Grab Indonesia promotes AI assistant to help merchants make data-driven business decisions

Jakarta, Indonesia – Grab Indonesia is encouraging its merchant partners to use its AI-powered GrabMerchant Assistant to simplify business operations and make faster, data-driven decisions, as adoption of the tool continues to grow across the country.

The initiative is part of Grab’s latest “Find Answers to Anything” campaign, which aims to show that artificial intelligence can be practical and accessible for small businesses rather than complex or intimidating.

The AI assistant enables merchants to access business recommendations and performance insights using their store’s internal sales data, helping them manage changing consumer demand, menu performance, customer reviews, and promotional strategies without requiring technical expertise.

Melinda Savitri, Country Marketing and Communications Head at Grab Indonesia, said the company believes technology should simplify business operations while creating more opportunities for entrepreneurs to grow.

She added that the AI assistant is designed to help businesses of all sizes find solutions to everyday operational challenges, improve performance, and unlock new growth opportunities.

Grab said adoption has been particularly strong among newly onboarded GrabFood merchants, with 59.2% actively using the AI assistant as of May 2026.

The company also noted that repeat usage remains high, reaching 89.9% among long-tail merchants and 97.2% among mid-market merchants, reflecting continued engagement with the platform.

Among the assistant’s most-used capabilities are business insights and menu strategy recommendations, which account for 22% of total sessions among mid-market merchants. 

Other AI-powered tools include Menu Scanner, which converts printed menus into digital listings, and a Description Generator that creates more engaging product descriptions.

Grab added that merchants using the assistant have also recorded up to an 11% improvement in advertising efficiency, allowing businesses to optimise promotional spending using AI-generated recommendations.

The campaign also highlights real-world merchant experiences, including Mie Aceh 769 Pijay owner Efa, who uses the AI assistant to monitor business performance and assess expansion opportunities. Grab said the business successfully opened a new branch after using the tool to analyse costs and identify a suitable location.

Usage has been strongest in Jakarta, followed by Surabaya, Bandung, Medan, Yogyakarta, and Bali, with merchants using the AI assistant to manage menus, respond to customer reviews, and support business decision-making.

According to Grab, merchant partners have interacted with the feature more than one million times in less than five months, generating over 1.08 million messages, while user satisfaction has reached 96.1%.

Through the campaign, Grab said it hopes to encourage more small businesses to adopt AI tools that are easy to use while supporting the continued digital growth of Indonesia’s SMEs.