Third-party artificial intelligence agents booked a mere four rides on Uber during the third quarter of 2026, according to company executives. The revelation came to light during an earnings call, highlighting the extremely low usage of AI intermediaries for transportation services.
Low Volumes for Rides and Food Deliveries
The volume of Uber Eats orders handled by AI agents was slightly higher, with the platform recording approximately 500 such orders during the week of Halloween. These figures represent a tiny fraction of the total volume, coming out of a combined 320 million Uber rides and Uber Eats deliveries.
This disclosure marks the first time Uber has released specific data regarding third-party AI agents arranging rides or deliveries on its platform. As AI agents developed by companies like Meta and OpenAI continue to emerge, some analysts have warned that platforms like Uber and DoorDash face the threat of disintermediation, where users rely on AI tools instead of opening the official app.
Uber’s Perspective on AI Integration
Despite the potential threat, Uber executives indicated that the current risk remains minimal. During the earnings call, leadership expressed a willingness to collaborate with third-party AI firms to simplify agent interactions, while maintaining strong confidence that consumers will keep using the native Uber application.
“We hope that there will be more traction,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi stated during the call, adding that the company aims to provide delightful and easy services. “We think our direct services are going to be the most delightful and easy, but we will work with these third parties.”
Khosrowshahi noted that the technology is still in its infancy and emphasized that the company avoids depending on any single player while remaining well positioned for the future. Current friction points and the lack of incentive for platforms to allow outside agents to replace direct customers suggest that widespread adoption remains distant.
Meanwhile, Uber is advancing its own proprietary AI technology to retain platform users. Earlier in the year, the company introduced a Cart Assistant feature for Uber Eats, allowing an AI bot to generate grocery lists from text prompts or recipe images.
