Uber Eats Introduces AI Assistant to Optimize Shopping Experience

Uber Eats has launched a new AI feature called "Cart Assistant" on Wednesday, designed to help customers fill their shopping carts faster and more conveniently. The beta version of this feature is now available within the app.

To use this new chatbot, users simply need to search for a grocery store within the Uber Eats app and click the purple Cart Assistant icon on the store's page to begin shopping.

Customers can type in a shopping list or upload a picture of their list. The Cart Assistant will then automatically add the requested items to the basket. This includes photos of handwritten lists or screenshots of recipes and their ingredients. Users can also customize their basket by swapping brands or adding more products from the store.

Uber Eats notes that the Cart Assistant prioritizes familiar items from a user's order history, such as a frequently purchased milk or a favorite brand of oatmeal, to provide a more personalized experience.

"Users have told us they want shopping to be faster, and we know how valuable time is," said Praveen Neppalli Naga, Uber's Chief Technology Officer, in a statement. "Cart Assistant can help you go from idea to checkout in seconds."

The Cart Assistant helps Uber Eats compete with other food delivery and grocery apps that have already integrated or are developing AI chatbots. For instance, Instacart launched an AI search tool powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT in 2023 to help customers save time and receive personalized shopping suggestions. DoorDash was also reportedly testing an AI chatbot named DashAI the same year.

Last year, both Uber Eats and its rival DoorDash integrated with ChatGPT to streamline food ordering. Within Uber Eats, U.S. users could browse local restaurants and menus via ChatGPT and then finalize their purchase in the Uber Eats app. DoorDash's integration allowed users to request meal plans, automatically adding all necessary ingredients to their DoorDash cart.

Notably, Bloomberg reported in 2023 that Uber Eats was developing an AI-powered chatbot that would reportedly ask users about their budget and food preferences to assist them in placing orders.

Overall, Uber Eats is rapidly investing in AI technology, including tools for merchants such as AI-generated menu descriptions, enhanced food photography, and summaries of customer reviews.