New York Times Adds AI Features to Cooking App, Readers React Negatively

The New York Times has added new artificial intelligence features to its Cooking app, including a tool that can modify recipes and suggest ingredient substitutions. The rollout has drawn criticism from many readers, according to a Nieman Journalism Lab article published October 28, 2026. The feature is available to Cooking subscribers on the iOS app and is being rolled out gradually.

New features and rollout

Genevieve Ko, NYT Cooking senior editor and columnist, said product and engineering colleagues saw AI's potential to help create features Cooking users wanted. The latest tool gives cooks the ability to apply modifications to recipes, and the company is seeing many requests for ingredient substitutions. One example discussed is substituting spinach for chard, where the tool could account for changes such as adding spinach later. The Times had previously rolled out AI features for converting volume-based and weight-based measurements and for scaling recipes up or down. Ko said staff spent countless hours evaluating samples so chatbot answers would align with culinary expert judgment and Times standards. The tool is currently available to all Cooking subscribers on the iOS app, with broader availability planned.

Reader reaction

Nieman Lab scraped 171 comments on the Times announcement and excluded 12 left by Times staffers. Roughly 77 percent of reader comments were negative, 14 percent positive, and the rest neutral or mixed. Complaints included that the changes should not require AI, concerns about environmental impact, the $390 annual cost, and worries that AI adjustments could be bad. Dozens of commenters asked for a way to turn off the feature. Ko responded, 'No, not at this time,' while noting the feature is optional to use. Some commenters said cooking should involve challenges and problem solving, while others praised faster gluten-free conversions and quicker meal preparation.

Concerns addressed

Ko addressed potential objections ranging from the impact of data centers to the concentration of power among AI companies and the risk of AI escaping control. She wrote that the features are designed to support the tactile physical pleasure of cooking and getting a very real, very human creation on the table. Susan from New Jersey wrote, 'The internet is full of AI cooking content. I pay you because I prefer mine done by people.' Judah Mann of New York wrote, 'PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS,' and Naomi from California wrote, 'I am sad that AI has breached the one online resource I truly love.'

Sources: niemanlab.org