Uber Technologies announced on Wednesday that it will expand the types of payments it will accept on its food delivery platform and include an AI-powered assistant to help users find deals and learn about various meal options.
The “Sales Aisle” area of Uber Eats will be used to display special offers. The launch of the new functionality is anticipated for this year or in 2024.
Platforms that deliver food have been investing in AI in an effort to provide a more tailored service and improve the usability of their apps.
Rival Instacart and OpenAI, the company that created the AI chatbot ChatGPT, collaborated to introduce “Ask Instacart” in May. This tool uses AI to answer customers’ queries about grocery shopping.
According to a July 2017 Bloomberg News story, DoorDash is also developing an AI chatbot named “DashAI” to expedite the ordering of food.
Uber claimed to have partnered with federal health care programmes including Managed Medicaid and Medicare Advantage, and that starting in 2024, both Uber and Uber Eats would take the necessary waiver fees.
In 2024, the business will also allow beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programme (SNAP), which offers cash benefits for food products, to use their exemptions to make grocery purchases on Uber Eats.
The action highlights an industry-wide initiative to target low-income households and win market share in a setting of increasing competition.
Customers can currently use SNAP waivers on DoorDash and Instacart’s platforms.