Grab has launched an AI-powered phone booking service in Singapore, allowing seniors and less tech-savvy users to book rides by speaking with a voice assistant. Grab Singapore on Wednesday launched Grab AI Call-A-Ride (Beta), a voice-based ride-booking service developed in collaboration with OpenAI and powered by its Realtime Voice model. Unlike conventional automated phone systems, the AI assistant can understand user intent, maintain context throughout a conversation, adapt when callers change their requests mid-sentence, and complete ride bookings, Grab said. The service, available via +65 3138 0000, currently supports English and Mandarin, with additional regional languages planned. Grab Chief Product Officer Philipp Kandal said the shift to app-based services had not worked well for users who struggle with digital navigation, many of whom rely most on dependable transportation, according to The Straits Times. The service was tested in about 1,000 pilot calls involving users from different demographic groups. It can also understand Singlish, Singapore's colloquial variety of English, after being trained on more than 100,000 donated voice samples. The launch comes as Grab expands its use of artificial intelligence in Singapore, ranked the world's second-richest country by GDP per capita by The Economist in 2025, behind Switzerland. It partnered with ChatGPT developer OpenAI in 2024 to improve accessibility, mapping and customer support through generative AI. It has also stepped up investments in autonomous mobility, working with Chinese autonomous driving company WeR