During an appearance on the podcast The Diary of a CEO, Uber’s chief executive confirmed that some teams internally have built what employees call “Dara AI”. According to Khosrowshahi, staff “basically make the presentation to the Dara AI as a prep for making a presentation to me” – a rehearsal process that helps refine slide decks and responses before presenting to him directly.
The tool is emblematic of a broader AI transformation within the company. Khosrowshahi said that about 90 % of Uber’s software engineers use AI in their work, and around 30 % are “power users” of AI tools – meaning they are re-architecting elements of the platform’s software to take advantage of machine intelligence.
Experts say the use of an AI clone of a CEO for internal preparation is not just a quirky anecdote but a signal of how artificial intelligence is reshaping workplace culture and efficiency in large tech-driven firms. By mimicking leadership style and expectations, such agents allow employees to test their ideas in a low-stakes environment before presenting to real decision-makers, potentially increasing productivity and confidence.
The emergence of “Dara AI” at Uber comes amid a broader push by the company to integrate AI into its core operations – from ride-hailing and food delivery to predictive demand models and autonomous vehicle research – as part of a transition toward a future where machine intelligence underpins both customer-facing products and internal processes.
Although the AI version of Khosrowshahi is used largely for internal preparation rather than decision-making, observers see it as part of a larger trend in the corporate world: employees and teams building bespoke AI tools tailored to their specific workflows rather than relying purely on off-the-shelf software.