DoorDash adds AI ordering tool that can build carts from photos
Ask DoorDash lets users order with images, voice or text as delivery apps add more conversational shopping features.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
DoorDash has introduced an AI ordering assistant called Ask DoorDash that can add items to a customer’s cart from photos, Fortune and Morning Brew reported. The feature is meant to reduce the need to browse through menus or product listings by letting users describe, say or show what they want.
According to the report, customers can upload images such as grocery lists, recipes or other pictures, and the chatbot can use them to help assemble an order. Users can also give written or voice prompts rather than scroll through the app manually.
Ask DoorDash can make suggestions using a customer’s previous orders and social media reviews, Fortune and Morning Brew reported. The assistant can also prompt users about whether they are low on particular items, a feature aimed at grocery orders as well as takeout.
Early use points to restaurant discovery
DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang said the company saw signs that the tool could introduce customers to more restaurants during a limited test. In that rollout to selected iOS users, Fang said nearly half of takeout orders made through Ask DoorDash came from customers who had not previously ordered from the restaurant, according to the report.
That detail suggests DoorDash sees the assistant as more than a faster checkout tool. If the chatbot can steer diners toward restaurants they have not tried before, it could affect how restaurants gain visibility inside the delivery app.
The company is adding the feature as major delivery and grocery platforms bring more AI tools into shopping. Fortune and Morning Brew reported that Uber Eats and Instacart have also added AI assistants designed to make ordering feel more conversational and personalized.
Wider rollout planned
Ask DoorDash is not yet available to all customers. Fortune and Morning Brew reported that DoorDash plans to expand the chatbot to more users in the coming weeks after its limited iOS rollout.
The company also plans to add more capabilities over time. According to the report, Ask DoorDash is expected to eventually be able to make restaurant reservations on behalf of diners.
The launch adds DoorDash to a growing group of consumer apps using AI assistants to shorten search and ordering steps. For DoorDash customers, the immediate change is a new way to start an order: by uploading a picture, speaking a request or typing what they are hungry for.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.