Uber: 4 Rides and 500 AI Orders on Halloween

Key Takeaways

1Uber recorded four rides and 500 Uber Eats orders via AI agents out of 320 million operations during Halloween

2The average wait times in the app are between 50 to 90 seconds, limiting the appeal of AI agents

3DoorDash and other companies are also seeing very low usage of AI agents

Why it matters : Despite the rise of AI agents and interest from the industry, their actual adoption remains marginal among major players in transportation and delivery.

During its Halloween week, Uber managed approximately 320 million rides and orders, but only four rides and 500 Uber Eats orders were processed through AI agents. Management describes this as very limited traction and reminds that its in-app journeys take 50 to 90 seconds. Despite these figures, Uber is in discussions with numerous agent providers and anticipates more than ten major assistants in the future.

In-app delays of 50 to 90 seconds reduce interest in agents

Dara Khosrowshahi states that booking a ride in the Uber app takes an average of 50 seconds, and it takes 90 seconds to recommend a favorite dish. These durations indicate that an AI agent does not necessarily provide a time-saving benefit. The executive estimates that there are currently about eight major AI assistants on the market and expects this number to exceed ten in the future. He also notes that every AI systems company is in discussions with Uber.

Halloween: 320 million operations, 4 AI rides, and 500 Eats

Balaji Krishnamurthy, Uber's CFO, reports that approximately 320 million rides and orders were completed on Uber and Uber Eats during Halloween week, identified as the busiest of October. During this period, only four rides were ordered via an AI agent, and 500 Uber Eats orders were placed through this channel. The use of AI agents for delivery remains low compared to the total volume. These figures were shared during the third-quarter earnings call, held on a Wednesday.

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At DoorDash too, a few hundred orders via agents

DoorDash indicated last week that it had received only a few hundred orders via AI agents so far, with the majority of customers continuing to use its app. These initial figures, like those from other publicly traded companies, show that the use of AI agents remains very limited.

Expanding offerings: Instinct at $10 billion, Muse at 10 million users

The market for personal AI agents is attracting many players. Instinct, founded last year, raised its latest round at a valuation of $10 billion. Meta reports that Muse became the top app on the U.S. Apple App Store last month, reaching 10 million users, many of whom use it for shopping and interacting with businesses. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI (Grok), along with many startups, are also offering their own AI agents. At Uber, Dara Khosrowshahi considers current adoption to be "very limited" but views these agents as an additional opportunity for the platform and a net asset for demand, while hoping for broader adoption in the future.