Uber only fulfilled 4 rides from AI agents last quarter
Uber reported that third-party AI agents facilitated only four rides and a small number of food deliveries in the last quarter. Despite fears of AI disintermediation, the company remains confident that users prefer their native app experience.
Why it matters
It provides empirical evidence that the 'AI agent' revolution in consumer services is currently in its infancy and faces significant adoption friction.
AI agents won’t be stealing Uber’s lunch any time soon.
Only four rides were arranged by third-party AI agents during the third quarter of 2026, Uber executives disclosed during an earnings call this morning. The volume of Uber Eats orders fulfilled by AI agents was a little higher, with the company recording “around 500” during the week of Halloween, out of a total 320 million Uber rides and Uber Eats deliveries.
This is the first time that Uber has disclosed the number of third-party AI agents that have arranged deliveries or rides on its platform. With the rise of AI agents like Meta’s Muse or OpenAI’s Dots, some experts are predicting that platforms like Uber and DoorDash are at risk of disintermediation, in which customers use AI agents to order food or book a ride, rather than visiting the app itself.
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