Report: Uber Chatbot to Prompt Customers for Budget and Food Preferences

Uber Technologies is reportedly testing an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot for its food delivery service, Uber Eats.

The feature has not been officially announced, but details of the AI chatbot were discovered within the code of the Eats app, Bloomberg News reported Monday (Aug. 28).

Uber did not immediately reply to PYMNTS’ request for comment.

According to Bloomberg News, developer Steve Moser uncovered information about the chatbot, which will assist users in finding relevant restaurant dishes and more in a bid to provide customers with personalized recommendations and streamline the ordering process.

The Uber chatbot is expected to prompt customers to input their budget and food preferences, enabling them to place orders accordingly, the report said.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had previously mentioned the company’s work on an AI chatbot, highlighting its current utilization of AI to match users with drivers and couriers, per the report.

Uber Eats faces competition from DoorDash and Instacart, both of which are also investing in AI-driven food delivery services, according to the report. DoorDash is developing DashAI, while Instacart is working on a chatbot based on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology.

This report comes on the same day that DoorDash announced that it is turning to voice AI to expand its white-label solutions for restaurants. The aggregator said Monday that it is developing voice ordering capabilities powered by AI to enable restaurants to field phone orders more efficiently.

“Customers expect more from restauranteurs, and in return, restauranteurs expect even more technology-forward solutions from us — including support for phone channels to meet customers where they’re ordering,” DoorDash Head of Product and Design Rajat Shroff said Monday when announcing the new solution.

Another aggregator, Instacart, said in May that it is combining its own AI and data with OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology to roll out Ask Instacart, a search feature designed to provide suggestions and answers to questions. The tool is intended to offer consumers recommendations on food pairings, suggested ingredient swaps, advice about cooking techniques and more.

“[W]ith the rapid innovation in generative AI, we believe we can create new personalized, inspirational, value-driven shopping experiences that enrich peoples’ relationship with food and how they engage with the retailers and brands they love,” Instacart Chief Architect JJ Zhuang said at the time.