Tech giants and venture capitalists have spent billions hyping the rise of autonomous personal AI agents. They are selling or rather promising a future where software handles everyday tasks like hailing rides and ordering food. But it seems that in the real-world, consumers are still tapping their own screens. During Uber’s third-quarter earnings call, executives disclosed that only four rides worldwide were hailed via an AI agent during the week of Halloween — traditionally regarded as the company’s busiest week of the year.
Khosrowshahi noted that roughly eight major assistants currently populate the market, a figure he expects to surpass 10 as adoption matures.
“We think that is another opportunity to reach our platform,” Khosrowshahi said. “We think it will be a net positive in terms of demand on the ecosystem.” Technology giants such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI (developer of Grok) have all rolled out task-oriented assistants. Yet public earnings reports reveal that real-world integration remains almost nonexistent. Just last week, delivery rival DoorDash disclosed on its own earnings call that it had recorded only a few hundred AI-initiated orders, noting that users overwhelmingly stick to native apps. Even so, Uber leadership remains optimistic that the technology will eventually expand the company’s footprint.