--- title: "How can parcel companies win small shippers who ask AI?" description: "Small sellers now ask AI how to ship cheaply, so parcel carriers and shipping platforms need current, citable rates, coverage and reviews to be named." canonical: "https://underneath.agency/resources/shipping-companies-customers-ai-search" published: 2026-10-07 updated: 2026-10-08 publisher: "Underneath (https://underneath.agency/agent)" entity: "https://underneath.agency/.well-known/entity.json" --- Guide · AI search # How do parcel carriers and shipping platforms win small businesses that ask AI how to ship? By publishing the facts an assistant needs to compare them, and by being talked about in places it trusts. Small sellers are squeezed by shipping costs and most now use AI tools regularly, so the question “what is the cheapest way to ship this?” increasingly goes to an assistant. Carriers and platforms that state current rates, coverage and transit times clearly, and that earn reviews and independent coverage, give it something to cite. ## The short version 1. The market keeps growing and fragmenting: US parcel volume reached 23.1 billion shipments in 2025, up 3.3%, and “Other” carriers more than doubled their revenue share from 3.4% to 7.2%, according to the [Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index](https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/shipping-index.html). 2. Shipping cost is the small seller’s biggest problem: in [ShipStation’s survey](https://www.shipstation.com/guides/shipstation-2026-merchant-insights-report/) of 868 US retailers with fewer than 500 employees, 62% said high shipping and freight rates limit their growth, and 67% spend more than 10% of revenue on shipping and fulfillment. 3. Small business owners use AI daily: in a [TechNet poll](https://www.technet.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Small-Business-E-Commerce-and-AI-Survey-Poll-Toplines.pdf) of 1,108 small business owners and executives, 71% use AI tools regularly and 52% daily, and 79% say AI has helped expand the tools and service providers they use. 4. International rules just changed: before the US ended the de minimis exemption in August 2025, 1.36 billion packages worth $64.6 billion entered under it in a year, [the Associated Press reported](https://abc7news.com/post/us-tariff-exemption-small-orders-ends-friday-big-deal-shoppers-businesses/17653696/), and postal services in more than a dozen countries paused some US-bound packages. 5. Amazon Logistics became the largest US parcel carrier by volume in 2025, with 6.9 billion parcels, so the incumbents now compete with a new leader and a growing field of regional and last-mile carriers. ## Who buys parcel shipping, and what is a small shipper worth? Small online sellers buy it, often through a platform. Shipping takes a large slice of their revenue. The customer base is broad. The SBA Office of Advocacy counts [36.2 million small businesses](https://advocacy.sba.gov/?p=30239) in the US. Many sell online: in the TechNet poll, 46% sold on Amazon, 42% on Facebook Marketplace, 33% on eBay and 49% on their own websites. Shipping spend is large relative to their size. ShipStation found that 35% of merchants spend more than 15% of revenue on shipping and fulfillment. By our own arithmetic, a seller with $2 million in annual revenue that spends 10% to 15% on shipping and fulfillment is putting $200,000 to $300,000 a year into labels, packaging and labor, and much of that goes to carriers and platforms. Each kind of shipping company earns from that spend in a different way: | Shipping company | How it earns from a small shipper | What the shipper is choosing | |---|---|---| | National carrier (USPS, UPS, FedEx) | Revenue per package, account volume | Price by weight and zone, speed, pickup, reliability | | Amazon Logistics and marketplace programs | Fees bundled with selling on the marketplace | Whether to use marketplace shipping | | Regional or last-mile carrier | Per-package revenue in its service area | Lower rates on some lanes, coverage limits | | Multi-carrier shipping platform | Subscription, label and carrier fees | Discounted rates, integrations, automation | | International parcel service | Per-package revenue plus duties handling | Customs, duties, transit time | The incumbents still dominate revenue. UPS raised its full-year 2026 revenue outlook to about [$91.2 billion](https://investors.ups.