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 short-form video feed last year to boost discovery and help restaurants 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 by the end of the year.
DoorDash is also launching its Going Out feature, which it had been testing in select cities. This feature allows DashPass members to earn in-store rewards when they dine at local restaurants. A company vice president stated that with Going Out, customers can find and redeem exclusive in-app offers when dining in and earn rewards for returning. This year, users received an average of nine dollars in value per order when using these 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 the feature, not just DashPass members.
Users will also be able to book a reservation directly within the DoorDash app thanks to a new integration with SevenRooms, a company that DoorDash acquired earlier this year.
Regarding the new AI features, the DoorDash app now offers personalized recommendations at the top of the homepage. These recommendations consider the 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. DoorDash says this will make it easier for customers to find relevant add-ons and complete their shopping list faster.
The app now also 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. A DoorDash executive explained that the company uses customer reviews, merchant text, and item photos to infer details about menu items. These new tags will be available to users in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
DoorDash also announced that 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.