Uber reports limited use of AI agents for rides and food

Uber said AI agents accounted for only four ride bookings during the busiest week of October, the week of Halloween. The figure was disclosed during the company’s third-quarter earnings call. Uber CFO Balaji Krishnamurthy said the company processed about 320 million rides and orders across Uber and Uber Eats during that week, while just 500 Uber Eats orders came through an AI agent.

CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described the early uptake as very limited, although he said Uber expects agents to create an additional way for customers to reach its platform. He noted that booking a ride in Uber’s app takes about 50 seconds on average, while ordering a favorite meal again takes around 90 seconds, potentially reducing the time-saving benefit of using an agent.

The figures come as companies promote AI systems that can complete tasks rather than only answer questions. DoorDash recently reported receiving only a few hundred orders from AI agents. Khosrowshahi said there are currently about eight major AI assistants and predicted that the number would eventually exceed 10. He added that every major AI system company is in discussions with Uber.