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Survey: 35% of route-planning tool teams use AI agents daily
In a Kardinal survey conducted from 1 July to 8 September 2026, 35% of developers, CTOs and tech leads already use an AI agent daily in route-planning tool development, but 56% still cite the gap between planned routes and real operating conditions as the top challenge.
Kardinal, a route optimization specialist since 2015, surveyed developers, CTOs and tech leads between 1 July and 8 September 2026. Among them, 35% already use an AI agent daily in development, 23% do so occasionally and 17% use none. Claude Code is the most cited tool, ahead of GitHub Copilot, and most users combine several tools.
The main challenge remains the gap between planned routes and real operating conditions (56%). It is followed by performance and compute time (47%) and constantly shifting business needs (43%). 39% struggle to know whether a planned route is good. Tool cost (37%) and integration into the IT system (30%) come next. Nearly two thirds (65%) are strongly bothered by a tool without public pricing, and 26% refuse to evaluate it at all; 41% worry most about a bill that could balloon.
In-house development remains the most common approach: 56% of teams have built their own planning tool. Spreadsheets are still used at least in part by 31%, as many as use off-the-shelf software or an API (31%). Among those operating their own solution, 35% report regular maintenance, 18% heavy maintenance with dedicated resources, and 12% almost no effort. Cédric Hervet, co-founder of Kardinal, says that without real-world constraints—delivery windows, loading docks, refrigerated vehicles, customer habits—the optimal route remains theoretical.
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