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2164/ups-releases-2q-2026-earnings). But the Pitney Bowes index shows volume moving toward Amazon and toward “Others,” whose volume rose 127%, led by Shein and Temu traffic and by regional carriers such as OnTrac, GLS, LSO and Spee-Dee and last-mile startups such as Veho and UniUni. ## How do small businesses choose a carrier or shipping platform today? Mostly on price, with reliability and convenience close behind, and often inside a tool that compares carriers for them. Rate pressure is constant. ShipStation’s report says UPS and FedEx both set 2026 general rate increases near 6%, with surcharges pushing the effective increase higher for most shippers. Peak season concentrates the risk: over 70% of the merchants surveyed earn more than a quarter of their annual revenue in a single quarter, and their top concern going in is shipping capacity. That pressure pushes sellers toward comparison. Multi-carrier platforms exist to rate-shop across carriers, and marketplaces bundle shipping into their own programs. A carrier that is not in the platform a seller uses, or that is not mentioned when a seller asks for cheaper options, is not in the comparison at all. International shipping adds a fresh layer of questions. When the US ended the de minimis exemption, which had let packages worth $800 or less enter duty-free, carriers had to collect and remit duties, and small sellers on both sides of the border had to relearn the rules. [CBC News](https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7618234) reported Canadian small businesses worried they could not survive the change. Questions like these are exactly the ones people now put to AI assistants. ## Where does AI search enter a small shipper’s decision? At the research and comparison step, before a seller opens an account or starts a trial. No public study yet isolates parcel-carrier selection through AI assistants. The adoption evidence is strong. Beyond the TechNet poll, the [U.S. Chamber of Commerce](https://www.uschamber.com/technology/empowering-small-business-the-impact-of-technology-on-u-s-small-business) reported that almost 60% of small businesses use artificial intelligence for business operations, more than double the 2023 level. In the TechNet poll, 67% used ChatGPT and 62% used Google Gemini. We cite those as signs of habit, not as proof that sellers pick carriers through AI. The step from habit to shipping decisions is our inference, but a short one. Shipping questions are practical, frequent and price-driven, which suits an assistant: what does it cost, which option is cheaper, what are the rules for a country. And when 79% of small business owners say AI has already helped them expand the tools and service providers they use, shipping software and carriers are part of that set. Payment providers face the same moment, as [our guide to payment companies](https://underneath.agency/resources/payment-companies-merchants-ai-search) explains. ## What do small businesses ask AI assistants about shipping? Cost, comparison, software and rules. The prompts below are made-up examples of the pattern, not observed queries. - “What’s the cheapest way to ship a 2 lb box from Ohio to California?” - “USPS Ground Advantage or UPS Ground for a small online store?” - “Best shipping software for an Etsy seller doing 300 orders a month.” - “Are there regional carriers cheaper than UPS for deliveries in the West?” - “How do I ship to customers in Canada now that the de minimis rules changed?” - “How can a small business get discounted FedEx rates?” Each type favors a different kind of shipping company. Cost and comparison questions favor carriers and platforms whose rates and services are published plainly. Software questions favor platforms with strong reviews and clear plan pages. Rules questions favor whoever explains them best, which is often a carrier, a platform or a trade publication rather than a government page alone. ## How does AI visibility turn into shipping revenue? Through account sign-ups, platform trials and label volume. An answer that names a carrier or platform sends the seller to try it. The path differs by company type: 1. **Carriers.** An answer names the carrier for a weight, zone or region. The seller adds it in a shipping platform or opens an account, then sends test parcels. If service holds, the carrier gains a share of that seller’s weekly volume. 2. **Platforms.** An answer recommends a multi-carrier platform for a seller’s store type and volume. The seller starts a trial, connects the store and begins buying labels. Revenue grows with label volume. 3. **International services.