Case Study: Uber India

In 2022, Uber in India has started to let people book a ride from WhatsApp. It used the following to simplify booking a ride:

• a chatbot - It takes the customer’s name from their WhatsApp profile directly to create a personalized reply to them, eliminating the step to ask them to type their name. It also allows them to choose a language they want.
• text messages
• images
• list messages
• reply buttons

First, a customer sends a “Hello” to Uber’s WhatsApp number. The bot sends a personalized reply and asks them to choose their language.

Then it asks them for their pick up location and gives instructions on how to share their location with GPS.

If their pickup location is not very clear to the bot, it gives them a list of nearby locations with a list message to choose from.

Then, it asks them to share their destination. The bot checks with the customer whether it understood their location correctly.

Then the customers receive a verification code via SMS which they have to send to the bot to verify their identity.

They can choose their type of vehicle, review their trip summary and confirm it.

In the final step, the bot confirms that their ride is on the way.