When former shipbrokers in Geneva teamed up with Swiss research institutions to rethink how chartering work gets done, they didn’t expect the idea to snowball into a full AI platform used by charterers, owners and brokers. But that’s what happened with Precise and its Spotlight system, a tool built to cut through the most time-intensive parts of fixing ships.
“Precise is a shipping AI platform that automates chartering workflows, starting with finding and shortlisting vessels,” says CEO Cédric Girardclos. He explains that the technology was born from watching how teams actually work. “Chartering in 2025 is still astonishingly manual. Charterers, brokers, and owners spend hours every day in spreadsheets collecting data, updating position lists, tracking ships, and piecing together fast-moving spot markets.”
By monitoring vessel movements and predicting availability windows, Spotlight automatically highlights the ships that matter. “Precise cuts position list research from hours to minutes,” he says. That pitch recently drew fresh Geneva-based investors from commodities and shipping, backing the shift into negotiation and fixture management.
Girardclos says the team realised early that position lists were the area most ripe for automation. “It quickly became clear that position list management and vessel shortlisting were exactly the kind of repetitive, multi-step, data-heavy tasks that AI could handle better than humans,” he says. As they refined the predictive models, the interface also evolved. “Our AI agent learns from how users work Spotlight integrates with the tools shipping professionals already rely on, including WhatsApp.”
On whether these tools replace the traditional junior assistant role, Girardclos is direct: “Precise augments, it doesn’t replace. People make the decisions and close the deals.” AI, he says, simply clears the table so they can do it faster. “If Spotlight helps you find just one additional ship this year that you would have otherwise missed, the ROI pays for itself.” That frees brokers from “drowning in spreadsheets and data collection” and keeps them focused on strategy and client work.
A key part of the platform is its reliance on WhatsApp rather than another dashboard. Girardclos says the logic was obvious. “Shipping professionals live on WhatsApp, so instead of forcing users into yet another dashboard, we brought our AI assistant to the channel they already trust.” Alerts on new tonnage can be forwarded instantly into ongoing chats, keeping users connected even on the move.
Looking ahead, he expects a widening gap between firms adopting these tools and those sticking to manual work. “Yes, absolutely! There’s a real risk of a competitive gap emerging, and it could happen faster than people expect,” he says. AI, he argues, changes the tempo at which brokers operate. He describes the next phase as “vibe chartering”, where users talk to an AI teammate in natural language. “The AI instantly generates options, you refine, and it updates in real-time.” Competing with brokers working at that speed, he says, will be difficult.
Girardclos also sees the platform evolving well beyond vessel lists. “Right now, Spotlight automates the tedious work but there’s no reason to stop there.” Much of evaluating options, comparing terms, preparing voyage estimates and drafting recaps follows predictable patterns that the system can assemble in advance. “The broker or charterer stays in control, but the heavy lifting is done by the platform.” He says post-fixture tools, from demurrage to performance monitoring, naturally fit into the same workflow shift. “We’re moving from tools that help with single tasks to systems that prepare the whole workflow. That’s where the biggest productivity gains come.”
