Uber recorded only four ride bookings made through personal AI agents during its busiest week in October, indicating that automated transactions remain limited despite growing interest in AI-powered services.
The figures were disclosed during Uber’s third-quarter earnings call, where Chief Financial Officer Balaji Krishnamurthy said the company handled approximately 320 million trips and orders across Uber and Uber Eats during the week of Halloween. Of those transactions, 500 Uber Eats orders were initiated by AI agents.
AI-Agent Transactions Remain Limited
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi described the current level of activity as an early-stage development, while expressing hope that adoption would increase.
“It is very, very early and very limited traction that we are seeing so far,” Khosrowshahi said. “Listen, we hope that there will be more traction.”
The figures suggest that most customers continue to use Uber’s own applications rather than delegate ride bookings or food orders to external AI assistants.
Khosrowshahi also questioned how much time AI agents currently save users when interacting with the platform. According to the CEO, booking a ride through the Uber app takes an average of 50 seconds, while reordering a preferred meal takes around 90 seconds.
Broader Adoption of AI Agents
The limited number of transactions comes as technology companies and startups increasingly develop AI agents capable of carrying out tasks on behalf of users, including shopping, ordering services and completing transactions.
Several major technology companies, including OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, have introduced AI-agent capabilities, alongside products from Meta and emerging startups.
However, early figures from other consumer platforms suggest that adoption remains modest. DoorDash recently reported receiving only a few hundred orders from AI agents, with most customers continuing to place orders through its application.
These developments indicate that wider availability of AI assistants has not yet translated into substantial transaction volumes across major consumer platforms.
Uber Sees Potential in Agent-Driven Demand
Despite the limited activity, Uber views AI agents as a potential additional channel for reaching customers and generating demand across its transportation and delivery businesses.
“We think that is another opportunity to reach our platform. We think it will be a net positive in terms of demand on the ecosystem,” Khosrowshahi said.
The CEO estimated that around eight major AI assistants are currently operating in the market and expects that number to exceed 10 over time. He also said that AI companies are engaging with Uber.
For the company, integration with external AI platforms could provide another route for customers to access its services. However, the initial transaction figures indicate that significant adoption of agent-initiated bookings and orders has yet to emerge.
