Just Eat launches AI voice assistant to help users talk their way out of ‘choice overload’

Just Eat has launched an AI-powered, in-app voice assistant which can generate a basket of ingredients from a user’s meal prompt at their local supermarket for rapid delivery.

The assistant can also recommend restaurants and dishes based on conversations with users.

The company said the assistant is “designed to understand what people are trying to ask, no matter how loosely or informally they phrase it” and allows users to “think out loud about what they want for dinner”.

In return it will provide “meaningful and relevant” recommendations by evaluating the “potential intent” based on the user’s natural conversation.

The functionality has launched in the UK first, ahead of roll out across Just Eat’s other markets. The service can help place orders for any of Just Eat’s 100,000 partners across takeaway, grocery, retail and beauty.

Following the user interaction – be it a “precise order for a Gregg’s sausage roll, or a rambling stream of consciousness that suggests they may want a local poke bowl” – the assistant readies an order, which the user confirms with touch commands.

“We are always innovating and continually focused on leveraging technology to improve the ordering journey for our millions of customers,” said Mert Öztekin, chief technology officer at Just Eat. “This custom-built conversational assistant represents a major step forward, making our service more intuitive and accessible.”

Customers can access the voice assistant – which is capable of processing in dozens of languages - from today by clicking on a circle with two stars on the top left of the app’s home screen. They can further personalise their experience by selecting the accent the assistant speaks in.

The so-called ‘personal delivery concierge’ will help users overcome the challenge of “choice overload” and “decision fatigue”, the company said.

The UK roll out follows weeks of trials locally, with the volume of conversations increasing everyday and a significantly higher conversion rate for users who utilise the AI voice assistant, Just Eat added.