Uber says AI does not yet improve service for passengers

Uber, the transportation giant, has just admitted that all the money spent on artificial intelligence has not yet translated into better service for those who use the app. That's right, the company's COO, Andrew Macdonald, was direct: there is no clear connection between high investments in technology and a practical improvement for passengers or drivers.

Here's where it gets interesting. Uber invested heavily in artificial intelligence, but the CTO, Praveen Neppalli Naga, highlighted that there is still no clear translation of this spending into benefits for those who really matter: you, who orders the car through the app. A large part of this investment was directed towards using Claude Code, a model from Anthropic.

So where is the improvement?

The board is beginning to wonder if all this enthusiasm for AI is actually bringing any tangible return. What Uber is realizing is that, although they are launching new products, the math isn't adding up. At the end of the day, the question is: does all this investment justify the cost?

Behind the scenes, the official response is that yes, productivity has increased. But, as anyone who has ever waited for a car longer than they would like can attest, this improvement has not yet reached us, the end users. This raises an important question about the actual effectiveness of AI in Uber's daily operations.

In summary, Uber is learning the hard way that technology alone does not guarantee better service. This should serve as a warning to any company that thinks just investing in AI will solve its problems. In the end, what really matters is how this technology improves the user experience. And, so far, Uber has not yet been able to prove that.