early start gave us a unique vantage point—one that reveals not just the immense potential of AI, but also the common misconceptions that often lead to disappointment.

Let’s set the record straight.

What AI can do (and does well)

When applied strategically, AI can unlock game-changing efficiencies in logistics and transportation.

1. Pattern recognition at scale

AI models leveraging dedicated machine learning (not plugging into ChatGPT or Grok) can comb through millions of shipment records, identifying patterns humans would never see—like:

• Unexpected shipping behaviors using new services (Usually a TMS glitch)

• High volume shipping to a new “returns” location (Think Fraud)

• New accessorials being imposed impacting low shipper volumes that don’t get much eyes from a transportation team

Leveraging AI to detect these is your only option, if you don’t plan on investing heavily into many people and asking them to dig for gold.

2. Workflow automation

AI, in the form of Large Language Models, can eliminate repetitive tasks like:

• Answering emails that come with little standardization

• Loading non electronic invoices

• Route automation  

This frees up your team for more strategic decision-making.

What AI can’t do (at least not yet)

Despite the impressive capabilities, AI is no magic wand. Its limitations are just as important to understand as its potential.

1. It doesn’t replace human judgment.

AI can tell you what’s happening—but it still takes people to decide what to do about it. Complex tradeoffs (like customer promises vs. freight cost) need business context.  This is especially true in the context of separating out distracting or misleading information. Humans are better at common sense reasoning.

2. It’s only as smart as your data.

Garbage in, garbage out. AI only performs as well as the data it learns from. Poor data quality limits what any model can achieve.

3. It doesn’t replace strategy.

AI helps you optimize a strategy—but setting one still requires human leadership. While AI can support the development of new strategies by uncovering patterns, forecasting outcomes, or modeling scenarios, it shouldn’t operate unchecked.  

Defining a go-to-market model, shifting a network, or managing supplier relationships involves nuance, judgment, and broader business context that AI alone cannot fully grasp. Human oversight is essential. Following AI blindly—without critical review—is where the real risks emerge.

Red flags to watch for: Common misuses of AI

Some vendors make bold (and misleading) claims, like:

• “Our AI will reduce your costs by 30% overnight.”

• “No humans needed—just set it and forget it.”

• “We don’t need data cleanup; our AI is that smart.”

Spoiler alert: AI doesn’t work that way. Overpromising leads to underdelivering—and erodes trust in what should be transformative technology.

How Intelligent Audit uses AI (the right way)

At Intelligent Audit, we build and apply AI where it matters most—delivering transparency, control, and efficiency to shippers.

Our AI capabilities are developed and customized in-house by a dedicated data science team, led by Dr. Brian Pollack. Some solutions, like our proprietary Anomaly Detection, are fully built and hosted internally, ensuring maximum data security.  

Others, like our AI assistant Polly, are customized applications that leverage large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT for natural language processing, while still being tightly tailored to the specific needs of logistics operations. This hybrid approach allows Intelligent Audit to deliver highly specialized, secure, and effective AI solutions.

IA’s AI-powered tools include:

• Advanced machine learning algorithms: Specially tailored for efficient invoice loading even in the face of messy, unstructured data
• Polly: An automated carrier service assistant
• Proprietary Anomaly Detection: Designed to identify and address anomalous shipping patterns that could be hidden cost-drivers, evidence of system misalignments, or budding fraud schemes (and unlikely to ever be caught by humans)  

Deep dive: AI-Powered Anomaly Detection

While Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Grok dominate headlines, we know that logistics problems are better solved with purpose-built tools.

Our Anomaly Detection—built from the ground up specifically for freight audit data—tracks historical baselines to flag outliers in charges, service levels, and more. As Dr. Pollack explains:  

“We analyze a client’s baseline—how shipments flow, how they're billed. When a deviation occurs, like a new accessorial or service shift, the model flags it immediately. That early warning helps clients act fast before costs snowball.”

This isn’t a generic AI wrapper. It’s deep, logistics-specific machine learning that makes your operations smarter.

Final take: AI Is a tool, not a Strategy

AI is transforming supply chains—but it’s not a substitute for strategic thinking or deep industry experience. The companies winning with AI aren’t automating for automation’s sake. They’re integrating AI thoughtfully, with clean data, human oversight, and business context.

At Intelligent Audit, we believe AI should make your operations:

• Faster
• Smarter
• More resilient

Not just more automated.

Because here's the truth: the power of AI depends on the intention of the people using it. Slapping “AI” on a process without strategy, structure, or clarity isn't innovation—it’s irresponsibility. And in logistics, those missteps cost time and money.

AI at IA in action:

Curious how we apply AI to improve shipping performance and uncover hidden savings?

• Download our white paper: AI at IA: Transforming Supply Chains with Intelligent Automation

• See more articles, case studies, and videos at our AI at IA hub

• Book a demo for a personalized walk-through

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