Despite growing attention around AI agents handling online purchases, their role in food delivery remains small for now. DoorDash said during its third-quarter 2026 earnings call that it had received only several hundred orders through third-party AI agents.
DoorDash CEO Tony Xu described agent-based ordering as an evolving area, while noting that customers still place most orders through the company's app. For context, DoorDash reported in 2025 that it completed an average of around three million deliveries per day.
Exploring new ways to order
The company is testing its own AI-powered options, including tools that let customers order through text, chat prompts, and other interfaces. It has also introduced a connector that supports ordering through external chatbots for corporate customers.
DoorDash says it wants to understand how customers may use AI agents and build constructive relationships with their developers. As these tools mature, they could create new ways for people to discover and place orders--and new opportunities for businesses to reach customers.
