DoorDash Introduces AI Voice Ordering for Restaurants

DoorDash is integrating AI technology for their restaurant clients, which will result in consumers communicating their food orders to AI-powered bots rather than overworked in-house personnel.

DoorDash announced on August 28 that its new AI-powered voice ordering system will receive customer phone calls and will be accessible to select operators.

According to the company’s 2023 Restaurant Online Ordering Trends report, while 20% of customers prefer to order food over the phone, up to 50% of customer calls go unanswered, resulting in significant unrealized losses for restaurants.

“Customers expect more from restaurateurs, and in turn, restaurateurs expect even more technology-forward solutions from us, including support for phone channels to meet customers where they’re placing orders,” said Rajat Shroff, the head of product and design at DoorDash.

According to the statement, DoorDash will use a combination of AI and human operators to ensure that all customer inquiries are answered quickly, allowing restaurants to meet increased demand during peak hours.

Moreover, according to DoorDash, its AI system will be able to provide a personalized consumer experience by answering calls in multiple languages.

The growth in users looking at food delivery services for order creation. Source: DoorDash

In the past two years, third-party food delivery applications have gained significant popularity. According to the company’s report, 34% of respondents initiate the food ordering process by using a third-party app such as DoorDash or UberEats, which is more than double the percentage in 2021 (15%).

The AI-enhanced ordering system will also provide customers with potential recommendations to round out their meals, a move that, according to DoorDash, will increase restaurants’ overall sales.

In May, Wendy’s made headlines by announcing the introduction of an AI-powered chatbot dubbed “Wendy’s FreshAI” to accept orders from drive-thru customers.