The integration of ChatGPT-related technologies by COSCO SHIPPING Technology Co., Ltd has sparked speculation about the impact it could have on the freight forwarding industry. While ChatGPT is still a scientific research project without a clear profit model, it has the potential to enhance the capabilities of businesses in big data and knowledge services.

Xu Kai, Chief Information Officer of the Shanghai International Shipping Research Center, believes that the powerful knowledge gathering ability displayed by ChatGPT will mainly impact the shipping industry in two ways. Firstly, ChatGPT can summarize the various laws and regulations surrounding international maritime trade to provide users with the most favorable trade risk assessment services. Secondly, ChatGPT can provide multilingual, all-weather, and fast-response customer service capabilities, which can be difficult for large liner companies like COSCO SHIPPING Holdings when dealing with customers in different countries and regions around the world.

However, Xu Kai doesn't believe that the freight forwarding industry needs to worry about facing a crisis due to ChatGPT. While the communication function of freight forwarding is one of its services, shipping industry also provides customs declaration, trailer, warehousing, multimodal transport, and other capabilities in supply chain management and cross-border e-commerce logistics.

While ChatGPT can summarize and summarize, it cannot put forward viewpoints that have not been raised by human beings, nor can it create knowledge. At present, it's still just a chat robot with the ability to understand and integrate concepts and knowledge through massive training and learning.

In conclusion, ChatGPT has the potential to improve customer service quality in the shipping industry and help businesses with big data and knowledge services. However, it's unlikely to replace the role of freight forwarders, who provide a range of services beyond just communication.