# Uber adds AI tools, paid tasks and expanded protections for drivers > Source: > Published: 2026-09-18 04:27:44+00:00 # Uber adds AI tools, paid tasks and expanded protections for drivers **Dara Khosrowshahi is widening the app beyond rides and deliveries while rivals compete for the same supply of flexible labor.** By [RuntimeWire Staff](https://runtimewire.com/author/runtimewire-staff) ยท Published Primary source: [Uber Newsroom](https://www.uber.com/us/en/newsroom/only-on-uber-2026/) ## Why it matters Uber still relies on millions of human earners even as it expands robotaxi partnerships. More task types can strengthen worker retention, but pay rates and local availability will determine whether the broader app produces meaningfully better earnings. [Uber](https://uber.com/?ref=runtimewire) CEO [Dara Khosrowshahi](https://www.uber.com/us/en/about/leadership/dara-khosrowshahi/?ref=runtimewire) unveiled a driver and courier roadmap on September 17th that adds AI guidance and new forms of paid work while expanding compensation and protections for eligible delayed trips and providing clearer fare information when riders change destinations or add stops. The [roadmap presented in Miami](https://www.uber.com/us/en/newsroom/only-on-uber-2026/?ref=runtimewire) gives the Driver app a wider job than dispatching rides and restaurant orders. Uber wants the app to tell workers where demand is forming, help them complete grocery runs, assign short digital or in-person tasks, and keep them engaged between the jobs that built the network. That approach fits Khosrowshahi's career. The Brown-trained engineer spent 12 years running Expedia before joining Uber in 2017, after earlier finance and strategy roles at IAC Travel and Allen & Company. His tenure at Uber has increasingly treated mobility, food, retail and other local services as categories that can share one marketplace. The new worker tools bring the supply side closer to that same model: one app, several kinds of demand, and fewer idle gaps between assignments. Uber says drivers and couriers helped shape the features through its [Uber Crew advisory program](https://www.ubercrewportal.com/?ref=runtimewire). The announcement describes regular feedback sessions, rather than a representative survey with published sample sizes or voting results, so the claim that the package reflects what workers asked for remains Uber's characterization of those sessions. ### A driver app that assigns more than rides The AI Home Summary combines busy areas, nearby Boost+ incentives and upcoming events on the app's main screen. Uber describes it as a way to reduce the time drivers spend interpreting separate demand signals. A coming voice assistant will answer questions, send messages and report navigation problems without requiring the driver to tap through the interface. Trip Guide puts pickup and drop-off details, a map preview and estimated earnings on one screen. Discover gathers promotions, reservations, airports and events, while a new Tracker combines earnings, Uber Pro status and active Quests. The retail features show where Khosrowshahi is pushing next. Light-Guided Picking can illuminate shelf labels in participating stores, and crowdsourced shelf photos can help shoppers locate products. Couriers can correct building entrance information on community maps, with parking details scheduled for a later release. Uber is also adding work that does not begin with a passenger, meal or grocery basket. On-Site Tasks will pay workers to verify store information in person. Digital Tasks will include short audio, photo and video assignments that can be completed from a phone. Shop & Deliver is expanding to boutiques and specialty stores, while couriers in selected markets will be able to collect customer returns and take them back to retailers. Those additions turn downtime into inventory. A driver waiting for the next ride can become a retail auditor or data collector without leaving Uber's labor marketplace. Uber gets another way to use an existing worker network, while workers get more opportunities to earn without signing up for another platform. The economics will depend on rates, task availability and the unpaid time required to qualify, travel or wait, none of which Uber specified in the announcement. ### Fairness, measured one trip at a time Uber's pay changes focus on specific sources of friction. Satisfaction and cancellation metrics can now be reviewed when circumstances outside a worker's control affect them. If a customer reduces a tip, Uber says it covers the difference and will make that protection visible in the worker's Wallet. Drivers will see fare changes when riders add stops or alter a destination. Uber says it will preserve the original upfront fare when a nearby destination change would otherwise lower the payment. Eligible trips delayed by more than 15 minutes will receive a larger additional payment under the Delayed Ride Guarantee, although Uber did not set out the payment formula. Wait-time fees at extra stops will soon begin after one minute instead of two across UberX, Uber Comfort, Uber Black, Uber Green and UberXL. That is a concrete improvement for a common source of unpaid time, though the value will vary with the fee charged in each market. The contrast with Lyft is useful. [Lyft announced the change in April and said its fee cap would take effect May 1st](https://www.lyft.com/blog/posts/an-update-for-drivers-now-the-lyft-fee-is-capped-every-month?ref=runtimewire), promising that its platform fee would not exceed 30% of passenger payments in covered markets. Uber's package operates at the trip and task level through wait-time payments, tip coverage, fare guarantees and metric reviews. The companies are offering workers two different versions of predictability: Lyft puts a ceiling on its monthly fee, while Uber is trying to remove smaller losses scattered across a shift. ### Humans still run the network Khosrowshahi is making this investment while building Uber into a distribution layer for autonomous vehicles. RuntimeWire reported this month that [Wayve began supervised robotaxi service through Uber in London](https://runtimewire.com/article/wayve-uber-london-supervised-robotaxi-launch). In August, [Pony.ai and Uber outlined plans for more than 2,000 robotaxis in Europe](https://runtimewire.com/article/pony-ai-uber-2000-robotaxis-europe-2). The human network remains vast. In its [second-quarter prepared remarks](https://investor.uber.com/files/doc_earnings/2026/q2/transcript/Uber-Q2-26-Prepared-Remarks.pdf?ref=runtimewire), Uber said a record 10.2 million drivers and couriers earned more than $25 billion through the platform during the quarter. Driver-facing product work therefore remains central to marketplace reliability even as Uber adds autonomous supply city by city. Safety changes are part of that retention effort. Uber says its messaging system will detect potentially inappropriate rider messages and prompt the sender to reconsider. A driver who still receives a qualifying message will be able to cancel without a metrics penalty. Drivers using Record My Ride will also gain access to eligible recordings connected to reported incidents, subject to restrictions for serious cases, trips involving minors and other sensitive situations. The roadmap's most consequential move is the expansion of what counts as Uber work. Khosrowshahi is assembling rides, deliveries, shopping, returns, local verification and digital assignments inside one worker interface. If Uber can generate enough demand across those categories, the Driver app becomes harder to leave because it offers something useful during more hours of the day. Execution will be uneven by design. Uber says product availability will vary by market, and several features remain scheduled for future release. The roadmap also leaves the worker economics largely unquantified. The strategic direction is already visible: Khosrowshahi wants Uber to own a larger share of each earner's working day, including the minutes when nobody needs a ride.