Uber Eats is bringing AI powers to the humble menu
Artificial intelligence is now helping you buy food
🤖 Uber Eats is adding a range of AI tools to its app to help improve the customer experience
🤔 Generative AI is being used to create menu item descriptions and to summarise customer reviews
👀 It is also being used to detect and enhance low quality images of food
🍔 The app will let customers add photos of menu items that don't have pictures with a potential rebate if the image is used
Uber Eats has announced it’s adding AI features to various elements of the app to help improve the general experience.
Generative AI is being added to help create descriptions for menu items, and also to summarise customer reviews to highlight areas that need improvement for specific businesses.
Uber Eats has also said that it’s using AI to enhance low-quality images of food that it detects by making changes to lighting, resolution and the framing of the image, or by editing the food onto different backgrounds and plates.
If there isn't a photo of a menu item, the app will also allow users to upload a photo of their own order when they leave a review of a restaurant. This feature is launching globally and is accessible by tapping the "add photos" option when you rate an order.
Customers in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, as well as the UK, may also get a payment in Uber credits in the app if photos are published – a handy bonus. The rebate is $3 in Uber Cash that you can use for both Uber rides, food, or package deliveries.
Uber Eats has said in the accompanying press release that the introduction of new AI tools follows a survey of merchants where 78% of those who use the tools think they're effective.
The company is also introducing a Live Order Chat feature to allow businesses to contact customers directly if there are any issues with an order before it's sent out.
When an order is received, the vendor can talk to customers to clarify any special requests, check any allergies or dietary requirements, and inform them if an item is out of stock and work out the best course of action.
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.