Motive recently launched Agents, an artificial intelligence (AI) technology designed to identify operational problems and take action automatically to help fleets prevent collisions and breakdowns, reduce costs, and limit manual work.

The company developed Agents to turn existing safety and operations data into actions such as contacting drivers, opening maintenance work orders, and bringing managers into situations that require attention. The technology is available to Motive customers and will be showcased at the American Trucking Associations (ATA) Management Conference & Exhibition in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Motive estimates organizations lose $46 billion a year to preventable problems such as downtime, compliance violations, and unproductive idling. According to the company’s 2026 Motive ROI Report, top respondents spend as much as 63% of their workweek on manual tasks that could be automated.

Motive customers can configure Agents using guided workflows or ready-to-use templates without technical expertise. The system can use Atlas, Motive’s AI assistant, to contact drivers directly in the cab and help them respond to emerging risks.

Agents can support several fleet functions, including:

• Driver fatigue: Detect early signs of fatigue and contact drivers to help them find a safe place to rest.
• Severe weather: Alert drivers to hazardous conditions along active routes and provide guidance on alternate routes, safer speeds, or stopping locations.
• Vehicle maintenance: Explain fault codes and recommended next steps, contact drivers, open work orders in Motive Maintenance, and mark vehicles out of service.
• Fuel efficiency: Identify excessive idling and prompt drivers through AI Dashcam Plus to shut off engines, accounting for ambient temperatures so necessary idling in extreme weather is not flagged as waste.

Teams can select the conditions Agents monitor and define how the system responds. Motive plans to add the ability for customers to describe an Agent’s goal in plain language, allowing AI to build workflows based on desired outcomes. That capability is expected early next year.

"Our customers don't need another alert. They need action," Hemant Banavar, chief product officer at Motive, said. "The data that prevents collisions and breakdowns already lives in Motive. Agents put it to work the moment it matters so teams can grow without adding headcount."

What this means for the trucking industry

For fleets, automated responses could help close the gap between detecting a risk and addressing it. Contacting drivers sooner, initiating repairs when fault codes appear, and responding to excessive idling may help reduce preventable downtime and operating expenses. The value will depend on how well fleets configure the system, integrate it into their workflows, and ensure automated actions support sound driver and maintenance decisions.