** An answer explains how to ship to a country and names services that handle duties. The seller tries one on a few orders. For challengers, the value is concentrated. A regional carrier or last-mile startup cannot outspend the national carriers on advertising, but a regional question (“cheaper than UPS in Texas”) is narrow enough that a clearly described regional carrier can plausibly be named. We infer that; no study has tested it for parcel carriers. ## What decides whether an AI assistant names a shipping company? Little is documented by the platforms; our studies point to reviews, prices and independent coverage. Here is what each source shows. Documented by the platforms: - Google says no special optimization is needed to appear in AI Overviews or AI Mode: a page must be indexed and eligible for a snippet, and both features may issue multiple related searches ([Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features)). - OpenAI says ChatGPT search typically rewrites a question into one or more targeted queries sent to partner search providers ([OpenAI Help Center](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search)). Observed in our studies: - ChatGPT looked for reviews in 46.2% of its answers to buyer questions and for prices in 23.8% ([hidden searches study](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-hidden-searches-study)). - Assistants disagree: for the same question, 66.3% of recommended options came from only one assistant, and all four agreed on the first pick for 10.0% of questions ([brand agreement study](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-assistants-brand-agreement-study)). - Independent coverage was the strongest predictor we measured: each tenfold increase in independent sites naming a brand went with 4.7 times the odds of being recommended ([entity study](https://underneath.agency/research/brand-entity-ai-recommendations-study)). - Prices are often but not always right: 61.9% of software plan prices quoted by four assistants were fully faithful to the official pricing page ([pricing study](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-pricing-accuracy-study)). That study covered software, not shipping rates. Our inference: for parcel shipping, the facts an assistant needs are public rates or rate logic, surcharges, service areas, transit times, pickup options, integrations and customs handling. Companies that publish those facts in plain text, keep them current after each rate change and are reviewed and covered elsewhere give an assistant more to work with. ## What does it cost a shipping company to be missing or misquoted? Lost trials and accounts that are hard to see, plus the risk of outdated rates being repeated. Neither has been measured for parcel shipping. We have no figure for parcel business lost through AI answers. The risk is easiest to see in prices. Carriers change rates every year, and the 2026 increases were near 6% before surcharges. If an assistant repeats last year’s rates or an old surcharge, a seller may compare carriers on wrong numbers. Our pricing study found most differing prices came from somewhere real, often another page on the vendor’s own site, which suggests that stale pages are a common source of wrong answers. Our guide to [fixing wrong brand information in AI answers](https://underneath.agency/resources/fix-wrong-brand-information-in-ai-answers) covers how to trace and correct them. ## How does generative engine optimization work for a shipping company? It makes rates, coverage and service facts easy to find and confirm. It does not guarantee a recommendation. For carriers and shipping platforms, the work includes: 1. **Current, readable rate information.** Rate tables or clear rate logic, surcharge lists and the date of the last change, in page text rather than only in PDFs or calculators. Remove or redirect old rate pages. 2. **Coverage and speed facts.** Service-area maps described in text, transit times by zone, pickup and drop-off options, and cutoff times. 3. **Use-case pages.** Pages that match real seller questions: shipping for Etsy or eBay sellers, heavy or oversized parcels, cross-border shipping after the de minimis change. 4. **Integration lists.** For carriers, the platforms and marketplaces where they can be selected; for platforms, the carriers and stores they connect. 5. **Reviews and independent coverage.** Reviews on independent software and business review sites, and coverage in parcel and e-commerce trade press. 6. **Monitoring.** A fixed set of cost, comparison, software and rules questions tracked across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Perplexity and Copilot. Related guides: [ecommerce platforms in AI search](https://underneath.agency/resources/ecommerce-platform-ai-search), [how small brands get recommended by AI](https://underneath.agency/resources/how-small-brands-get-recommended-by-ai) and [logistics software in AI search](https://underneath.agency/resources/logistics-software-ai-search). For heavier loads, see [how freight carriers and brokers win shippers](https://underneath.agency/resources/freight-companies-shippers-ai-search). ## Which parts of this does the evidence leave open? Several, and they matter for planning. - How many small sellers ask AI assistants to choose a carrier or platform. The TechNet and Chamber figures measure AI use, not shipping decisions. - How assistants handle rates that depend on weight, size, zone and