The system uses a customer’s previous orders and stated preferences to personalize results. Someone can ask DoorDash to “order my usual,” for example, and the assistant can use past ordering behavior to identify the restaurant, meal and modifications associated with that request.
DoorDash says the assistant can also account for preferences across group orders, including dietary needs and different quantities. It can send food images from restaurant pages within the text conversation and let the customer approve the order before checkout.
The company is making the texting experience available as a beta. U.S. users can join a waitlist starting today to request access.
DoorDash says Ask DoorDash has already influenced restaurant discovery since its launch three months ago. Users have found more than 40,000 restaurants through the assistant, according to the company, and nearly half of restaurant orders placed through Ask DoorDash went to local businesses that those customers had not previously tried.
“Managing tasks like ordering lunch or groceries shouldn't feel like work,” DoorDash co-founder Andy Fang said. “We built a personal shopper that helps you discover and compare thousands of items while identifying ways for you to save on DoorDash. We’re excited to see how people let us handle more of their daily needs, like putting your usual protein bowl or morning latte on autopilot. Longer term, we’ll continue to find ways to make DoorDash even more useful before you need to ask.”
DoorDash is also extending the assistant’s role in grocery shopping. The company says more than 30% of grocery orders made through Ask DoorDash involve routine restocking, prompting it to add a one-tap reordering option on participating grocers’ store pages.
When customers choose to restock, DoorDash can automatically rebuild a cart around previously purchased products. Shoppers can remove items they do not need or add others before completing the order.
Another new feature looks for opportunities to lower the cost of a grocery basket. When a customer builds a cart through Ask DoorDash, the system can compare products at that store and surface cheaper options that DoorDash considers the same or equivalent. Customers see the potential savings before checkout and can decide whether to accept the substitutions.
DoorDash says grocery carts created with Ask DoorDash are built five times faster than carts assembled through its traditional ordering flow. Those orders also have nearly 50% higher average basket value and contain about 60% more distinct items compared with conventional orders placed by the same customers.
The broader strategy is to move more of the ordering process into conversational interactions rather than requiring customers to manually browse stores and menus. DoorDash says the assistant can become more personalized as customers use it, including the possibility of proactively asking whether someone wants to repeat a familiar order based on their habits.
For now, the texting experience remains in beta, while the grocery updates expand what Ask DoorDash can handle inside the company’s existing app. DoorDash says it plans to apply the same approach to additional household tasks over time.
This analysis is based on reporting from DoorDash & Gizmodo.
Image courtesy of DoorDash.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
