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DoorDash now wants customers to skip the app entirely. On Wednesday the company introduced a way to order by text: a customer messages what they want, and DoorDash finds it, builds the cart and checks out inside the text thread.
The feature is a beta for U.S. users, who can join a waitlist at doordash.com/text. MacRumors, citing Bloomberg, reported that it works through Apple’s Messages app, that the phone number in the conversation links the request to the customer’s DoorDash account, and that Android support is coming. DoorDash also tells users to check their carts before paying because the AI can make mistakes.
A text like “order my usual” is enough, according to DoorDash, because the system already knows a customer’s regular Friday order, modifiers included. It can send photos of recommended dishes from the restaurant’s store page, handle group orders with mixed dietary needs, and, if the user opts in, message them to ask whether they want their usual coffee.
Built on Ask DoorDash
The text agent extends Ask DoorDash, the in-app chatbot that launched in June. That assistant lets people describe what they want in their own words, upload a photo of a recipe or grocery list, or ask for something like a “filling dinner for a family of 4,” TechCrunch reported at the time. |