negotiated discounts. - Whether assistants favor the national carriers for broad questions and smaller carriers for regional ones. - How quickly answers change after a carrier updates its rates or service area. ## Where should a shipping company start? With the questions small sellers ask most about cost and comparison. Check the answers, then fix the facts they rely on. Choose the 20 or 30 questions closest to revenue for your business: cost for typical parcel profiles, comparisons with the carriers you compete with, software questions if you are a platform and cross-border rules if you ship internationally. Record which companies the main assistants name, which sources they cite and whether your rates and coverage are stated correctly. If you would rather not run that alone, [talk with us about a GEO audit](https://underneath.agency/contact) focused on the questions that lead to new accounts, trials and label volume. What comes after the audit, from readable rate pages to coverage facts and monitoring, is described on our [generative engine optimization service](https://underneath.agency/services/generative-engine-optimization) page. ## Frequently asked questions ### Do small businesses use AI to choose a shipping carrier? No study measures that directly. But 71% of small business owners in a 2026 poll use AI tools regularly, and 79% say AI helped expand their service providers. ### Can a regional carrier be named next to UPS and FedEx? Plausibly, for questions about its region or parcel type. “Other” carriers already doubled their revenue share to 7.2% in 2025. ### Should carriers publish rates on their websites? Publishing current rates or rate logic gives assistants accurate numbers to quote, and removing outdated rate pages reduces wrong answers. ### Does the end of de minimis matter for AI search? Yes. Rule changes create new questions, and the companies that explain the new process clearly are better placed to be cited. ### Is GEO for a shipping platform different from GEO for a carrier? Yes. Platforms are judged like software, on reviews, integrations and plans; carriers on rates, coverage and reliability. ## Sources - Pitney Bowes (2026), [Parcel Shipping Index](https://www.pitneybowes.com/us/shipping-index.html) - Pitney Bowes, via Nasdaq (2025-06-30), [Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index: U.S. Carrier Disruption Is Increasing](https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/pitney-bowes-parcel-shipping-index-us-carrier-disruption-increasing-and-thats-good) - ShipStation (2026), [ShipStation 2026 Merchant Insights Report](https://www.shipstation.com/guides/shipstation-2026-merchant-insights-report/) - TechNet (2026-04), [Small Business E-Commerce and AI Survey Poll Toplines](https://www.technet.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Small-Business-E-Commerce-and-AI-Survey-Poll-Toplines.pdf) - U.S. Chamber of Commerce (2025), [Empowering Small Business: The Impact of Technology on U.S. Small Business](https://www.uschamber.com/technology/empowering-small-business-the-impact-of-technology-on-u-s-small-business) - U.S. SBA Office of Advocacy (2025), [New Advocacy Report Shows the Number of Small Businesses in the U.S. Exceeds 36 million](https://advocacy.sba.gov/?p=30239) - UPS (2026-07-28), [UPS Releases 2Q 2026 Earnings](https://investors.ups.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/2164/ups-releases-2q-2026-earnings) - Associated Press, via ABC7 News (2025-08-28), [US tariff exemption for small orders ends Friday](https://abc7news.com/post/us-tariff-exemption-small-orders-ends-friday-big-deal-shoppers-businesses/17653696/) - CBC News (2025-08), [Small businesses that relied on duty-free U.S. shipping wonder if they can survive without it](https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.7618234) - Google Search Central (2025), [AI features and your website](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) - OpenAI Help Center (2025), [ChatGPT search](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search) - Underneath (2026), [The hidden searches AI assistants run before they answer](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-hidden-searches-study) - Underneath (2026), [Do ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude agree on brands?](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-assistants-brand-agreement-study) - Underneath (2026), [Do Wikipedia and schema make AI assistants recommend a brand?](https://underneath.agency/research/brand-entity-ai-recommendations-study) - Underneath (2026), [How faithfully do AI assistants quote software prices?](https://underneath.agency/research/ai-pricing-accuracy-study) --- This is the Markdown twin of https://underneath.agency/resources/shipping-companies-customers-ai-search. 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