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What's Happening
- DoorDash disclosed during its third-quarter earnings call that third-party AI agents have placed several hundred orders on its platform, TechCrunch reports.
- The delivery company completes an average of 3 million deliveries daily, according to its 2025 report.
- Users continue to place the vast majority of their orders through the DoorDash app rather than delegating the task to external AI tools.
Why It Matters
Tech companies race to build autonomous agents that execute tasks, but shoppers prefer using familiar apps to buy their food. The low adoption rate at a major delivery platform shows a gap between AI product development and consumer habits. The transition to agent-driven commerce requires changing entrenched user behaviors.
The Context
- DoorDash operates its own suite of AI tools, including a text-to-order system and the Ask DoorDash chatbot that processes prompts and photos.
- The company released a connector to facilitate corporate ordering through external chatbots.
- Retailers take different approaches to automated traffic, with Amazon blocking personal agents while Walmart allows them access to capture market share.
What They're Saying
- DoorDash CEO Tony Xu told analysts the company wants to avoid fighting technological gravity without becoming delusional about current adoption rates.
- Xu noted the platform sees several hundred total orders from third-party agents like Muse, Instinct, and Fo.
What to Watch
- DoorDash plans to study agentic use cases and build relationships with third-party developers.
- Xu suggested the company might explore advertising opportunities within external AI agents.
The Bottom Line
Despite the tech industry focus on autonomous agents, human users prefer ordering their own food.
Mentioned in this story
DoorDash