DoorDash Debuts Conversational AI to Streamline Search

DoorDash launched “Ask DoorDash” on Thursday (June 11), a new conversational search interface aimed at reducing the friction of finding meals and groceries.

Instead of traditional keyword searches, users can now interact with the app using natural language to receive personalized recommendations in seconds, DoorDash said in a Thursday press release.

The feature lets users avoid the burden of navigating the approximately 800,000 different menu and grocery items available to the average U.S. user. Co-Founder Andy Fang emphasized in a statement that while the app provides access to a city’s worth of options, “more options shouldn’t mean more work.” To this end, the AI-driven tool is designed to understand specific user contexts, such as dietary restrictions or recent purchase history.

For restaurant orders, the conversational AI allows for layered, real-time refinements. A customer can start with a general request for a family dinner and then narrow results by asking for kid-friendly, vegetarian or non-spicy options. Unlike traditional search, which works best when a user already knows exactly what they want, Ask DoorDash is tailored for discovery, connecting customers with restaurants they might have otherwise overlooked.

The company is also extending this functionality to “DoorDash Reservations.” This allows users to describe a specific atmosphere and book a table on the app.

Ask DoorDash is currently live for select iOS users in the U.S. for restaurant and grocery search, with a wider rollout expected in the coming weeks.

This new program is the latest of DoorDash’s AI ventures.

Earlier this year, the company introduced a suite of AI-powered tools designed to streamline operations for local merchants, including a self-serve onboarding process that uses existing online data to help businesses launch 35% faster, a Video Library with shoppable tags for direct ordering, and an AI photo editing suite capable of retouching, replating and styling images without altering the food’s appearance.

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