Uber Eats’ new Cart Assistant feature is an AI hack for your grocery shopping

Source: Engadget

Overview

If there’s any area of your life that you might be willing to introduce more AI into, it’s likely something as mundane as grocery shopping. That’s what Uber is betting on with its new AI‑powered feature in the Uber Eats app.

How Cart Assistant Works

1. Find a supported grocery store on the home screen of the Uber Eats app.
2. Tap the Cart Assistant icon that appears at the top of the screen.
3. Provide your shopping list:
   • Manually type the items, or
   • Upload a photo of a handwritten list, or
   • Upload a screenshot of ingredients needed for a recipe.

Cart Assistant will then fetch the requested items and add them to your basket.

Features

• Availability‑aware: the assistant checks item availability before selecting it.
• Price & promotions: prices and any applicable promotions are displayed.
• Editability: you can delete or swap any recommended item.
• Add‑on later: items you forgot can be added after the initial list is processed.
• Prioritization of past purchases: items you’ve bought before are prioritized, reducing the need for adjustments.

Uber notes that the feature is currently in beta, so performance may not be perfect.

Context within Uber Eats

Cart Assistant is the latest step in Uber Eats’ gradual AI‑ification. Last summer, Uber introduced several AI‑enhanced features, including:

• AI‑enhanced food images
• AI‑generated menu descriptions
• AI‑summarized restaurant reviews