DoorDash wants consumers to discover their next favorite dishes in a new way. Through video, personalized recommendations, a partnership with Yelp and artificial intelligence, DoorDash’s latest consumer updates are meant to boost discoverability. These additions coincide with DoorDash’s launch of a Going Out tab that provides rewards and deals to dine-in guests.
“It really comes down to one question: how do we make life just a little bit easier for our consumers?” Austin Haugen, vice president of consumer products at DoorDash, said this week during the Dash Forward event held in San Francisco.
Personalized recommendations
Artificial intelligence can analyze past orders, budget preference, dietary preferences, time of day and other customer data to recommend dishes and restaurants, Haugen said. DoorDash said the tool could recommend lunch options ranging from falafel for lunch to fish tacos or bagel sandwiches, the company said in a press release.
AI-backed recommendations are available in San Francisco and Manhattan, with more cities to follow later this year, Haugen said.
The company is also adding AI-powered smart tags. Using customer reviews, descriptions from a merchant or a photo of an item, the AI can infer that items are vegetarian, gluten-free, spicy, or high in protein and then create tags that pop up on the app. Tags will be added to the item itself and can be used to filter a menu down to specific categories, like vegetarian. Labels are available across the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand, DoorDash said.
Videos from local creators
DoorDash’s app is now incorporating short videos from merchants in Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami and Austin, Haugen said. These videos help customers discover new items and merchants, he added.
“Personally, I found this really fun,” Haugen said. “Watching these videos has allowed me to learn about the preparation style of a dish, the portion size.”
Additionally, DoorDash has added the ability for DoorDash users across 20 U.S. cities to apply for its Creator Program. Users can take videos of their deliveries and receive compensation for qualifying content, DoorDash said in a statement.
Yelp partnership
Yelp has partnered with DoorDash to provide direct access to third-party delivery through Yelp’s restaurant pages, Yelp said Tuesday in a press release. Yelp users will be able to connect with over 500,000 merchants to order takeout and delivery via DoorDash.
“Partnering with Yelp brings together two leading platforms in local commerce, making it easier than ever for diners to discover, decide, and ultimately get their meals delivered,” Brian Hale, chief growth officer at DoorDash, said in a statement.
Yelp will maintain existing delivery partnerships for restaurants that are not on DoorDash’s platform.
