Almost no one uses AI agents to book their Uber, company says
During its busiest week last quarter, Uber said only four people booked a ride using an AI agent.
Few individuals are leveraging AI agents to book Uber rides, according to the company. During its busiest week in October, the week of Halloween, Uber reported that only four rides were ordered through an AI agent. Uber Eats saw more usage of AI agents, but the volume remained relatively low in comparison to the total number of transactions.
Uber's CFO, Balaji Krishnamurthy, disclosed on a financial call with Wall Street analysts that the company managed approximately 320 million trips and Uber Eats orders during that week, with just 500 Uber Eats orders being placed by an AI agent. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi acknowledged that the adoption of AI agents is still nascent, stating that they currently represent a "very, very early and very limited traction."
He expressed hope for increased traction in the future. This limited usage of AI-initiated transactions comes amidst growing excitement for AI agents that not only answer queries but also perform tasks on behalf of users. Numerous AI startups have emerged, including Instinct, valued at $10 billion, and Meta's Muse, which reached 10 million users in Apple's U.S. App Store.
OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI (Grok) have also introduced their own AI agents. However, early data from public companies suggests that the agentic web still has considerable ground to cover. DoorDash, for example, reported receiving only a few hundred orders from AI agents so far, while Uber customers can typically book a ride in just 50 seconds through its app, and reorder their favorite food in about 90 seconds.
This implies that AI agents may not be saving users any time. Despite the minimal number of AI-driven transactions, Khosrowshahi remains optimistic about the potential of agents, noting that they could provide a "net positive demand on the ecosystem." Currently, around eight major AI assistants are available, and Khosrowshahi anticipates this number to exceed 10 in the near future. "Every single AI system company is talking to us," he added.
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