DoorDash launches an AI agent you can text to order food

DoorDash announced on September 30 a text-to-order AI agent that lets users place orders through Apple Messages. According to the company, the feature expands on Ask DoorDash, its existing in-app assistant.

How text ordering works

A user can send a prompt such as “order my usual,” and the agent understands it means their regular Friday order. DoorDash says the system remembers details like skipping cilantro or always adding extra sauce.

Users can also ask for a specific dish or request a local recommendation. The agent searches nearby spots, scans menus, suggests a cart and even texts photos of the food it recommends. For group orders, it handles mixed dietary preferences and different quantities in a single order.

Checkout happens inside the text thread, so the app never has to be opened. DoorDash says the system can also message users proactively, asking whether they want their usual coffee order based on their daily habits.

The numbers behind Ask DoorDash

In the three months since Ask DoorDash launched, users have discovered more than 40,000 new restaurants with it. According to DoorDash, nearly half of Ask DoorDash restaurant orders go to local spots the consumer had never tried before.

DoorDash says an average person in the U.S. can choose from more than 800,000 menu items and grocery products. More than 30% of grocery orders through Ask DoorDash are routine restocks.

Grocery baskets built with the assistant are created five times faster. DoorDash says those baskets average nearly 50% higher value and about 60% more unique items than the same shoppers’ traditional orders.

AI strategy and competition

TechCrunch notes that by launching a food-ordering AI agent, DoorDash is looking to gain an edge over rivals Uber Eats and Grubhub. The outlet adds that the move comes amid a growing push to adopt personal AI agents that handle tasks without users navigating apps or websites.

DoorDash announced several other AI products the same day, including DashOS, a platform aimed at restaurants. Text ordering is still a beta: U.S. users can apply to join the waitlist at doordash.com/text.

Separately, DoorDash said it will begin testing its delivery drones with select restaurants in Northern California.