DoorDash lets US users order by text message. An AI agent builds the cart and checks out

DoorDash customers in the US can now order food and groceries by sending a text message, the company announced on 30 September at its Dash Forward event. An AI agent reads the request, searches menus and shelves, builds the cart and completes checkout in the same thread. Bloomberg reported that it works with Apple’s iMessage. For now it is a beta with a waitlist.

DoorDash’s agent remembers the usual order and looks for cheaper items

The agent learns preferences, such as a dislike of coriander or a favourite sauce. It remembers a customer’s usual order and can repeat it. For groceries, it scans for cheaper equivalents of the same product. It can also send a message first, based on a person’s daily habits. Group orders with mixed tastes are supported.

DoorDash says the average US user can reach more than 800,000 menu items and grocery products this way. Co-founder Andy Fang said ordering lunch or groceries “shouldn’t feel like work”.

Ask DoorDash sent nearly half of restaurant orders to new places

The text service builds on Ask DoorDash, the company’s AI assistant. DoorDash says that in three months it led users to more than 40,000 restaurants they had not tried. Nearly half of the restaurant orders went to places new to the customer. Grocery baskets were built five times faster, with about 50% higher value and about 60% more different items.

Shopping agents are spreading across retail. Shopify recently let AI agents place orders at checkout in stores that use Shop Pay.

Drones, returns and a connector for Anthropic’s MCP

At the same event, DoorDash announced a drone delivery pilot in Northern California with Chipotle, Popeyes and local restaurants, Chain Store Age reported. A return pick-up service for a flat $7.99 starts in selected cities, with a national rollout planned for November. DoorDash also offers a connector for workplace ordering through Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol. The company recently gave WPP Media its global media account.

For brands sold through DoorDash, the agent changes what wins the basket. DoorDash puts the effect at around 50% higher basket value, and the agent actively looks for cheaper equivalents of what shoppers ask for.