Facebook partners with Uber for ride-hailing service via Messenger app

Second, selecting the “More” option in Messenger, which looks like three dots in the toolbar, will take you to the new transportation option.

Facebook and Uber would not comment on possible revenue share with the new feature, but Facebook does plan to get into more offerings from businesses via Messenger.

In a recent demonstration of the service held at Uber’s headquarters, Facebook product manager Seth Rosenberg showed how a group conversation within Messenger about a meet-up at a restaurant could yield a ride reservation in just a few screen taps, either by tapping on an address listed in the chat or a small icon of a auto. You can order a auto from most tiers of Uber (except for UberPool) and get price estimates, just as you do in the app, Uber says-and prices will remain exactly the same.

The newest version of Messenger has been updated to include an Uber button, so users can hail a ride and track their drivers progress from within Facebook’s app. Users can also pay for the ride and communicate with their driver, all within Messenger.

Both Facebook and Uber sidestepped questions directly about a Lyft integration, but a source close to the matter tells TechCrunch that Lyft will offer rides through Facebook Messenger starting in January. “We’re just getting people used to the idea that you can message more than just people on Messenger”, he said. Your friends, meanwhile, can’t track exactly where you are unless you’ve explicitly shared that information.

Ride hailing functionality already exists in WeChat in China, an app which may be building a roadmap for some US-based Messaging apps. The pairing will give ride-hailing competitors such as Lyft pause, considering the two companies are among the most powerful tech startups ever, with Facebook now valued at almost $300 billion and privately held Uber at around $70 billion. That’s the same goal Facebook seems to be chasing with Messenger in the US. The feature is expected to be made available in other countries outside the USA later. Why leave for the Internet at large if you can do the things you want to right inside Facebook and Messenger? But, now Facebook’s popular Messenger brings some holiday cheer, message requests, and at long last, 3D Touch.