DoorDash announced on Tuesday the launch of a new creator program that will compensate users for posting short-form videos on its app. The company also introduced a feature called Going Out, which rewards users for dining at local restaurants, along with several new AI capabilities.
The short-form videos posted by local creators are intended to let users preview dishes before placing an order. This initiative follows a similar move by Uber Eats, which began testing a TikTok-like video feed last year to help with discovery and allow restaurants to showcase their food.
People in twenty U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Austin, Miami, and San Francisco, can now apply to become a DoorDash Creator. Those accepted into the program will have the opportunity to record short videos of their meals from local restaurants and will be compensated if their content meets certain qualifications. DoorDash has not shared the specific monetization model for videos posted on its platform. The company plans to expand the program to more cities before the end of the year.
DoorDash is also launching its Going Out feature more broadly after testing it in select cities. This feature allows DashPass members to earn in-store rewards when they dine at local restaurants. According to Parisa Sadrzadeh, vice president of strategy and operations, customers using Going Out received an average of nine dollars in value per order when using offers. Rewards are now available at thousands of restaurants in select markets across the United States and Australia. For a limited time, all DoorDash consumers can access this feature, not just DashPass members.
Additionally, users will be able to book a reservation directly in the DoorDash app through a new integration with SevenRooms, a company that DoorDash acquired earlier this year.
Regarding the new AI features, the DoorDash app now provides personalized recommendations at the top of the homepage. These recommendations consider a user’s past orders, budget preferences, dietary restrictions, time of day, and location. A new section on the checkout page called Complement your Cart will suggest personalized additions to a user’s grocery cart, making it easier to find relevant items and complete a shopping list faster.
The app also now includes AI smart tags that help users find what they are looking for. These tags appear on a restaurant’s menu, allowing people to filter for specific dishes, such as those that are vegetarian or high in protein. These tags are generated by analyzing customer reviews, merchant-provided text, and photos of the menu items. The smart tags will be available to users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Finally, DoorDash says users can now browse nearby stores, compare prices, and view delivery estimates in one place when shopping for items like beauty products, electronics, and pet supplies. This feature was previously only available for alcohol purchases.