The proliferation of generative AI sees it getting integrated into all sorts of things these days. One example is in the e-hailing field, with Grab previously offering a month of ChatGPT Plus to its Unlimited subscribers. More recently, Bolt has gotten in on the action, and in a more direct way. The Estonian company announced that you’ll now be able to book rides directly from the OpenAI chatbot.
Naturally, the first step in the process is to link the Bolt app and the ChatGPT app. Once that’s done, you can ask for a ride from the chatbot app, and you’ll be presented with available options for cars and prices, as well as the estimated time of the driver’s arrival. You can also be given options for the “best place to be picked up” to cut waiting time down even further. And when you’ve made your choice, these details will transfer to the Bolt app itself to complete the booking process.
This includes paying for the booked ride, but the company says that it intends to let you pay directly from inside the ChatGPT app in the future. No specific date has been mentioned yet, but the company estimates this to happen later this year. Afzan Lutfi, the General Manager of Bolt Malaysia, says “people don’t plan their evening in five different apps anymore … As more everyday interactions take place through AI, we think requesting a ride should be just as straightforward: ask, see the price, and go”.
Bolt mentions that the ability to start the process of booking rides from ChatGPT is being rolled out in all markets where it operates simultaneously, rather than doing gradual rollouts. This is a good thing for the most part, as we’re often the ones drawing the short straw when it comes to these kinds of things. A simultaneous global rollout gives local users a chance to immediately try it out.
