October 27, 2022 Infobip, a global cloud communication platform and leader in omnichannel engagement, has developed an AI-powered chatbot for Uber. A global first initiative, the chatbot enables customers to order rides via WhatsApp, creating a seamless booking experience.

The chatbot has been built and deployed on the WhatsApp for Business platform using Infobip’s chatbot-building platform ‘Answers.’ The WhatsApp to Ride (WA2R) experience is now available for Uber riders across Delhi-NCR, one of Uber’s top cities globally by volume. The launch comes after a pilot in Lucknow in December last year, where Uber received a significant proportion of ride requests from new users, demonstrating potential product market fit.

By 2025, 80% of customer service organisations will have abandoned native mobile apps in favour of omnichannel messaging to deliver a better customer experience, according to Gartner. Now more than ever, rather than trying to tempt users away from their favoured apps, business and brands must meet them where they are.

Silvio Kutić, CEO of Infobip said, “Customers are increasingly moving away from an app-only approach. Instead, customers want to communicate with brands using their preferred method. So, businesses need to be where their customers are and provide an end-to-end customer journey within the channels their customers use. We’re delighted to have played a role in building this new WhatsApp chatbot solution for Uber and look forward to seeing its impact now and in the future as its rollout continues. We are even more thrilled as we are the global cloud communication platform provider to both the companies involved – Uber and WhatsApp.”

Abhilekh Kumar, Director, Business Development, Uber India South Asia, said, “We want to make it as easy as possible for our new sets of consumers to take an Uber trip, and to do that we need to meet them on platforms they are comfortable with. Our partnership with WhatsApp enables that, giving riders a new way to book a ride through a simple, familiar, and trusted channel. We are pleased to co-create the chatbot feature with Infobip for an altogether new customer experience while booking an Uber ride.”

Ravi Garg, Director, WhatsApp Partnerships, India said,“After a successful implementation of the ‘WhatsApp to ride’ experience in Lucknow, we are excited to expand WhatsApp’s partnership with Uber and launch this service for users in Delhi NCR. The simplicity of ride-booking experience within the WhatsApp interface has helped Uber acquire new riders and we look forward to supporting them in their growth trajectory. Uber and businesses across sectors are leveraging the WhatsApp Business Platform to build a variety of scaled custom solutions that help advance customer convenience and enable richer customer engagement. We look forward to continuing building partnerships with businesses to help them unlock avenues of access to new audience cohorts who use WhatsApp extensively everyday.”

With more than two billion users globally and some 400 million in India alone, WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular messaging channels. So, Uber chose Infobip’s Answers platform to tap into the popularity and convenience of WhatsApp and enhance the customer experience. ‘Answers’, Infobip’s smart virtual assistant, makes the process of booking a ride more automated and quicker. With its multilingual capabilities in English and Hindi, Infobip’s chatbot helps Uber further expand its reach.

Uber’s Delhi-NCR customers simply have to message Uber’s business account number (+917292000002) or scan a barcode or click a link to open an Uber WhatsApp chat. The riders will get the same safety features and insurance protections as the app. Click here for more on WA2R.

Infobip and Uber have collaborated since 2014, first with SMS and then with number masking solutions, ensuring rider and driver information is protected. Besides WhatsApp, Infobip’s chatbot building platform can be deployed across all vital communication channels, including Viber, SMS, and Facebook Messenger, among others. By implementing chatbots, companies can reduce operational costs and increase customer satisfaction by being available 24×7.