Looking for your next load? Here’s how AI dispatching can help you find, compare, negotiate, and book a load.   

Say you're a dry van driver near Chicago, empty and heading southeast. TruckSmarter's free load board gives you access to available freight. Dispatch can search those loads, compare your options, check market rates and trip economics, and help you book, all in one conversation.

This guide walks through five steps: Find, Compare, Negotiate, Review and Book, and Plan Ahead. New to Dispatch? Start with Getting Started with AI Dispatching.

Step 1: Tell Dispatch What Kind of Load You Need

Open Dispatch and describe the load you want. Tell it where you’re starting and where you want to go, what you’re hauling, and any preferences that matter to you. Ask in English, Spanish, or any language that you prefer.  

For our Chicago driver, that might look like:

"Find me dry van loads picking up today within 50 miles of Chicago and heading southeast."

A few details help Dispatch narrow the search:

• Current pickup location or preferred origin

• Delivery destination or general direction

• Equipment type

• Pickup date

• Preferred distance

• Any other load requirements that matter to you

Narrow down your search results by adding more details. 

Need different options? Ask a follow-up question, like:

• "Only show loads paying at least $2.50 per mile."

• "Which ones have less than 50 miles of deadhead?"

• "Show me the best options heading toward Atlanta."

Dispatch looks for available loads from the free load board based on whatever you tell it.

If you prefer to look through the loads yourself, you can search the load board using the usual filters like pickup, destination, equipment, date, distance, weight, and length. Once you spot a load you like, bring it to Dispatch to review and compare.

Back to our Chicago driver: Dispatch surfaces several dry van loads picking up nearby and heading southeast. Now the real question is which one actually makes sense to run.

Step 2: Compare the Best Loads (Before You Call)

The posted rate won't tell you what you'll actually take home. Before you spend time chasing a load, ask Dispatch to break down the full trip economics against current market data. Market rate tells you how a load compares to the market, but your own cost per mile tells you whether the load works for your business.

Depending on what's available, Dispatch can pull together:

• Posted rate

• Current market rate for the lane

• Whether the posted rate sits above, near, or below market

• Loaded RPM

• Total RPM after accounting for deadhead (sometimes called Effective RPM)

• Deadhead miles

• Approximate fuel cost

• Estimated take-home  

• Pickup and delivery windows

• Weight and stops

• Broker information and history

• Backhaul potential at the destination

Loaded RPM is the rate per mile from pickup to delivery. Total RPM factors in the deadhead it takes to get there, which is usually the number that matters more. For the full breakdown of how these are calculated, see our guide to rate per mile, which includes a free rate per mile calculator.

Ask Dispatch to compare your options

Remember: the best posted rate isn't always the best load for your truck. Look at what the entire trip costs and pays. Also consider how long the load will keep your truck tied up. A load with a strong RPM may be less attractive if long waits, extra stops, or delivery timing keep you from taking another load.

Asking Dispatch to compare options becomes incredibly useful once a few loads look promising:

• "Compare these three loads and show me which has the best estimated take-home."

• "Which one gives me the best RPM after deadhead?"
  
  

Back in Chicago, one Atlanta-area load posts a higher rate but comes with 90 miles of deadhead. Another pays a bit less but sits just 15 miles away. Once Dispatch runs the full comparison, the shorter deadhead load comes out ahead on take-home.

Step 3: Negotiate the Rate

Once you've picked a load worth your time, use what you already know about the market to decide how to approach the broker and potentially negotiate a higher rate.

Decide whether to counter

Based on what Dispatch showed you in Step 2, you'll generally land in one of 3 spots:

• The posted rate already works for your costs and goals.

• The rate sits below the current market for the lane.

• The load only makes sense if the broker moves the rate up.

Pro Tip: Not every load needs a counteroffer. Knowing where the rate stands against the market helps you decide when that conversation is actually worth having. Rate isn't the only term worth checking before you negotiate. Look at appointment times, extra stops, detention terms, and other accessorials that could add time or cost to the load.

Make a specific counteroffer

A number backed by current lane data gives the conversation a real starting point:

• "I'm seeing this lane closer to $2.75 per mile right now. Can you get to $2,300?"

Recheck the economics when the broker counters

If the broker comes back with a new number, bring it right back to Dispatch:

• "They came up to $2,100. What does my estimated take-home look like now?"

Run the math again before accepting a load just because the number went up. A higher rate doesn't always mean a better outcome once deadhead and fuel are factored back in. Dispatch can pull the market data and run the numbers for you at every step. The call with the broker, and the final decision, is still yours.

For our Chicago driver, this is where the strongest option gets a counter, and the broker's revised offer gets checked one more time before moving forward.

Step 4: Review the Rate Confirmation and Book

Dispatch helped you find and evaluate the load. Before you commit your truck, the rate confirmation review is on you.

Check every detail against what you agreed to:

• Shipper and receiver names

• Pickup and delivery addresses

• Pickup and delivery windows

• Commodity and weight

• Agreed rate

• Payment terms

• Broker contact information

• Detention terms

• TONU terms

• Lumper fees and other accessorials

• Additional stops or special requirements

Make sure the agreed rate and any negotiated terms match what's actually printed on the rate con. If something's off, talk to the broker to confirm the details before you sign. Dispatch can support the process, but you make the final call to accept and book.

Get ready for pickup

Confirm pickup instructions and how the broker wants to be reached. Before you leave, you can use Dispatch to double-check trip details like route, deadhead, and estimated fuel cost.

Back to Chicago: the broker agrees to the rate, the driver confirms every term matches the rate con, and the Chicago to Atlanta load is booked.

Step 5: Start Planning Your Next Load

Once one load is booked, you can look for backhaul options before you’re empty. Use your current load's destination and delivery time as your starting point:

• "Find dry van loads within 50 miles of Atlanta picking up after 8 a.m. Thursday."

From there, refine based on what matters most to you:

• Where you want to go next

• Rate and RPM

• Deadhead

• Pickup timing

Backhaul potential is worth weighing even before you finish your current run. Two outbound loads might look similar on paper, but one could drop you into a much stronger freight market for your next move. You may also find better freight by repositioning after delivery. Compare the cost of deadheading to a stronger nearby market against taking a lower-paying load where you deliver.

For our Chicago driver, that means pulling up Atlanta freight before the current load even delivers, so the next move is already lined up.

Dispatch does the searching and the math. You make every final call, from which load to chase to what you sign. The best part? Dispatch is free to start. Every new sign-up gets a limited number of chat requests each week at no cost, no card required. Need more? Dispatch Unlimited runs $49/month, with no added fees or commission.

If this is your first time trying AI-powered load booking, don't overhaul your whole process at once. Just run the next load you're already searching for through this workflow. Open TruckSmarter's free load board and ask Dispatch to find your next load now.