Deaf couriers’ estimated pay gap shrank after AI calls arrived

At a large Chinese food-delivery platform, a mid-2022 calling tool was followed by a narrowing of the estimated hourly pay gap between deaf or hard-of-hearing couriers and couriers without disabilities, from about 10% to below 7%.[1]

The August 2026 working paper uses 2021–2023 records for 4,284 newly registered DHH couriers and 39,321 others. Researchers compare the groups’ changes before and after the rollout, relying on comparable underlying trends. Pay estimates combine completed orders, platform-provided rates and hours online; individual tool use was unrecorded.[1]

Workers select or write a message. AI-based text-to-speech makes the call; customers reply inside the app. A message might ask a customer to open the door. Couriers previously relied mainly on in-app texts that customers could miss. The study also estimates 3.5% less time between restaurant and customer.[1]

The gains extended beyond delivery speed

In the researchers’ difference-in-differences estimates, late deliveries fell by 11.2% and negative customer ratings by 21.8% for deaf or hard-of-hearing couriers relative to the comparison group after the tool arrived. Weekly hours online rose by 10.6%, while the estimated attrition rate declined by a further 21%. The NBER summary also reports a rise in weekly orders. These are differences in changes between groups, not the total number of orders or an individual worker’s guaranteed improvement.[3]

The evidence comes from a single platform, not from random assignment to use the AI tool. Researchers rely on the two groups having otherwise comparable trends; changes in demand, assignments or worker composition could complicate a causal interpretation. The data also did not show which couriers actually made use of the calling feature. It is evidence of a promising workplace accommodation in a specific setting, not proof that a similar tool will close every disability pay gap.[1][3]

Being able to call—and being able to choose text

In a May 2024 accessibility update, Uber described an option for deaf and hard-of-hearing couriers to receive only in-app messages. It also described flashing or vibrating notifications for incoming delivery requests, and a notice telling customers that their courier is deaf or hard of hearing. Workers can adjust their preferences in the app’s accessibility settings.[2]

Incoming and outgoing communication can need different forms. Giving someone a way to make themselves heard need not require them to hear the response.[1][2]

The design question is specific: who can initiate contact, in what form, and with whose words? Those controls help determine which parts of a job a person can perform on their own terms.

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