DoorDash opens US test of an AI agent that takes food orders by text

DoorDash has opened a U.S. waitlist for an AI agent that lets iPhone users order through Apple’s Messages app rather than its own app. A customer can text a request such as “my usual,” ask for a dish, or seek a recommendation; the agent uses the linked DoorDash account, searches local menus, and proposes a cart, which the customer confirms and pays for in the conversation. It builds on Ask DoorDash, the company’s in-app conversational search tool introduced in June, but moves the interaction to a place people already use all day. The limited rollout is a bet that removing the browsing between craving and checkout can distinguish DoorDash from Uber Eats and Grubhub, though customers will still need to check what the AI has selected before paying.