Uber held a virtual event overnight, hosted by the company’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. While it wasn’t overly Aussie-focused, a few of the announcements are making their way down under, including a way to order food through Uber Eats using your voice.
Voice Ordering on Uber Eats is set to launch in Australia later this year. It allows you to order a meal, snack, groceries – anything you can order through Uber Eats – simply by using your voice.
“For the moments you don’t have an extra hand, we’re bringing you a new way to order your food,” Uber said.
To make this happen, Uber has integrated the Google Assistant into Uber Eats. Although not live just yet, to activate, all you’ll need to do is say “OK Google” and ask your phone to order a meal from a restaurant on Uber Eats.
Voice ordering has started rolling out globally in English with more languages coming in the months ahead. Voice Ordering will be available for Australian app users this winter, Uber said.
It’s not just your late night kebab that’s sorted, your driver will now have quick access to the location of EV charging stations.
Unlike Voice Ordering on Uber Eats, this one is for Uber drivers, but it will help with passenger range anxiety, as drivers will have access to a new ‘EV Hub’, which Uber said is a one-stop shop where they can get information and incentives to join the “electric revolution”, and compare the cost of ownership of an EV versus a non-EV.
Additionally, Uber is adding a Charging Map directly to the Earner App to show where the nearest EV chargers are located, what the charging speeds are and navigation to get there. This feature is also set to launch in winter.
Here’s the video from Uber’s Go/Get 2022:
Although not available in Australia, Uber also introduced two Autonomous Delivery programs in Santa Monica and West Hollywood, California; and expanding on Voice Ordering, the company is also introducing Uber Eats at Stadiums, letting U.S.-based customers order in the app and skip the line when their food is ready.