Back in the spring, DM News covered an early-access AI tool from Driver Matty that was still waiting on a proper name. It now has one — DM Taxi Assistant — and in a new behind-the-scenes video, Matty has taken the wraps off exactly how it works.
The pitch is simple: every taxi and private hire operator has lost a booking because they couldn’t get to the phone in time — asleep, mid-journey, or the enquiry just landed at the wrong moment. DM Taxi Assistant is built to close that gap. It’s not a simple chatbot bolted onto a website; it’s a full booking system that quotes your prices, takes payment, and gets the job ready to dispatch, all without you lifting a finger.
What’s actually in the portal
Walking through the operator dashboard, Matty showed how deep the customisation goes. Vehicle types, driver details and commission splits are all set up in advance, and pricing can be built out properly — per-mile rates from a minimum fare upward, return journey discounts, fixed routes and zones for regular runs (airports, stadiums, festivals), and surge pricing for specific events or busy periods. There’s also a “common questions” section where operators train the assistant on their own policies — pet and alcohol rules, whether tolls are included, flight tracking, and anything else customers regularly ask.
Crucially, the assistant only does what it’s told. If a request falls outside what’s been set up — Matty tested it live with a wait-and-return booking and, just for fun, a request to bring a pet kangaroo — the system doesn’t guess or improvise. It captures the enquiry, flags it can’t confirm automatically, and hands it to the operator to decide. Nothing gets lost, and nothing gets booked that the operator hasn’t explicitly allowed.
Operators can also step into a live conversation at any point and take over from the AI directly, then hand control back once they’re done — useful for anyone who wants oversight without babysitting every chat.
No website? No problem
One of the more useful features for smaller operators is the hosted booking link. Rather than needing a website at all, operators running mainly through social media can get a standalone booking page with the chat assistant built in, ready to drop into an Instagram bio, a WhatsApp reply, or a business card. It ties back into the same portal as everything else.
The system can also run alongside existing dispatch software rather than replacing it outright — Matty showed how a job taken through the assistant can be manually flagged as transferred once it’s added to a separate system like Easy Taxi Office, so operators aren’t forced to rip out what they’re already using.
Why he built it
Matty explained the tool came out of his own experience running an airport transfer business — including one memorable morning where he woke up to a missed WhatsApp enquiry for a £1,200 minibus job, lost simply because he didn’t reply in time. The point, as he put it, is that if you’re not running something like this, your competitors might be picking up your bookings while you’re asleep or on the road.
Pricing and early access
DM Taxi Assistant is currently in an early-bird phase at £49 a month, with only a limited number of spots left out of an initial 100 before the price goes up. Operators can test the assistant themselves via a demo booking form before signing up.
Thanks for visiting DM News! If you’ve got a question, a story tip, or anything you’d like to share, head over to DriverMatty.com — I love to hear from you. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out my other websites and social media channels, including DM Taxi Assistant if you want to see the system for yourself.
