We submitted 10,000 real product descriptions — spanning electronics, textiles, chemicals, machinery, and consumer goods — to both Camtom's AI classification engine and a panel of five experienced customs brokers with an average of 12 years of experience. Each classification was independently verified against official customs rulings and binding tariff opinions to establish ground truth. Products ranged from simple (single-material, clear use) to complex (multi-function, composite materials).
Brokers outperformed AI on a specific subset of products: novel items without historical precedent, products subject to recent regulatory changes not yet reflected in training data, and items requiring interpretation of ambiguous chapter notes. This represents roughly 5-8% of typical import volumes. The conclusion is clear: AI should handle the 90%+ of classifications that are well-precedented, while human experts focus their time on the small percentage that genuinely require judgment and experience.
AI does not replace customs brokers — it amplifies their capacity. A broker using AI can handle 5x the volume while maintaining higher accuracy than either AI or humans working alone.
Camtom Team
Trade Intelligence
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