Latest news with #Kansal
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's how Uber's product chief uses AI at work — and one tool he's going to use next
Uber's chief product officer has one AI tool on his to-do list. In an episode of "Lenny's Podcast" released on Sunday, Uber's product chief, Sachin Kansal, shared two ways he is using AI for his everyday tasks at the ride-hailing giant and how he plans to add NotebookLM to his AI suite. Kansal joined Uber eight years ago as its director of product management after working at cybersecurity and taxi startups. He became Uber's product chief last year. Kansal said he uses OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to summarize long reports. "Some of these reports, they're 50 to 100 pages long," he said. "I will never have the time to read them." He said he uses the chatbots to acquaint himself with what's happening and how riders are feeling in Uber's various markets, such as South Africa, Brazil, and Korea. The CPO said his second use case is treating AI like a research assistant, because some large language models now offer a deep research feature. Kansal gave a recent example of when his team was thinking about a new driver feature. He asked ChatGPT's deep research mode about what drivers may think of the add-on. "It's an amazing research assistant and it's absolutely a starting point for a brainstorm with my team with some really, really good ideas," the CPO said. In April, Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said that not enough of his 30,000-odd employees are using AI. He said learning to work with AI agents to code is "going to be an absolute necessity at Uber within a year." Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Kansal's next tool: NotebookLM On the podcast, Kansal also highlighted NotebookLM, Google Lab's research and note-taking tool, which is especially helpful for interacting with documents. He said he doesn't use the product yet, but wants to. "I know a lot of people who have started using it, and that is the next thing that I'm going to use," he said. "Just to be able to build an audio podcast based on a bunch of information that you can consume. I think that's awesome," he added. Kansal was referring to the "Audio Overview" feature, which summarizes uploaded content in the form of two AIs having a voice discussion. NotebookLM was launched in mid-2023 and has quickly become a must-have tool for researchers and AI enthusiasts. Andrej Karpathy, Tesla's former director of AI and OpenAI cofounder, is among those who have praised the tool and its podcast feature. "It's possible that NotebookLM podcast episode generation is touching on a whole new territory of highly compelling LLM product formats," he said in a September post on X. "Feels reminiscent of ChatGPT. Maybe I'm overreacting."
The Star
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Uber launches "Route Share" service in major U.S. cities
SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Uber is rolling out a new budget-friendly commuting option called "Route Share," offering fixed-route rides at significantly reduced prices during weekday rush hours. Starting Wednesday, residents in Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York City, Philadelphia, and San Francisco can save up to 50 percent on UberX fares by booking through this new feature. Announced at Uber's annual Go-Get event, Route Share aims to strengthen customer loyalty by providing cost-effective alternatives amid rising economic concerns. According to Uber's Chief Product Officer Sachin Kansal, the service will operate commuter shuttles along pre-determined routes with stops every 20 minutes. Each route, based on Uber's internal travel data, may include one or two additional pickup points to accommodate more passengers. Passengers can reserve a seat from seven days in advance to as little as ten minutes before departure. The app will guide them with step-by-step walking directions from their home to the nearest pickup location. Kansal emphasized that Uber's large user base and sophisticated matching technology make the service both efficient and predictable. He also hinted at future integration with autonomous vehicles, noting that Uber is currently partnered with 18 autonomous vehicle companies. With economic uncertainty looming due to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, mass layoffs across the tech world, and artificial intelligence coming for labors' jobs, Uber is focusing on cost savings for riders, according to a report by TechCrunch. "Of late, what we have heard very loud and clear is people feel very uncertain, people feel overwhelmed, and people are feeling the prices in many different walks of life, and there's this need and desire to get more affordable options," Kansal said.
The Age
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
‘We create loyalty': Uber flips food delivery on its head to keep you coming back
New York: Dine-in discounts encouraging people to catch an Uber to a nearby restaurant are part of a suite of incoming features from the rideshare and food delivery giant designed to keep cost-conscious users addicted to its app. Sydney will be the first market to test and trial Dine Out, a partnership with OpenTable that offers in-person restaurant deals and allows customers to book a reservation on Uber's app. While catching an Uber to the restaurant is optional, the $US189 billion ($294 billion) transport behemoth is pitching this and a number of other features, such as price locking and route sharing, to ramp up daily Uber use and keep customers embedded in the network. Chief product officer Sachin Kansal said Uber was aiming to build loyalty by broadening choices that include pick-up and delivery for restaurant food or groceries. 'If we create a range of options, both from a price point perspective as well as a functionality perspective, we create loyalty,' he told this masthead after Uber's annual product launch event in New York. 'If you add Uber One membership, we create an ecosystem for users to come back for both rides and [Uber] Eats, and that's our strategy. Our strategy is to continue to provide more value for users.' Uber, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has 171 million users across 70 countries and raked in $US12 billion in revenue last year, a growth of 20 per cent. The company is also targeting commuters through other new features like price lock pass, which allows customers travelling a specific route regularly to pay a lower price across multiple rides for an upfront fee. Kansal said Uber had received feedback that prices were a key concern and said the company could leverage its 'great scale advantage' across the world, including in Australia, to help them save.
