Uber’s chief product officer recently walked through the company’s ambitions for AI, and there is a clear lesson for business owners. Uber is not trying to use AI for everything at once. Instead, it is picking specific areas where AI makes a real difference to its customers and drivers, and building from there.
That approach is worth studying for any Irish business thinking about AI. The companies that succeed with AI are not the ones that chase every shiny new tool. They are the ones that identify concrete problems and use AI to solve them.
Where Uber is focusing its AI efforts
Uber is deploying AI in three main areas. First, it is improving how the app matches riders with drivers, using AI to predict demand and optimise routes. Second, it is building AI features that help drivers earn more by suggesting when and where to work. Third, it is laying the groundwork for autonomous vehicles through its AV Labs division, while managing a complex relationship with Waymo, the leading self-driving car company.
Each of these is a specific, measurable problem. Each has a clear metric for success — shorter wait times, higher driver earnings, safer rides. Uber is not asking “how can we use AI everywhere.” It is asking “what specific problem can AI solve for our users right now.”
The lesson for small businesses
Irish small businesses often fall into one of two traps with AI. Either they ignore it entirely, or they try to adopt too much at once. Both approaches fail.
The better approach, which Uber demonstrates, is to start with a specific pain point. Is your customer service team overwhelmed by repetitive questions? Look for an AI chatbot that handles the most common ones. Are you spending too much time on bookkeeping? Find an AI tool that automates invoice processing. Is your marketing inconsistent? Use AI to draft social media posts or email campaigns.
The key is measuring the impact. Before you adopt a tool, decide what success looks like. Fewer support tickets? Faster invoice processing? More website visitors? If you cannot measure the improvement, you cannot tell whether the tool is worth keeping.
Why Uber is not trying to do everything
Uber’s product chief specifically said the company does not want to be “everything for everyone.” That is a striking statement from a company worth tens of billions. If Uber is disciplined about where it applies AI, small businesses should be even more focused.
There is a temptation to think AI will solve all your problems at once. It won’t. What it can do is solve one or two specific problems very well. The businesses that identify those problems and apply the right tools will see real returns. The ones that wait for the perfect all-in-one AI solution will be waiting a long time.
Start with a problem that costs you time or money today. That could be a staff member spending three hours a day on data entry. It could be missed sales because your website cannot answer customer questions after hours. It could be hours spent drafting quotes or proposals by hand. Each of these is a concrete problem with a measurable cost. That makes them perfect candidates for an AI solution.
Start small, measure, then expand
The most successful AI adopters follow a simple pattern. Pick one problem. Find a tool. Test it for 30 days. Measure the results. If it works, expand. If it does not, move on to the next tool.
That approach does not require a big budget or technical expertise. It requires discipline and a willingness to learn. And it is exactly how Uber — one of the world’s most valuable companies — is thinking about AI.