DoorDash was announced On Thursday, it launched a new AI chatbot that lets users order food and groceries with text messages and photos in its latest AI promotion.
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 exactly the restaurant or table you’re looking for,” DoorDash wrote in the blog post. “Ask DoorDash is designed for the times you don’t.”
Food delivery apps and tech giants are betting that artificial intelligence can help make shopping more conversational and personalized, as companies scramble to make AI assistants a standard part of everyday life. In February, Uber Easts launched an AI-powered “Cart Assistant,” while Instacart launched a AI shopping assistant that grocery stores can offer to their customers.
DoorDash’s app can create your shopping cart based on a photo from a cookbook, an image of your grocery list, or a recipe. DoorDash will then add all the items and the correct quantities to your cart. It will ask users to check if they already have staples like sugar and butter so they don’t buy something they already have.
You can also ask the chatbot to reorder your last grocery cart or recommend new items based on your previous orders, DoorDash says.
As for ordering food, you can tell the chatbot that you want a “full dinner for a family of 4”. The app will then display restaurants along with a personalized blurb explaining why they match your search. You can further narrow the results with a query like “Show me kid-friendly vegetarian places with mild options.”
After choosing a place, you can ask DoorDash to create a basket of suggestions based on your dietary preferences, budget, group size, or past orders.
With Ask DoorDash for Reservations, users can ask the chatbot to find a “table for two downtown for a date-night dinner around 8 p.m.” The app will then display restaurants with availability. You can improve the results further by asking for something a little more intimate.
The chatbot is rolling out on iOS in select areas for restaurant search and food shopping, as well as DoorDash Reservations. It will reach more users in the US in the coming weeks, the company says.
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