Uber says third-party AI agents booked just four rides in the third quarter

What happened

Third-party AI agents arranged only four Uber rides in the third quarter of 2026, according to figures company executives shared on an earnings call, The Verge reported. Agent-placed Uber Eats orders were somewhat more common. The company counted roughly 500 during the week of Halloween, set against a total of 320 million rides and food deliveries.

The numbers mark the first time Uber has revealed how much activity on its platform comes from outside AI agents. On the call, executives signaled willingness to work with third-party AI companies to make the service easier for agents to use. They also voiced confidence that customers will keep choosing to order directly through the Uber app.

Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the company hopes agent usage gains more traction and will cooperate with outside players. He argued that Uber's own direct services will offer the simplest and most pleasant experience. He added that the market is at a very early stage, that Uber wants to avoid relying on any single partner, and that he believes it is well placed.

Context

Agents such as Meta's Muse and OpenAI's Dots have led some experts to predict that people may book rides or order meals through AI assistants instead of opening apps, a process known as disintermediation. These agents still face considerable friction. Uber is building its own AI features to keep users in its app, including a Cart Assistant for Uber Eats, launched earlier this year, that creates grocery lists from recipe images or text prompts.