US ride-hailing company Uber said on Thursday it would roll out a feature that will allow users in India to book rides via messaging service WhatsApp.The move could help Uber tap into the more than 500 million user base of Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp in India.
Starting this week, we are rolling out a new service that gives people the option to book an Uber ride via an official Uber WhatsApp chatbot,” the ride-hailing said in a blog post.
Uber, a US-based ride-hailing service, said on Thursday that it will introduce a feature that will enable Indian users to book rides over the WhatsApp messaging app.
With this agreement, Uber might be able to connect with the 500 million+ Indian users of Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp.
The ride-hailing startup revealed in a blog post that this week will see the introduction of a new feature that lets customers book an Uber ride through an official Uber WhatsApp chatbot.
Now available in seventy locations, the ride-hailing service has been operating in the Asian country for eight years.
“The Uber app will no longer need to be downloaded or used by users. Uber announced that the WhatsApp chat interface will be used for all processes, including user registration, ride booking, and trip receipt retrieval.
Uber users can use WhatsApp to schedule a ride by clicking a direct link, scanning a barcode, or sending a message to Uber’s business account number.
Riders who directly book trips through the ride-hailing app will have the same insurance coverage and safety features, according to the company. Through WhatsApp, the user will receive safety advice and details on how to contact the ride-hailing service in case of an emergency.
Once the function is initially launched in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in India, other locations will have access to it by the following year.
The ride-hailing business announced that Indian languages will be added soon, and that English will be the language in which the service is available.
Also Read: WhatsApp’s Disappearing Messages: A Guide
