A team-up between the world’s largest automaker and the world’s leader in autonomous driving obviously has huge implications
Tech
Uber only fulfilled 4 rides from AI agents last quarter
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Published 11/4/2026 9:58:45 AM
Uber only fulfilled 4 rides from AI agents last quarter
Despite growing concerns over AI disintermediation, Uber executives revealed that third-party bots accounted for just four rides and 500 food deliveries out of 320 million transactions.
Despite growing concerns over AI disintermediation, Uber executives revealed that third-party bots accounted for just four rides and 500 food deliveries out of 320 million transactions.
is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
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.
But in these early days, it seems like the risk is still very small. During the call, Uber’s executives expressed an openness to working with third-party AI companies to make things easier for agents to use their platform — while also expressing confidence that their customers will continue to prefer the experience of using the Uber app directly.
“We hope that there will be more traction,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said during the call. “We do think that we want to make services that are available to consumers in a delightful, easy way. We think our direct services are going to be the most delightful and easy, but we will work with these third parties.”
He continued, “It is just very, very early, and we want to make sure we are not dependent on any one player, and I think we are very well positioned in this environment going forward.”
As we’ve noted before, this first wave of AI agents still have a long way to go before people begin seeing them as a viable way to order food or book a ride somewhere. There still is a lot of friction points. And platform operators like Uber or DoorDash have little incentive to allow these agents to barge in and replace their own customers.
Which is not to say the AI companies won’t inevitably figure it out! These companies know this is one of their primary use cases, and their best path to a more profitable future. But getting Uber to agree to more disintermediation will be a tough ask.
Uber is developing its own AI tools that are designed to keep customers using its own platform. Earlier this year, the company rolled out a new Cart Assistant for Uber Eats, in which an AI bot will build a grocery list based on an image of a recipe or a text prompt.
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Toyota will assemble Waymo-equipped bZ4X electric SUVs directly on its factory line in Japan ahead of planned robotaxi rollouts in Tokyo and the UK.
Toyota will assemble Waymo-equipped bZ4X electric SUVs directly on its factory line in Japan ahead of planned robotaxi rollouts in Tokyo and the UK.
is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State.
Waymo announced today that it will use Toyota bZ4X electric vehicles that are assembled in Japan for a robotaxi service in Tokyo. The news builds on the strategic partnership between Waymo and Toyota which was first announced in April 2025.
The robotaxis will be built entirely under one roof at Toyota’s Takaoka plant in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Instead of building regular cars and modifying them later, the factory will install Waymo’s self-driving sensors and computers right on the assembly line as each car is made.
A team-up between the world’s largest automaker and the world’s leader in autonomous driving obviously has huge implications. Currently, Waymo uses two vehicle models on the road today — the Jaguar I-Pace and Ojai based on the Zeekr RT — with a third based on the Hyundai Ioniq 5 set to deploy soon. By adding the bZ4X, Waymo is attempting to prove that its autonomous driving technology is compatible with a wide range of vehicle types. Waymo has long positioned itself as a software and systems supplier — the “Waymo Driver” — rather than an automaker.
This also represents a shift in terms of how Waymo acquires and modifies the vehicles that end up in its fleet. Up until now, the company was doing things the hard way by buying a finished car from a factory, shipping it to a separate facility, and retrofitting it with sensors, computers, and extra wiring. The decision to build the sensor suite and compute into the bZ4X on Toyota’s own assembly line could help eliminate redundant labor, bespoke brackets, and secondary shipping — and possibly bring down costs for Waymo.
Waymo says it will begin initial testing and validation in Japan starting next year. Following that, the new vehicles will roll out to the United Kingdom, in addition to other international markets, for robotaxi operations.
Waymo also says it is continuing to explore integrating its technology into Toyota vehicles for personally owned autonomous vehicles. And the company is working with Woven by Toyota, the automaker’s software and mobility spinout, to use Waymo’s operational and safety telemetry to improve road safety across general vehicle fleets and traffic infrastructure.
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