Sydney Morning Herald
14-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘We create loyalty': Uber flips food delivery on its head to keep you coming back
New York: Dine-in discounts encouraging people to catch an Uber to a nearby restaurant are part of a suite of incoming features from the rideshare and food delivery giant designed to keep cost-conscious users addicted to its app. Sydney will be the first market to test and trial Dine Out, a partnership with OpenTable that offers in-person restaurant deals and allows customers to book a reservation on Uber's app. While catching an Uber to the restaurant is optional, the $US189 billion ($294 billion) transport behemoth is pitching this and a number of other features, such as price locking and route sharing, to ramp up daily Uber use and keep customers embedded in the network. Chief product officer Sachin Kansal said Uber was aiming to build loyalty by broadening choices that include pick-up and delivery for restaurant food or groceries. 'If we create a range of options, both from a price point perspective as well as a functionality perspective, we create loyalty,' he told this masthead after Uber's annual product launch event in New York. 'If you add Uber One membership, we create an ecosystem for users to come back for both rides and [Uber] Eats, and that's our strategy. Our strategy is to continue to provide more value for users.' Uber, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has 171 million users across 70 countries and raked in $US12 billion in revenue last year, a growth of 20 per cent. The company is also targeting commuters through other new features like price lock pass, which allows customers travelling a specific route regularly to pay a lower price across multiple rides for an upfront fee. Kansal said Uber had received feedback that prices were a key concern and said the company could leverage its 'great scale advantage' across the world, including in Australia, to help them save.
Axios
14-05-2025
- Automotive
- Axios
Uber leans into affordability with "price lock" and new features
Uber unveiled new features and ride options Wednesday — many driving home on affordability. Why it matters: Consumers are feeling deeply pessimistic about the economy, according to the Conference Board's most recent consumer confidence survey. "What we have heard very clearly from users is that there's a lot of unpredictability," Sachin Kansal, Uber chief product officer, told Axios. "There's a lot of concern about things just being expensive," Kansal said. "So affordability and the need for affordable products is something that has come through loud and clear." The big picture: The ride-hailing behemoth introduced the new and upcoming features, including a partnership with OpenTable and an update on autonomous driverless rides at its annual " Go-Get" event Wednesday in New York. Here's a rundown of some of Uber's announcements: Uber, VW to launch shared autonomous rides State of play: Uber said it is teaming up with Volkswagen to launch the first shared autonomous ride in Los Angeles in early 2026. Wendy Lee, Uber's director of autonomous mobility and delivery product, said it will add Volkswagen autonomous ID, Buzz AD electric vehicles to the platform. Testing begins later this year. "We believe that ultimately autonomous rides are going to make our streets safer," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said. "They're certainly going to eventually save you money, and they're going to be much, much better for the environment." Uber Route Share Zoom in: Uber calls Route Share its "most affordable ride option" and it's available along busy corridors during weekday commute hours in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Boston and Baltimore. More cities are expected in the future. Riders can select the Route Share option to see nearby routes with pickups every 20 minutes. Users will share the ride with up to two other passengers headed in the same direction and save "up to 50% compared to UberX." Uber ride passes with price lock Ride passes are designed to "help riders lock-in lower fares and keep costs predictable on trips they frequently take," Uber officials said. Riders pay $2.99 for the price lock pass to lock-in a price for 30 days or $50 of savings, whichever comes first. Price lock pass is now available for riders in Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Nashville, Orlando, Phoenix, San Francisco, Washington DC. and is beginning to roll out across the country and Brazil. Uber's version of Prime Day: Uber One Member Days The intrigue: The first-ever Uber One Member Days will be May 16-23 and the company says there will be thousands of "epic deals, special promos, and big savings just for Uber One members."
