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Chainomics AI’s Agent Builder lets you deploy autonomous agents that continuously monitor live logistics signals—weather, port congestion, border wait times, diesel prices, labor strikes, freight indices, and more—and send email alerts when conditions breach thresholds you define. No code required. This page walks you through the six-step Agent Builder wizard, describes the built-in agent templates, and explains how to manage, pause, and delete agents from the /manage-agents page.
Each agent run consumes credits from your account balance. Credit consumption varies by agent type, number of data sources scanned, and the number of alerts generated per run. Monitor credit usage from the Run History panel on the Manage Agents page. Free-tier users receive a monthly credit allowance; earn additional credits by uploading shipment data.

Six-step Agent Builder wizard

Navigate to /create-agent (or click Create Agent in the sidebar) to open the wizard. Progress through all six steps before deploying.
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Step 1 — Identity: Choose a template or start from scratch

Give your agent a name (alphanumeric, hyphens, spaces; up to 64 characters) and select an agent type from the dropdown. Available types include: Shipment Risks, Freight Index, Diesel Price, Labor Strikes, Logistics Hiring, Border Wait Times, Port Congestion, and Carrier Closures.Add an optional description and tags to keep your agent library organized. The system auto-generates a unique Agent ID (agt_xxxxxx) that you can reference in the run log.Alternatively, skip to Step 3 and select data sources directly to build from scratch.
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Step 2 — Behavior: Configure decision model and autonomous actions

Select a decision model: Heuristic (rule-based), ML (machine learning), or Hybrid. Set a confidence threshold (50–99%) that determines how certain the agent must be before firing an alert. Lower thresholds produce more alerts; higher thresholds produce fewer, higher-confidence ones.Toggle autonomous actions on or off. Available actions include: Auto-Reroute Shipments, Escalate to Manager, Recommend Carrier Switch, Rate Lock Advisory, and Inventory Buffer Alert. Agents with no actions enabled run in passive monitor mode—they still scan signals and generate the run log, but take no outbound action.
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Step 3 — Data Sources: Select signals to monitor

Check each data feed you want the agent to poll. Available sources:
SourceWhat it covers
Freight Index APIContainer, dry bulk, trucking, air, and rail indices
Diesel Prices (EIA)Weekly regional US diesel pricing
Weather DisruptionsNOAA severe weather alerts
Port CongestionVessel queue, berth utilization, dwell times
Border Wait TimesCBP commercial crossing wait times
Labor StrikesActive and upcoming labor actions
Political DisruptionsSanctions and trade policy changes
Carrier ClosuresShutdown and seasonal closure calendars
Airspace ClosuresFAA NOTAM and TFR data
Select at least one source to pass validation. Selecting more sources increases the agent’s signal coverage and credit consumption per run.
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Step 4 — Schedule: Set monitoring frequency and send time

Configure when and how often the agent runs:
  • Active Days: toggle individual days of the week (Mon–Sun)
  • Polling Interval: every 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, 4 hours, or once daily
  • Timezone: choose from US and Canadian time zones or UTC
  • Active Hours (optional): restrict runs to a specific time window (e.g., 06:00–22:00)
A plain-English Schedule Summary updates in real time as you make changes (e.g., “Mon–Fri every 15 minutes, New_York”).
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Step 5 — Alerts: Define alert topics and conditions

Add one or more alert rules. Each rule specifies:
  • Rule Name: a short label for the alert type
  • Severity: Info, Warning, or Critical
  • Condition: a natural-language or expression-style trigger (e.g., disruption_probability > 70%)
  • Recipient Emails: comma-separated list of addresses to notify
  • Cooldown: minimum time between repeat alerts for the same rule (15 min, 30 min, 1 hour, or 2 hours)
Agents with no alert rules configured still run and generate a run log, but send no outbound notifications.
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Step 6 — Preview: Review and activate

The Preview step shows a configuration completion percentage and a validation checklist. All required fields must be green (✓) before you can deploy. Warnings (⚠) flag optional items like missing alert rules or no autonomous actions.Review the Agent Summary (name, type, decision model, data sources, schedule, alert rules), then click Deploy Agent to activate. Your agent appears immediately in the Your Custom Agents list below the wizard. Click Save Draft at any point to preserve your progress without activating.

Built-in agent templates

Chainomics ships six curated agents that are pre-configured and ready to run immediately from /manage-agents. These are distinct from custom agents you build in the wizard.

Daily Briefing Agent

Sends an AI-generated email brief covering the top critical logistics issues for the day. Draws from live freight signals across weather, ports, border waits, diesel, and more. Configure frequency, send time, and data sources to match your team’s morning workflow.

Shipment Disruption Agent

Monitors your shipment portfolio for high-risk disruptions and delayed deliveries. Fires an email alert when flagged shipments breach the configured risk threshold or carry a “Delayed” status. Configurable per risk level and maximum shipments per email.

Border Wait Times Agent

Monitors US-Mexico and US-Canada border crossings for delays, lane closures, and congestion. Alerts when commercial wait times at key crossings breach Critical thresholds. Configurable per crossing and severity level.

Port Congestion Agent

Tracks vessel queues, berth utilization, and dwell times across major North American ports. Flags congestion spikes that affect drayage and container availability. Outputs a port-level alert email when configured thresholds are breached.

Labor Strikes Agent

Monitors active, threatened, and negotiating labor actions across maritime, rail, and trucking sectors. Alerts on high-impact disruptions so you can pre-position inventory or arrange alternative routing before a stoppage takes effect.

Diesel Price Agent

Tracks regional diesel fuel prices across the US, Canada, and Mexico. Alerts on significant week-over-week price swings and emerging trends that affect fuel surcharge calculations.

Managing your agents

Navigate to /manage-agents to view, configure, and control all built-in agents from a single two-panel interface. Left panel — agent list: All six built-in agents are listed with a status indicator: green (running), yellow (paused), or blue-pulsing (currently executing a run). Right panel — agent detail: Selecting an agent shows:
  • Agent name, type, and current status badge
  • Current configuration (frequency, send time, max messages, state)
  • Configure & Run button to open the agent’s settings dialog and trigger an immediate run
  • Pause / Resume toggle to suspend scheduled runs without deleting the configuration
  • Run History tab with a table of recent runs (date, status, alerts generated, sources scanned, tokens used)
  • Active Alerts tab listing unread alerts from the most recent runs
Custom agents you built in the wizard appear in a separate Your Custom Agents section below the wizard. Use the Edit button to re-open a custom agent in the wizard, or the toggle switch to pause/resume it. Delete a custom agent with the trash icon—your run history remains accessible after deletion.