DoorDash reports limited AI agent order volume amid rapid technological evolution

DoorDash disclosed during its third-quarter earnings call that it has only received 'several hundred' orders from third-party AI agents such as Muse, Instinct, and Fo. This contrasts sharply with its daily average of 3 million deliveries. CEO Tony Xu emphasized that while AI agents are a dynamic area, the company remains cautious, noting that 'we’re seeing maybe several hundred orders in total from some of these third-party agents.' Xu highlighted that most users still use the DoorDash app for orders, but the company is keen to explore agentic use cases and potentially advertise within these agents. DoorDash has developed its own agents, including a text-to-order agent launched in September, a CLI agent from July, and a chatbot called Ask DoorDash introduced in June. The space for agent-based ordering is still evolving, with Amazon blocking agents while Walmart is welcoming them to attract customers.