DoorDash announced on Thursday that it’s launching a new AI chatbot that lets users order food and groceries with text prompts and photos in its latest AI push.
The chatbot, called “Ask DoorDash,” allows users to search the app for what they’re looking for in their own words instead of having to scroll through restaurants and stores to build a cart. You can tell the chatbot what you’re in the mood for, share a recipe link to find the items, or describe the reservation you’re looking for.
“Traditional search works best when you know the exact restaurant or table you’re looking for,” DoorDash wrote in a blog post. “Ask DoorDash is designed for the moments when you don’t.”
Food delivery apps and tech giants are betting that AI can help make shopping more conversational and personalized, as companies race to make AI assistants a standard part of everyday life. In February, Uber Easts launched an AI-powered “Cart Assistant,” while Instacart has rolled out an AI shopping assistant that grocers can offer to their customers.
DoorDash’s app can build your grocery cart based on a photo from a cookbook, a picture of your grocery list, or a recipe. DoorDash will then add all the items and their correct quantities to your cart. It will prompt users to check if they already have staples like sugar and butter, so they don’t buy something they already have.
