DoorDash is reportedly hiring to power its AI-powered voice ordering product for restaurant customers.
Senior members of artificial intelligence (AI) startup Standard AI, including former CEO Jordan Fisher, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday (March 27). (including co-founders Brandon Ogle and Daniel Fischetti) will join DoorDash.
The new hire will reportedly focus on non-delivery areas of DoorDash’s business, working on an AI product the company introduced last summer to help restaurants take orders over the phone.
DoorDash told Bloomberg that it is in talks with a variety of midsize and large corporate restaurants, including a “well-known” pizza chain, about participating in product testing. A company spokeswoman declined to disclose the terms of the deal, but said it employs fewer than 10 people and does not include product licenses.
DoorDash announced in August that it was developing an AI-powered voice ordering feature that would help restaurants process phone orders more efficiently.
“Customers expect more from restaurateurs, and in return, restaurateurs are offering more technology-advanced solutions, including support for phone channels to accommodate customers where they are ordering. We’re excited about the company,” DoorDash head of product and design Rajat Shroff said in a statement. time.
“Capturing customer demand and supporting carriers through investments in our voice products is one way we can offer more services and enable our partners to grow their businesses.”
Meanwhile, a PYMNTS Intelligence survey shows consumers are hesitant to use voice AI in restaurants, but Aaron Nilsson, chief information officer at Jet’s Pizza Despite knowing that customers are having a positive experience with voice ordering AI technology. robot.
“The narration tells us it’s a robot,” he said. “We never wanted to hide that. …One of the really nice things that we hear sometimes when we pull recordings out of here is that very often at the end of the call, the customer says, ‘Thank you.’ . It’s essentially a human-to-human thing. …They have human interactions. ”
Elsewhere in the AI space, DoorDash recently debuted artificial intelligence capabilities aimed at spotting and preventing abuse and harassment on its platform to protect both customers and delivery drivers. .
Announced earlier this month, SafeChat+ can detect inappropriate conversations between customers and drivers and give drivers the option to cancel orders without affecting their driver ratings. Additionally, if a driver marks an inappropriate comment, customers can contact her DoorDash support via chat or phone for assistance.
The company said that while “more than 99.9% of deliveries” on the platform occur without safety-related incidents, the most common incidents are abuse and harassment.
