Why we built Truckstop’s AVA: Designing AI for drivers

Every day, truck drivers face a decision that no one building freight software has fully solved: search for your next load, or keep your eyes on the road.

Most load boards were built for the office, and they show it. They require two hands, a clear screen, and enough time to navigate through options. That works fine at a desk. At 65 mph, it’s a different story.

Drivers pull over to search safely. Drivers lose time they don’t have. Drivers miss loads because someone else got to the broker first. The tools have improved, but the fundamental problem, searching for freight on a small screen built for a desk, has stayed the same.

Building AI for the cab

Truckstop has watched this problem up close for over 30 years. In that time, a lot of technology has reached the freight industry. Most of it went to dispatchers, brokers, and shippers. Meaningful AI built specifically for the driver behind the wheel has been slower to arrive.

That’s the gap AVA, Truckstop’s Advanced Voice Assistant, was built to fill.

AVA is a voice-native assistant designed from the start for life in the cab, where drivers can’t look down, can’t type, and can’t afford to miss what’s happening on the road ahead.

How AVA works

AVA lives inside the Truckstop Go app, available to drivers on Load Board Advanced and Pro accounts through the Dispatch tab or a home screen widget for one-tap access.

Drivers talk to AVA the way they’d call a freight office. She listens in natural language, understands what the driver needs, and responds out loud. No commands to memorize. No learning curve.

The core of what she does:

• Load search by voice: “Find me a load from Dallas” returns the top live options from the board, spoken back.
• Rate check: “Is this rate good?” pulls live lane data and reads it aloud before the driver calls.
• Broker connection: Say “book it” and AVA patches through to the broker live, with the full load card on screen.
• Fuel stops: “Find diesel near me” returns nearby options and pricing from AtoB’s network.
• Truck parking: Real-time availability from Truck Parking Club, found by voice.

What changes for drivers

The shift AVA represents is not just about convenience. It’s about safety and competitive advantage at the same time.

Drivers who can search, evaluate, and make faster decisions while staying on the road will get to brokers faster. Speed wins loads in a spot market. AVA gets drivers to that moment without the risk of distracted driving.

The same lane data brokers use, spoken back to the driver in real time, means drivers negotiate with real information and not a number the broker offered.

Find your next load from the cab

Searching for freight has always meant a tradeoff between staying safe and staying competitive. Drivers who pull over to search lose time. Drivers who search while moving take on risk. AVA is built to remove that tradeoff entirely.

With AVA, drivers on Load Board Advanced and Pro accounts can search loads, check rates, connect with brokers, and find fuel and parking without touching a screen. The cab stays a cab, not an office.

AVA is available now at no additional cost inside the Truckstop Go app. Open the app, tap the Dispatch tab, and ask AVA to find your next load.

SEE HOW IT WORKS