Grab Singapore has introduced Grab AI Call A Ride (Beta), a new AI powered phone service that allows users to book rides through a natural voice conversation, making ride hailing more accessible for seniors and anyone who finds using a mobile app difficult or inconvenient.
Available through the phone number +65 3138 0000, the pilot service enables users to call an AI voice assistant that can understand requests, maintain the flow of a conversation, adapt to changes during the call, and complete ride bookings without requiring users to navigate the Grab app. Developed in collaboration with OpenAI and powered by its Realtime Voice model, the solution is currently optimised for English and Chinese, with support for more regional languages planned in the future. Grab will use the beta programme to gather user feedback and further improve the experience.
Unlike traditional automated phone systems that rely on fixed menus and scripted responses, the AI voice assistant is designed to interpret intent and respond conversationally, making the booking process more intuitive, particularly for users who may not be comfortable with smartphones or digital interfaces.
Before its public launch, Grab AI Call A Ride (Beta) underwent an initial trial involving around 1,000 calls across different demographic groups. Grab worked with grassroots digital inclusion initiatives to test the service, including seniors’ digital literacy workshops organised by the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s SG Digital Office and Temasek’s Community Day 2026. Feedback from participants was positive overall and helped Grab improve speech recognition accuracy as well as the pacing of conversations to create a smoother user experience.
The new service builds on the technology behind Grab’s Voice Assistant for the Visually Impaired, which was introduced in 2025 to help users with low vision navigate the Grab app through voice commands. To better understand Singapore’s diverse speech patterns, regional accents, and mixed language conversations commonly heard in Singlish, Grab also incorporated more than 100,000 locally donated voice samples into the system.
Developing the AI powered call service also led to new engineering advancements aimed at improving reliability in real world conditions. One of the biggest challenges for voice-based AI is background noise, which can interfere with speech recognition. To address this, Grab developed a voiceprint solution that becomes more effective over multiple interactions by learning to recognise an individual user’s voice while filtering out surrounding noise, resulting in more accurate conversations and bookings.
With Grab AI Call A Ride (Beta) and its earlier Voice Assistant for the Visually Impaired, Grab continues to explore how artificial intelligence can make everyday services more accessible. The company says these innovations are part of its broader effort to give more people the ability to use its services independently, regardless of their familiarity with digital technology.
