Today, DoorDash announced a suite of AI-powered tools designed to help merchants optimize their online menus, enhance the customer experience, and boost sales. These new AI-powered tools represent DoorDash's ongoing commitment to making it easier for merchants to succeed, and equipping them with the technology and resources they need. For consumers, these enhancements not only create a more seamless and visually appealing ordering experience, but also preserve the authenticity of each dish — helping customers make confident, informed choices while still seeing the food as it truly is.
The tools are available on both DoorDash Marketplace and first-party products, such as Online Ordering, and include:
Item description generator – Instantly create enticing menu descriptions with one-click using AI;
AI-powered Camera – Enables restaurants to capture professional-quality food photos by optimizing lighting and backgrounds, without altering the appearance of the food itself.
Instant Photo Approvals – Menu photos will be automatically approved with AI-driven moderation for instant upload;
Background Enhanced Menu Photos – Without altering or editing the food itself, the new enhancement feature helps transform casual consumer photos into clean, professional menu photos.
“At DoorDash, we believe AI should make life easier for restaurants—not more complicated. It’s about using automation to enhance the guest experience while keeping the operator’s unique touch front and center,” said Arpit Dhariwal, Head of Product, Merchant Acquisition & Growth at DoorDash. “AI-powered tools are built to take everyday tasks off operators’ plates, allowing restaurants to focus on what matters most—delivering great food and service. We're excited to help drive more orders, save time, and support continued growth for our restaurant partners.”
Create instant menu descriptions with AI
Menu descriptions act as a powerful tool in influencing customer choices, or enticing them to try new dishes. Leveraging the power of AI, item description generator uses inputs, such as item names and existing photos, to craft compelling and mouth-watering menu descriptions in seconds. Merchants can access the item description generator through the Business Manager App or through the Merchant Portal.
“Writing menu descriptions was a real chore, taking up valuable time I didn’t have. Now, with this AI tool, I can whip up mouthwatering descriptions of all of our menu items in just seconds,” said Steve Rezvani, Owner at Driftwood Deli & Market. “The descriptions are much more engaging than what I used to write, and we’ve seen an uptick in orders for items with descriptions, than those without.”
Effortless food photography with AI-powered Camera
Customers eat with their eyes with an estimated 38% of customers using menu photos to influence which restaurant they want to order from, and restaurants have seen a 44% increase in monthly sales for menus with item photos. The AI-powered camera, available in the Business Manager App, uses AI computer vision and helps merchants take stunning food photos in seconds, ensuring the food's authentic appearance is preserved. With real-time feedback on framing, smart lighting, background enhancements, and intuitive cropping tools, taking professional-quality photos has never been easier.
Automated Photo Improvements
With AI-driven moderation, DoorDash will automatically provide instant photo approvals to rapidly review and approve select menu item photos that meet DoorDash guidelines in just one minute. DoorDash also provides background enhanced updates to select user-generated photos by adjusting lighting, re-plating, or modifying the background – without altering how the food itself looks.
At DoorDash, our goal is to help merchants at every step of their journey, whether that’s improving photo performance, automating the photo approval process to ease their workload, or improving the customer experience through detailed menu descriptions.
Visit the Merchant Portal to learn more, and click here to download the Business Manager App.
