Uber ChatGPT Work is now live for more than 30,000 employees, across the 70-plus countries where the ride-hailing company operates. OpenAI announced the company-wide rollout on 22 October 2026, expanding a pilot of about 1,000 staff. Neither company has disclosed what it costs.
What ChatGPT Work Does for Uber Staff
ChatGPT Work is an agent that runs inside ChatGPT Enterprise and carries out multi-step office tasks rather than simply answering questions.
Uber staff can use it to prepare meeting briefs, build slide decks and analyse data. It connects to four tools the company already runs on: Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar and Slack. An agent, in this context, is software that chains several steps together and returns finished work, instead of replying turn by turn.
The default model is GPT-6.1 Sol. The Next Web reported that OpenAI released it in September 2026 at roughly a fifth of the price of its top-tier model, which is the stated reason it was chosen over a more expensive option. Uber’s engineers continue to use Codex, OpenAI’s coding tool, for software work.
Uber is supporting the rollout with an internal AI skills library, a set of approved integrations and dedicated employee training. Access and permitted actions sit with administrators, and ChatGPT Work includes a compliance interface that gives employers visibility into conversations and agent actions.
What the Rollout Costs
No figure has been published, by either company, and the underlying list price is not public either.
OpenAI does not advertise a per-seat price for ChatGPT Enterprise, the tier ChatGPT Work runs on. Pricing guides consistently report that the plan is quoted on request rather than listed, with contract terms set per customer. Third-party estimates circulate in the range of roughly $45 to $75 per user a month, but OpenAI has not confirmed any of them.
That matters for a 30,000-seat deployment, because the gap between those estimates compounds into tens of millions of dollars a year. Without a confirmed rate, any total would be guesswork, and this article does not offer one. Uber has not said what the wider rollout costs, and the announcement contained no contract value.
Undisclosed enterprise AI pricing is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Meta’s own enterprise platform launched with no prices or dates attached, while OpenAI’s separate Dots product arrived with a published figure of $100 a month.
How 30,000 Compares With Uber’s Reported Headcount
The 30,000 figure describes a workforce smaller than the one Uber last disclosed in an annual report.
| Measure | Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Employees globally | About 34,000 | Uber’s annual report, as of 31 December 2025 |
| Countries of operation | More than 70 | Uber’s annual report, as of 31 December 2025 |
| Announced workforce reduction | About 10% | Uber, 2 September 2026 |
| Roles reported cut | About 3,300 | Bloomberg; Uber declined to confirm the number |
| Employees with ChatGPT Work | More than 30,000 | OpenAI, 22 October 2026 |
Uber told the United States Securities and Exchange Commission that, as of 31 December 2025, it and its subsidiaries had approximately 34,000 employees globally and operations in over 70 countries and more than 15,000 cities.
On 2 September 2026 Uber said it would cut about 10% of that workforce. Bloomberg put the figure at roughly 3,300 roles; Uber declined to confirm it. Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi framed the cuts as flattening management rather than as an AI decision, and did not attribute them to artificial intelligence. Uber also withdrew from Nigeria and Uganda at the same time.
So the two numbers are consistent with each other, and the rollout reaches close to everyone still employed. Uber has not published a current headcount alongside the announcement.
Who Announced the Rollout
The announcement came from the vendor, not the customer.
OpenAI published it on 22 October 2026. Uber’s own newsroom carried no post about ChatGPT Work as of 23 October 2026; its most recent entries that month covered night-shift workers and a teen trends report. The quotes circulating in coverage were supplied through OpenAI’s announcement.
Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber’s chief technology officer, said: “As AI transforms how we work, we want to give everyone the tools to innovate, solve problems and help shape Uber’s future.” Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president and co-founder, said Uber “is putting AI to work across its business”.
What Uber Has Said About Its AI Budget
Uber’s technology leadership has spoken publicly about restraining AI spending, which sits awkwardly beside a 30,000-seat deployment.
According to The Next Web, Neppalli Naga said in August 2026 that the era of “tokenmaxxing” — spending freely on AI model usage — was ending. The same report said Uber had used up its entire 2026 budget for a rival coding tool, Anthropic’s Claude Code, by April. Those claims rest on a single outlet, and Uber has not confirmed them.
The choice of GPT-6.1 Sol as the default, rather than OpenAI’s most capable model, is the one cost signal in the announcement itself. Other vendors have made similar default-model choices for the same reason, as when Replit set an OpenAI model as its default.
What Has Not Been Measured
No productivity results accompanied the rollout.
OpenAI and Uber said they would share adoption data, use cases and outcomes as the deployment continues. Neither has published time saved, task completion rates or any financial effect from the 1,000-person pilot that preceded it.
Uber has also not said that ChatGPT Work replaced any specific role. Separately, The Next Web reported that Uber cut 10% of its customer-service team in July 2026 and tied that reduction to an AI push, which would make it the first time the company drew that link directly. That report has not been matched by other outlets.
Where ChatGPT Work Came From
ChatGPT Work is a product barely three months old.
- 9 July 2026: OpenAI launches ChatGPT Work, initially running on GPT-5.6 with Codex technology, for Pro, Enterprise and Edu plans, then Plus and Business.
- 6 May 2026: an earlier OpenAI customer story on Uber cites 40 million trips a day, 10 million drivers and couriers and 15,000 cities.
- September 2026: GPT-6.1 Sol is released and becomes the default model inside ChatGPT Work.
- 22 October 2026: the Uber deployment goes company-wide, from a pilot of about 1,000 employees to more than 30,000.
Uber ChatGPT Work: Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Uber Employees Have ChatGPT Work?
More than 30,000, which OpenAI described on 22 October 2026 as company-wide. The deployment covers staff across the more than 70 countries where Uber operates.
What Does Uber ChatGPT Work Cost?
Neither Uber nor OpenAI has published a figure. OpenAI does not list a per-seat price for ChatGPT Enterprise, the tier the agent runs on, so no reliable total can be calculated from public information.
Which Model Does It Use?
GPT-6.1 Sol is the default. Uber’s engineers continue to use Codex for coding work.
Which Tools Does It Connect To?
Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar and Slack, as named in OpenAI’s announcement of 22 October 2026.
Is This Linked to Uber’s Job Cuts?
Uber has not said that ChatGPT Work replaced any specific role. When it announced cuts of about 10% of its workforce on 2 September 2026, chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi did not attribute them to artificial intelligence.
Has Any Productivity Gain Been Reported?
No. Both companies said they would share adoption and outcome data as the rollout continues, and neither had published results as of 23 October 2026.
