Uber is expanding into a broader travel platform by adding an in-app hotel booking feature powered by Expedia, as part of a push to consolidate rides, food, and lodging in one app.

A voice assistant powered by OpenAI models will be introduced later to enable more natural conversations and hotel or ride bookings through dialogue.

The go-to-market was unveiled at Uber’s Go-Get event in New York City, with the rollout starting in the United States within weeks and expanding globally over time.

The rollout is phased, with specific dates and cities detailed for several features as Uber plans gradual expansion.

AI tooling and human engineers are accelerating feature delivery through agentic AI workflows as part of the development strategy.

The shift reflects Western market challenges for super apps, contrasted with established success stories like Tencent’s WeChat.

Female-focused features, named Women Preferences for riders and drivers, were rolled out in the US in March.

Shop For Me lets users request items from virtually any store with a personal shopper, with rollout starting next month in Tampa, Dallas, Phoenix, and Chicago.

Longer-term plans include data-driven personalization, with ML-driven destination and hotel recommendations, and enhanced safety for hotel listings and payments.

The hotel-and-travel push is part of a broader strategy to diversify beyond rides and deliveries, alongside earlier initiatives like testing robotaxi tech, acquiring SpotHero, and partnering with Joby for air taxis.

Other AI features include an Eats cart assistant for grocery delivery and AI-generated menu descriptions.

Booking flows mirror the rides experience, with payment and confirmation sent to the user’s linked account.