Uber’s third-quarter 2026 results offer a concrete snapshot of AI-agent activity on a large consumer platform: during Halloween week, agents booked 4 rides and placed 500 Uber Eats orders, against roughly 320 million total rides and orders.
CEO Dara Khosrowshahi called usage very limited so far, while Uber confirmed discussions with AI companies.
For developers exploring agentic commerce, these figures provide a useful measure of current platform activity.
The limited use of artificial intelligence
In its third-quarter 2026 earnings release, Uber revealed that the use of digital assistants on its platform is still extremely limited. During the week of Halloween 2026, which is a period of increased traffic, only 4 trip orders were recorded through such systems. Correspondingly, 500 food orders were placed on the Uber Eats service. These numbers are very small when we consider that, during the same week, the company managed a total of about 320 million trips and orders.
Other companies in the industry appear to be experiencing the same phenomenon. DoorDash said it has only received a few hundred orders from digital assistants so far.
Why users prefer apps
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi attributed this reluctance to the efficiency of existing apps. Specifically, booking a ride through the Uber app takes an average of 50 seconds, while ordering food through Uber Eats takes about 90 seconds. Given that speed, many users may not see a reason to engage with an additional digital assistant.
The future of digital assistants
Despite the low numbers, Uber believes this is a trend that is still in its early stages. Khosrowshahi confirmed that the company is in discussions with AI system makers, and it is estimated that the number of major digital assistants on the market, currently estimated at around eight, will soon exceed ten.
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