Uber Eats on Wednesday introduced “Cart Assistant,” a new AI-powered feature designed to help customers build grocery orders more quickly. The tool is currently available in beta within the Uber Eats app.
To use Cart Assistant, customers search for a grocery store in the app and tap the purple Cart Assistant icon on the store’s page. From there, users can type in a shopping list or upload an image — including photos of handwritten lists or screenshots of recipes and ingredient lists — and the AI will automatically add matching items to their cart. Shoppers can then review and customize the basket by swapping brands or adding additional products before checkout.
Uber says the feature also looks at a user’s previous orders to prioritize familiar items, such as a preferred milk or frequently purchased oatmeal, making the experience more personalized.
“Users were telling us they wanted a quicker way to shop, and we know how precious your time is,” Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga said in a statement. “Cart Assistant helps you get from idea to checkout in seconds.”
The rollout adds to Uber Eats’ broader push into AI tools across its platform. The company has introduced AI-generated menu descriptions, improved food imagery, and automated customer review summaries for merchants. Last year, Uber Eats also integrated with ChatGPT in the U.S., allowing users to browse restaurants and menus within ChatGPT before completing purchases in the Uber Eats app.
Cart Assistant also positions Uber Eats alongside competitors that have experimented with AI-driven shopping tools. Instacart launched an AI-powered search feature in 2023 using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to help customers receive personalized recommendations. DoorDash has reportedly tested its own chatbot, DashAI, and integrated with ChatGPT to enable meal planning and ingredient list creation directly within its platform.
By streamlining how grocery orders are built, Uber Eats is aiming to reduce the time and effort required to move from planning a meal to completing a purchase. As grocery and food delivery apps continue integrating AI features, tools like Cart Assistant could become a more standard part of the digital shopping experience.
For now, Cart Assistant remains in beta, with Uber Eats continuing to expand its use of AI across both customer-facing and merchant-focused tools.
This analysis is based on reporting from TechCrunch.
Image courtesy of Unsplash.
This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy and quality.
